❤️ #48 - Be a "Founding Designer"

I’ve been thinking a lot. Oh no.

In a time when anyone with a laptop can whip up a logo in minutes using AI or pre-made templates, the bar for entry into design has never been lower. But while access to tools has skyrocketed, the depth of understanding has often taken a backseat.

The Decline of Craft

Just in the last few years, design has undergone a transformation. Platforms like Canva, Figma, and countless no-code tools have democratized creativity. And that’s a great thing—for the most part. But somewhere along the way, we started confusing style with substance.

We’ve entered what I’d call the era of “aesthetic convenience”— The result? Everything looks fine, but much of it feels hollow.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
— Oscar Wilde

The Problem With Design by Vibes

When you build without understanding, you rely on mimicry. A mood board becomes your compass. You remix what you’ve seen rather than solve a problem. It’s not that remixing is wrong—design has always borrowed from culture—but without a grounding in why certain choices work, we end up in a sea of sameness.

That’s where fundamental design education becomes vital again.

Rebuilding From the Ground Up

Imagine a new wave of designers who don’t just know how to use tools but who understand concepts like hierarchy, gestalt theory, and visual rhythm. Who ask questions like:

“What emotional response does this layout trigger?”

“How does this typeface affect legibility for neurodiverse audiences?”

“What cultural biases are embedded in this iconography?”

These are the kinds of designers who will lead the next decade—not just because they can build pretty interfaces, but because they can explain why those interfaces work.

Teaching the Next Generation

I see opportunity here—for educators, design leaders, and even bootcamps. There’s a growing gap between technically proficient creatives and strategically-minded designers. Filling that gap means going back to basics: teaching contrast, balance, tension, spatial relationships, and more.

We need more discussions around Bauhaus principles, not just Figma plugins. We need to dive into how Renaissance art compositions relate to modern UI, or how color theory affects accessibility in dark mode.

Why This Matters Now

As AI continues to blur the line between creation and curation, what will set human designers apart is not speed—it’s insight. The capacity to bring context, emotion, and intention to design decisions will be a rare and valuable skill.

In a world where tools are cheap and templates are everywhere, the real differentiator will be thoughtfulness.

Conclusion: Purpose Over Prettiness

The future of design belongs to those who create with intent. That means understanding the roots of visual communication, not just the branches. We’re on the cusp of a return to rigor—where knowing the “why” behind a design becomes more important than how fast it was made.

If you're a designer, ask yourself: are you designing, or are you decorating?