Learning by making ugly things
It's been about 10 years since I started my career in design. Back then, I spent countless hours playing around in Photoshop, Sketch, and eventually Figma. Experimenting with layouts, structure, typography, and visual hierarchy. Doodling icons, creating wallpapers, and trying things simply because I thought they might look interesting.
I could spend an entire afternoon adjusting tiny details, experimenting with different compositions, or recreating interfaces I admired. Most of those experiments never went anywhere. Some were pretty terrible, actually.
And to prove my point, I'm going to share a few of my earliest designs. They're ugly. Really ugly. But I had a lot of fun making them.
Looking back, I realise how important those hours were. Every failed experiment, awkward layout, and questionable colour combination taught me something. Without really noticing, I was developing an eye for design. Learning what works, what doesn't, and most importantly, why.
When creation becomes effortless
Fast-forward 10 years, and the world of design looks quite different. AI can generate entire interfaces in seconds. What used to take hours of experimenting can now be accomplished with a few prompts. And while that might sound like progress, I wonder what it means for designers just starting their careers.
With so much of the actual creation becoming easier, there's a temptation to skip the trial and error that taught me so much. Yet designers still need to figure out what to create, understand why they're creating it, and recognise whether the result is actually any good.
That's what worries me. We develop those skills by experimenting, making mistakes, and figuring things out ourselves. If we increasingly outsource that process, where does that leave us?
I don't think avoiding AI is the answer. But I do think we need to be more mindful of how we use it, especially when we're still learning. So, if I could give junior designers three pieces of advice, they'd be these.
1. Get your hands dirty
Yes, good old-fashioned elbow grease. Experiment with layouts, obsess over spacing, recreate interfaces you admire, and try things that don't work. Make ugly designs. Lots of them.
Developing a good eye and strong design intuition takes practice. Making hundreds of small decisions, seeing the results, and gradually understanding what makes a design work is how you get there.
Don't be too quick to skip that process. It's where much of the learning happens. And frankly, it's also one of the most enjoyable parts of being a designer.
2. Use AI to grow your skills, not just your output
Most AI tools are designed to help you get things done faster, not necessarily to make you better at what you do. And there's a risk in confusing the two. Producing better-looking designs with AI doesn't automatically make you a better designer.
Instead of asking AI to create an interface for you, try using it as a personal tutor. Upload your designs and ask for honest critiques. Ask why a particular layout works better than another, explore different approaches, and challenge its suggestions. Don't blindly accept its feedback either. Learning to recognise when AI is wrong is a valuable skill in itself.
Before delegating a task to AI, ask yourself whether doing it yourself might teach you something. Sometimes the slower route is the more valuable one.
3. Learn to identify the right problems
Before you start designing an interface, you need to understand which problem you're trying to solve and whether it's worth solving in the first place.
AI is making it increasingly easy to generate solutions. But generating solutions is only useful when you understand the problem. Spend time talking to users, asking questions, observing behaviour, and challenging assumptions. Learn to distinguish between what people say they need and what they actually struggle with.
With solutions increasingly just a prompt away, I'd encourage junior designers to spend more time understanding the people they're designing for. That understanding will help them decide what to build in the first place.
Don't forget to enjoy the process
I sometimes wonder what my early years as a designer would have looked like if I'd had access to today's AI tools. Would I have spent as much time experimenting in Photoshop? Would I have learned to recognise a good layout, or simply learned how to prompt for one?
I can't say for sure. But looking back, I'm glad I spent all those hours making things that, quite frankly, weren't very good. I remember how satisfying it was to finally get a layout right after trying a dozen different approaches. Or how much fun I had creating something just because I could, without worrying whether it was useful or productive.
Those experiences taught me a lot about design, but they also made me fall in love with the craft. And I hope the next generation of designers gets to experience that same joy of figuring things out for themselves.
