In a designer’s everyday life, there are countless decisions, considerations and creative processes – often simultaneously, rarely in a linear fashion.
Creativity thrives on freedom, but productive work requires structure.
In this field of tension, artificial intelligence (AI) has proven to be an unexpectedly valuable support for me. Not as a replacement for my work, but as a supplement, as a “little busy worker bee” that helps me to steer my creative chaos in an orderly direction.
How AI structures my UX work – and makes it more human
User experience design (UX) combines subjective user experiences with objectively founded design principles. The experience of a product is individually shaped by emotions, expectations, needs, usage contexts and personal experiences. What is intuitive and comprehensible for one user may be confusing or incomprehensible for another. These psychological dimensions make UX a challenging and deeply human discipline. Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, cannot comprehend these complex factors – it has neither intuition nor an understanding of cultural contexts or human needs.
Thanks to AI, there is more space for the essentials
However, this is precisely why I particularly appreciate AI: it frees me up for those aspects that require real human empathy, in-depth research and targeted knowledge building. AI takes on repeatable tasks and helps me to structure complex thought processes – so that I have more time for user focus, in-depth analysis and the actual core issue – the added value of a product.
AI can help. But UX needs human judgment
Another central component of UX – and one that is often underestimated – is the consulting component. Whether it’s about user-centricity in product design, the involvement of stakeholders or strategic decisions: UX often also means translating between technology, business and user needs. This role is particularly relevant when it comes to topics such as accessibility on the web. These require not only technical expertise, but also a deep understanding of social responsibility, diversity and legal frameworks. AI can provide support here – for example in the analysis of existing systems. However, prioritizing, classifying and communicating these issues remains a clear human task.
AI as a sparring partner
AI has proven to be a sparring partner for me, especially in phases of creative blockages. In moments when you are stuck in your thoughts, it can show you new perspectives, give you food for thought or simply help you sort your thoughts. It is a tool – similar to a blank whiteboard or a good brainstorming session with colleagues. The key difference: it is immediately and constantly available and responds in seconds.
A good example of this is the preparation of customer journey workshops. What used to require a lot of manual planning, content structuring and sorting of materials can now be done much more efficiently with AI. I use it to cluster topics, develop storylines, anticipate possible questions or create workshop scripts. It is similarly helpful when creating presentations or visualizing product ideas. It helps to make the famous “red thread” visible and anchor it in the right places.
Structuring and clarity in design production
Design production and prototyping also benefit in my opinion. Instead of spending time on repetitive routine tasks, I can come up with functional designs faster with the help of AI. Text generation, collecting ideas for UI patterns, layouts or quickly sketching user flows – many of these tasks can now be significantly accelerated using AI.
But here too, the quality of the output depends largely on the input. The right prompt does not guarantee a perfect answer – it merely increases the probability of obtaining a precise answer. To achieve usable results, I need to give clear, structured instructions. This forces me to sharpen my thoughts, formulate requirements in a targeted manner and, in particular, to better understand my target group. In this sense, working with AI also sharpens my own clarity – an often underestimated but valuable side effect.
More space for core work
By letting AI help me with repetitive tasks, I gain back valuable time. Time that I can invest in the real essence of my job: Identifying the added value of a product and aligning this precisely with the needs of the user – not to mention design and the staging of a brand. This space is invaluable, especially in the conception phase, when the aim is to distil a focused solution from many loose ideas.
Of course, I always work in accordance with the applicable data protection guidelines. Sensitive or personal data has no place in AI-based tools. Awareness of data security in Switzerland is an integral part of my workflow, especially when working with external tools or generative text models.
Conclusion: assistance instead of replacement
For me, AI is not a substitute for creativity, empathy or conceptual thinking – rather, it is an assistant at eye level that has my back in many situations. It forces me to have structure, gives me speed and broadens my perspectives. In a profession that oscillates between intuition and analysis, between inspiration and implementation, that’s an asset.
Anyone who integrates AI into the creative process will realize this: It doesn’t change what we design, but how we do it – and thus creates new scope for what really matters: good, relevant, human design.
