You Don’t Need Design All the Time. Here’s Why

So, I put a post out on LinkedIn about Figma charging for their AI stuff and also just generally how AI is changing based on the Figma code to canvas tool call on the MCP, right? A designer got up in arms in the comments saying like you know when you let me just read out the comment actually command AI tried to vibe code something without Figma designs and you get the same design as everyone else. My response is that you begin to realize that design is not important for a lot of things like for something functional like like your dashboard especially getting up and running. The important thing is is this working? Does this actually work? Is this useful? Otherwise, you've spent so much time designing something that actually ends up not being functionally useful. So you might as well use a design that yeah does look all the same to trial a product and if it works and you don't honestly design isn't having much of a an impact on it. It works with the same design then there's no reason to bring in any sort of design aspects for some projects. for others. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's got to look cool and and whatever, especially if it's public facing, you know, it's a SAS product or if it's just something that you, as you said, yourself, you just want to enjoy looking at. Absolutely. But I think this has just created now the divide of like some apps can function and provide more ROI when you just don't when it just has the same design as everything else. Do you know what I mean? So, uh, it seems like it's it's it's gaining a bit of momentum on the responses there. So, I, um, I'll be interested to read that. Um, but yeah, anyway, that's my input. I think we just we don't need design all the time, you know? We don't we just don't the the bare minimum, the average is fine. Yeah, design is often invisible. Like when you want to get something done, the design shouldn't, you know, be getting in the way. The design is just a functionality in that sense. So it depending on where you are defining design and what is the what is the problem essentially you are solving. In some cases, you want to design to to be seen, you know, to levitate from whatever everybody else is doing. And sometimes you just want to blend in and get something done and working. Their their brain is just locked into like, but we're just going to have to design it. And what I'm saying is some instances, yeah, you will absolutely have to redesign it or work a different way or whatever, but there are just so many use cases that you don't need design. You've just proven it and you yourself are a designer. You just wanted to get something up and running and now you're designing proactively. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Um but I I just there's there's so many designers especially, some of them are so locked in they can't flex. Do you know what I mean? Like if like again I I think correct me if I'm wrong developers probably have more to worry about than designers. Like ridiculous amount. Yes. And yet we could sit here and complain that AI code is But most designers would be like but it works. It's the same argument, right? It's the same argument. But the code is It works. Well, okay. Well, it works with a design. So, you know, But I think but um the reason why I say that is just because I think uh developers are a lot less in denial about what's happening than designers designers seem to be very much rejecting what's going on um than developers I think is what it seems. I work on my own all day so take that with a pinch of salt. Do you know what I mean? I barely speak to many developers but that's just what it feels like. This is part of a larger conversation on my show Command AI which we stream live every single week. We discuss the news and all things related to AI in the world of design and web. Catch us next week and join in the banter. Command AI.