Human-to-human approach in design (and not only in that)
In the age of AI boom that is turning our lives upside down, it is more important than ever to preserve what humans can do better than every other species on this planet: being creative and use that creativity to improve other humans’ lives, not just for pure profit.
There are so many conversations out there about AI, how it’s affecting the design industry and our day-to-day lives. Some say we are all doomed, others defend this new technology as if its essential to move forward and survive. People in between? I’ve seen some neutrality, however it’s most likely that they are not educated enough on the subject or they are not that interested.
One thing is sure, though: whenever greed and profit for the already wealthy become more important than anything else… creativity dies and the majority of us are left with an empty bucket.
This rapid change was somewhat predicted by the fathers of internet & AI, and yet nobody did a thing to stop it - or at least dilute it in time - so we could adjust to it more adequately without wanting to jump off a cliff and just call it a day. There are plenty of depressing and anxiety-inducing posts on LinkedIn about how we should all embrace five hundred new AI tools and master the acrobatics between at least ten of them to… do what, exactly? In the words of every Italian on this planet: Boh?
Look, I get that many people need to automate some tedious tasks but my main issue here is when AI comes for designers and artists. We too have sometimes annoying tasks to do - here my opera glasses are pointing specifically at designers - and that’s fine, however AI can’t replace your creative and design thinking, or use real human emotions to create something of value. I can already hear tech bros screeching from the back that one day AI will be able to do that. Yeah, fine, I hope I will be dead by then.
I know I’m going against the current here, but I still value human craft, time, and the fact that whatever we do, we shall do it with passion and a human-centric approach. Have you noticed how rushed projects and products have been delivering sloppy output lately? Or how many useless products are being shoved into our Instagram feeds with the promise of changing our lives? I see that all the time - and, to be honest, it’s been like that since capitalism took over our society, however it’s even more amplified right now. Just for the sake of posting something, launching a new gimmicky product, we’ve ended up with four major problems:
overconsumption;
devaluing of the time necessary to create a solid product (no matter if it’s innovative makeup or a SaaS dashboard) or project;
abandonment of the actual design as a human-centric craft;
gradual and rapid deterioration of our skill sets.
And this is where I draw the line. We’ve been beaten down by the capitalistic bullshit for what it feels like an eternity. Do it all, do it now, do it for the profit of the rich (or your own if you follow a laundered LinkedIn post on how to become a billionaire in these simple 25 steps and a $6k online course, yikes). Somewhere in between, many people lost their creativity and/or are physically unable to bring actual art, design, and innovation to the table because they juggle multiple jobs and are simply exhausted. On top of that, we now have AI and delusional CEOs. All of this feels like a burden to creativity, doesn’t it?
For a very long time I wondered what’s the purpose of my existence as a creative person. Many times I got discouraged when I saw continuous and blatant art theft, rivers of disrespect, and “special treatment” at workplaces - as if creative workers had just come out of a kindergarten and went batshit crazy about color palettes and brand guidelines. Oh boy, the laughs and looks I’ve received in the past!
There were many times when I just wanted to quit for good and never come back. Hiatuses happened here and there, but guess what? I kept coming back. There is something in me that doesn’t want me to fully pivot out.
Creativity as an Act of Service
One thing I can agree with Ryan Holiday on is that in our lives we may experience multiple epiphanies, not just one. My first epiphany of 2026 was exactly about the purpose of my work and why I can’t just get the fuck out and, I don’t know, start farming instead. The answer is simple: I must preserve creativity and help other people to do the same.
You think AI is understanding you, but in reality it’s unable to feel emotions and to truly empathize with you. Only other humans can do that - and some animals can do that too. Everything that revolves around creativity, art, design, writing, useful innovation, composing, and so on, is deeply rooted in our souls. Not Excel spreadsheets, not a plethora of tools, not endless computational force. It’s in our souls and our little human brains.
We invented tools to help us execute our ideas and improve our lives, sure. From a scythe to digital softwares, you name it. The origin of the final output, though, comes from our thinking, not a tool. A machine can’t truly get what you need, and it will never have the emotional consciousness that is so important in solving human problems. This is why I strongly believe in a Human-to-Human approach in design and also in our day-to-day life.
Creativity, for me, is an act of service. In the grand scheme of things, everything we design and create serve a purpose in our lives. A purpose often derives from another human’s needs. Sometimes we make pretty things thinking they serve no purpose, and yet… they might still be an amusing object to put on a shelf that simply creates joy. And that’s still a purpose!
The Art of Understanding
When it comes to more functional projects such as innovative gear for disabled people, smooth websites and online platforms, or even improved packaging, it all comes down to human needs. It is very important that whoever is making something for another person actually understands their problem, in order to avoid reworks, frustration, or what I call a shitty bliss. And understanding, real understanding, doesn’t come from typing a prompt into a chat window.
The art of understanding not only comes from empathy, but it has a strong base in strategic and critical thinking. Nobody in born knowing how to do it, but everybody can master it. And no, you don’t want to use AI for that. For me, this is a crucial step and it’s based on a willingness to study, observe, analyze, listen, put yourself in other people’s shoes, read, compare, ponder, and talk to people. It’s a long process, sure, but it’s necessary to preserve that grey matter in your skull and whatever positive thing it’s capable of doing. And the brain… well, if you don’t know it yet, it has to be constantly trained and stimulated. Use it or lose it, as they say.
AI can scratch just the surface of our client’s problems, but the solution requires multiple questions, nuances, detail interpretation, planning, trying, failing, and finally delivering. Without empathy and human soul, it’s just data collection and pattern recognition of something that already exists in AI’s database.
And you know what? I don’t want to throw my client’s problems into a fucking cloud database and hope for the best - which, by the way, never comes because it gives a very similar if not identical output as it did to somebody else’s prompt. My mission is to work on projects with my own brain, so I can deliver the expected results and quality. But more that that, it’s also a call to every creative out there who feels the same weight: don’t let the noise flatten you. The world doesn’t need more AI slop. It needs your specific, weird and unrepeatable perspective. And if protecting it makes me slow, old-fashioned or inconvenient for the current market… so be it. I’d rather be all of those things and produce something that actually means something and is useful to other people, than be fast and utterly forgettable.
This entry has been written without any AI aid
