OCTOBER 2025
OCTOBER 2025
OCTOBER 2025
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4-MINUTE READ
4-MINUTE READ
4-MINUTE READ
Can I Do It All?
Can I Do It All?
Can I Do It All?
As tools get smarter, designers are expected to know more, do more, and be more. In this piece, I reflected on what it means to learn through tools rather than people and questioning whether being multi-skilled is making us more capable or just more confused.
As tools get smarter, designers are expected to know more, do more, and be more. In this piece, I reflected on what it means to learn through tools rather than people and questioning whether being multi-skilled is making us more capable or just more confused.
It’s funny how just fifteen minutes of idle snooping (whether on LinkedIn or Instagram) can tell me so much about what’s happening in design. And it’s more than just design.
It’s funny how just fifteen minutes of idle snooping (whether on LinkedIn or Instagram) can tell me so much about what’s happening in design. And it’s more than just design.
Lately, I’ve been starting my mornings staring at a dark screen filled with jarring pink code on Cursor, vibe coding a platform. It’s been fulfilling but also frustrating. I run into errors, spend hours fixing them and by the time I finally solve one, I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to do next. For context, I understand code about as little as my attention span nowadays.
Lately, I’ve been starting my mornings staring at a dark screen filled with jarring pink code on Cursor, vibe coding a platform. It’s been fulfilling but also frustrating. I run into errors, spend hours fixing them and by the time I finally solve one, I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to do next. For context, I understand code about as little as my attention span nowadays.
This new project has quietly replaced my other morning rituals, like solving Wordle or doing my Duolingo lesson. As fun as it is, I also do it because it feels like something I should be doing. Designers today aren’t just creatives anymore. We’re developers, researchers, tinkerers, facilitators, writers, and scientists, all at once.
This new project has quietly replaced my other morning rituals, like solving Wordle or doing my Duolingo lesson. As fun as it is, I also do it because it feels like something I should be doing. Designers today aren’t just creatives anymore. We’re developers, researchers, tinkerers, facilitators, writers, and scientists, all at once.
Is it empowering to be all those things? Yes. But most of us do it because we have to. We can’t afford to be just designers anymore. We need to think and create across disciplines. I’ve met engineers turned designers who can design and build. And I can’t help but wonder: are their skills more valuable than a designer who can only design?
Is it empowering to be all those things? Yes. But most of us do it because we have to. We can’t afford to be just designers anymore. We need to think and create across disciplines. I’ve met engineers turned designers who can design and build. And I can’t help but wonder: are their skills more valuable than a designer who can only design?
There is no denying that we are heading toward a more generalist-driven future. I have often heard designers say that as a designer, I need to find what I specialise in, what I do best. But will people who can perform a broader scope of work be more important?
There is no denying that we are heading toward a more generalist-driven future. I have often heard designers say that as a designer, I need to find what I specialise in, what I do best. But will people who can perform a broader scope of work be more important?
I asked several designer friends how they got into design and they said it was because they love the craft. But if you’re in it purely for the craft, it might become harder to stay in today’s design space.
I asked several designer friends how they got into design and they said it was because they love the craft. But if you’re in it purely for the craft, it might become harder to stay in today’s design space.
That doesn’t mean all designers can become, let’s say, engineers but all these tools definitely blur the lines between roles. While I create more now than I did before as a designer, I still feel as if I am doing less. A lot of my design learning this year has been through tools instead of people. I feel as if I haven’t nurtured my conceptual core as much as I could have. How do I find meaning in the making and not just in finishing?
That doesn’t mean all designers can become, let’s say, engineers but all these tools definitely blur the lines between roles. While I create more now than I did before as a designer, I still feel as if I am doing less. A lot of my design learning this year has been through tools instead of people. I feel as if I haven’t nurtured my conceptual core as much as I could have. How do I find meaning in the making and not just in finishing?
If someone had asked me to build a project five years ago, as a design student,
I would have had no option but to collaborate with someone who codes. But now I just ask ChatGPT. And if I had a penny for every time I’ve heard people around me say the same…The question being, as a result, am I losing the skill to communicate and collaborate? Are junior designers losing the foundational skills they need to adapt to a fast-changing future, organisations, and even society?
If someone had asked me to build a project five years ago, as a design student, I would have had no option but to collaborate with someone who codes. But now I just ask ChatGPT. And if I had a penny for every time I’ve heard people around me say the same…The question being, as a result, am I losing the skill to communicate and collaborate? Are junior designers losing the foundational skills they need to adapt to a fast-changing future, organisations, and even society?
The most intellectually stimulating part of my education this past year has been our Systems Design class discussions. Our professor would talk about what’s happening in tech and somehow always know more than all of us combined. I’d leave class every week with so much more knowledge than before because he didn’t just talk about what is, but what could be. His perspective was shaped not just by design, but by his curiosity about culture, digital society, politics, and everything in between. No matter how much information AI gives me, I’ll always learn more from long conversations that seem to go nowhere.
The most intellectually stimulating part of my education this past year has been our Systems Design class discussions. Our professor would talk about what’s happening in tech and somehow always know more than all of us combined. I’d leave class every week with so much more knowledge than before because he didn’t just talk about what is, but what could be. His perspective was shaped not just by design, but by his curiosity about culture, digital society, politics, and everything in between. No matter how much information AI gives me, I’ll always learn more from long conversations that seem to go nowhere.
Learning through tools is one-dimensional. It’s driven by me. But learning with people is layered and unpredictable. Everyone brings unique experiences and I’m pushed to find meaning based on my own understanding and context.
Learning through tools is one-dimensional. It’s driven by me. But learning with people is layered and unpredictable. Everyone brings unique experiences and I’m pushed to find meaning based on my own understanding and context.
AI has redefined what it means to learn but learning has never been about tools.
AI has redefined what it means to learn but learning has never been about tools.
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