The a16z Show

What Happens to Design After AI?

Episode Summary

Anish Acharya speaks with Microsoft VP of Design John Maeda and Impeccable founder and CEO Paul Bakaus about how AI is changing the practice of design. The conversation explores the relationship between design and technology, the rise of AI-powered creative tools, and whether automation raises the floor, the ceiling, or both. Maeda and Bakaus discuss software craftsmanship, taste, creative judgment, and why some aspects of design may become increasingly automated while others become more valuable. They also examine agentic workflows, the future of user experience, the role of designers in an AI-native world, and how new tools may reshape the relationship between designers, engineers, and software itself.

Episode Notes

Anish Acharya speaks with Microsoft VP of Design John Maeda and Impeccable founder and CEO Paul Bakaus about how AI is changing the practice of design.

The conversation explores the relationship between design and technology, the rise of AI-powered creative tools, and whether automation raises the floor, the ceiling, or both. Maeda and Bakaus discuss software craftsmanship, taste, creative judgment, and why some aspects of design may become increasingly automated while others become more valuable.

They also examine agentic workflows, the future of user experience, the role of designers in an AI-native world, and how new tools may reshape the relationship between designers, engineers, and software itself.

 

Resources:

Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience

Follow John Maeda on X: https://x.com/johnmaeda

Follow Paul Bakaus on X: https://x.com/pbakaus

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