Designing for emotional residue over functional outcomes
Briefly

OpenAI's development of an AI software engineer heralds a shift towards agentic software engineering, where autonomous systems can create and manage products rapidly, reducing human input. As execution accelerates and functionality becomes standardized, the focus is shifting towards the emotional residue a product leaves behind after use. This 'emotional residue'—the lasting impression of care and understanding—will become a key differentiator in design, fostering trust and encouraging repeat engagement as users increasingly value how products make them feel, alongside their utility.
In a future where code becomes cheap and automation is everywhere, emotional residue may become the most valuable output of design.
Emotional residue is what remains after the interaction ends. It's the quiet impression a product leaves behind - the subtle signal that this was made with care.
Read at Medium
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