This issue traces the shift from features to taste: AI as moat, prototyping limits, design engineering, and the human edge.
Figma's CEO: Why AI Makes Design the New Moat
Dylan Field argues that in an AI-accelerated world, design craft and quality become the differentiator — not just features.
Figma's founder unpacks why removing blockers often beats adding new features, and how to build and sustain taste over 13 years of building a category-defining product.
AI Prototyping: Good from Afar, But Far from Good
NN/g digs into AI prototyping tools in real design contexts — finding they follow general directions but lack the nuanced judgment of an experienced designer.
A sharp, honest look at where these tools fall short and where they genuinely shine.
The Rosetta Stone of Design Engineering
Yann-Edern Gillet explores how design and engineering overlap and translate meaning — and why a shared language of making is the only path to real shipping velocity.
Essential reading for anyone who sits at the design-code boundary.
Vibe Prototyping & Cursor: 60 Hours of Lessons
Hardik Pandya spent 60 hours vibe coding in a month and came back with practical, hard-earned lessons.
Less hype, more process — the kind of grounded take that actually helps you ship.
AI Coding Agents for Designers
Luke Wroblewski makes the case that as AI agents write more and more code, designers who can direct them become the new force multiplier on product teams.
A concise, forward-looking read on how design roles are evolving.
Beyond the Machine — Frank Chimero
Frank Chimero reflects on what remains irreducibly human in design as machines take on more of the craft.
A thoughtful, lyrical piece on meaning, authorship, and why the human touch still matters.
This Is How Designers Get Hired Now
The design hiring landscape has shifted. This piece lays out what employers actually want in 2025–2026 — and it's not what most portfolios are showing.