Researching AI as a Junior Designer

I asked an AI, "What is design thinking?"

The answer was predictable yet oddly fitting: design thinking is a human centred approach to solving problems.

As a junior designer, I made a deliberate choice not to rely on AI tools heavily. Not yet. I want to build the skills myself first.

But that doesn't mean I stopped thinking about it. Recently, I was researching AI and design, exploring how platforms like Claude are being used within the design industry and where they can genuinely add value to the design process. It's been feeling like the ocean lately, wave after wave of new features every couple of weeks, again and again changing the reality of a design professional.

What I was looking for were real people’s opinions and thoughts, specifically from people who understand design beyond surface level aesthetics. People who recognise the value of creative judgement, strategy and intent, and can spot the difference between work that simply looks good and work that solves a problem with purpose. And I got them!

What I heard repeatedly during my research:

Positive:

• AI helps overcome the blank page problem.
• The handoff between AI and design tools is improving.
• It can speed up repetitive and production based tasks.

Challenges:

• Usage limits can be restrictive.
• AI is stronger at starting projects than finishing them.
• Human judgement is still essential to refine and direct the output.

What became clear during my research was that AI tools like Claude are far from perfect. While they can help accelerate certain parts of the design process, they still have limitations that require human input, creative judgement and expertise.

Some would say AI can save time on brainstorming, prototyping, asset scaling and early stage visualisation. But there's still so much you can't put into a prompt, even a carefully written one. Things like emotional interpretation, creative judgement, meaningful storytelling, user experience and strategic thinking. The kind of thinking that only comes from a human and actually doing the work.

These things stay irreplaceable because design is ultimately directed at the human mind.

That's why I'm not rushing to hand that over yet.

AI works best as a co creator, not a replacement, but a brainstorming partner, a structure generator, a way to move faster on the repetitive stuff. But only when it's a controlled, intentional part of the process, not a shortcut around it.

The next few years will be about finding that balance. Workflows will change, tools will improve. But design will always be made for humans, so the way i see it, it will always need a human behind it.