Observed Signal · Sep 17, 2026 · Reflection/Milestone · Source: UX Collective · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Designer Reflects on 100 Articles in Age of AI
Darren Yeo, a design manager and writer, reflects on his journey of publishing 100 design articles over four years. He shares lessons on motivation, space, voice, authenticity, forgiveness, joy, and tribe, emphasizing the value of the writing process itself, especially in an era of AI. He discusses the 'Shoggoth' metaphor for large language models, expressing a love-hate relationship with AI tools. Yeo highlights that while AI can generate content efficiently, it risks outsourcing genuine thinking. He advocates for embracing the friction of writing to develop one's own voice and perspective, citing influences like Michael Bierut and Fabricio Teixeira.
Personal reflection on writing and AI, not directly relevant to AdTech or marketing industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Darren Yeo published his 100th design article, a milestone achieved over four years.
- He has written articles every fortnight, totaling around 100 pieces.
- Yeo previously served as head of design at Singapore Airlines.
- His articles have been featured in UX Collective and Bootcamp publications.
- He launched Design.Voyage in January 2024 to archive his articles.
Connected Companies & Entities
“Yeo mentions his stint as head of design at Singapore Airlines as a breakthrough in his writing journey.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Designers' AI Adoption Reflects Erosion of Idealism
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Designers Evolve Into AI Experience Architects
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Design’s Irreplaceable Role in the AI Era
Peter (Zak) Zakrzewski argues that while generative AI is powerful at producing plausible outputs, it lacks the embodied, cultural, and temporal grounding — what he and other thinkers call “taste” — that senior designers supply. This fourth essay in a series on AI and design revisits prior diagnoses (the Inversion Error, the Spaghetti Table Protocol) and a proposed Parametric AGI Framework, and proposes that designers must act as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), owning problem-definition, strategic theory-building, and taste-informed trade-offs in Human+AI workflows. The piece draws on historical examples (Steve Jobs on Microsoft’s lack of “taste”), design-driven innovation research (Roberto Verganti), and arguments about domain knowledge and judgment to outline how designers can operationalize their value in client engagements.
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