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Do We Still Need Designers in the Future?
This episode is in Finnish. The video below is the original recording; this page provides an English summary for easier reading.
Summary
Will AI replace designers? Mikki and Aksel on what AI cannot do, design-led companies like Linear and Notion, and ambition as the real edge.
About The Good Side in this episode
Mikki built a custom GPT for client work so customers can talk to AI before a designer joins. AI gathers starting context; Mikki shapes the brief. A practical example of using AI in the process instead of fearing it.
Key discussion points
- AI does not run client relationships, talk to users, or produce truly strong high-fidelity design yet
- Mikki’s custom GPT lets clients chat before the brief phase
- Linear and Notion are where they are because they are genuinely design-led companies
- Karri Saarinen did not spend a day on design ROI math when starting Linear
- AI phone agents already handle real customer service situations, including in Finland
- What separates great designers is ambition, not process or tools
Questions & answers
- What can AI not do in a designer’s job?
- It does not own client relationships, run user interviews, or deliver genuinely excellent high-fidelity design yet. It is a fast, useful assistant, not a replacement for what happens between people.
- Why do design-led companies win?
- Linear and Notion show what happens when design is taken seriously. Karri Saarinen did not debate whether design made financial sense when starting Linear; it was obvious, and the product shows it.
- What makes a designer good?
- Ambition. Not process, not tools. If there is a real drive to make something beautiful and useful, it shows in the outcome, even with an expired Figma license.
Topics: AI and design, future of designers, UX and AI, Behind the Pixels, design consultancy, design-led companies, Linear design, design ambition, The Good Side