AI just gave you a promotion

I, like many of you, have watched our working world change and adapt with the rise of AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT.

Personally, AI coding tools have helped me execute ideas that have been locked in the design stage for years. Having Figma or Claude code my designs allowed me to focus on the business models or customer experience rather than building them.

While these tools have made it easy to start from scratch, it is often harder to integrate them into older systems. I’ll admit, I probably spent too much time on the sidelines waiting for Figma to deliver features it still hasn’t, rather than trying out different solutions.

But now that I have, I realize how little my job has actually changed.

As a design manager, the bulk of my job is providing feedback and direction to the designers that I lead. This wasn’t very easy for me in the beginning. I was used to doing the work and when my role shifted into management I missed getting lost in the details. It took me a while to make that mental leap. But that’s the same mental leap that designers may need to make today when embracing AI.

Technical ability isn’t the most important skill to have as a designer. Your judgement, taste and ideas will always be your greatest asset. AI doesn’t replace that. It allows you to flex it more. Just like a creative director does. Don’t believe me? How many Creative Directors have you had that don’t have a design background? How many seem completely lost in a Figma file?

AI just gave you a promotion — whether you wanted it or not. You now direct your own design intern. You can train it by teaching it new skills or a design system. The more experience it has the more you can give it, the more feedback you supply the more it knows what you like. Just like a good designer.

Don’t worry though, you don’t have to use it for everything. Let it take care of the tasks that you don’t enjoy doing and let yourself go deep on the things worth your time.

Other team members may now use AI to create prototypes or designs. While your first inclination may be to get defensive and dismiss their work, don’t. AI may have promoted these coworkers to junior designers, but it has promoted you to Creative Director. Your judgement, taste, and ideas are your greatest asset. This is your time to flex them. Just remember what kind of Creative Director you want to be. You may be able to yell at Claude, but people using Claude are still people. Thankfully AI has freed up some time to work on your soft skills — whether you wanted to or not.