Design Thinking in the Age of AI: The Process Is the Product
Briefly

The designer mindset is vital in product development, even with AI's assistance. Effective creation starts by understanding the problem, user needs, and design thinking, not merely crafting prompts. In a recent project, building a Shopify app involved deep collaboration with AI tools, accelerating the design thinking process. Initial hours focused on clarifying the problem through AI conversations, leading to improved decision-making on essential features. This shifts traditional roles, empowering designers to directly influence product decisions rather than merely creating wireframes for others.
When I set out to build and ship my first Shopify app in a single weekend, I didn't intend to prove a point. I was just trying to solve a problem I knew merchants were facing.
The classic design thinking loop - empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test - hasn't gone anywhere. But what AI tools offer is acceleration.
Each conversation felt like a mini ideation sprint. With every response, I got clearer on what mattered and what didn't.
Instead of generating wireframes for someone else to implement, I found myself making product decisions directly.
Read at Medium
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