Design Life 320: The struggle with staying up-to-date with new design tools
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Oct 13, 2025 Femke and Charli dive into the challenges of keeping up with AI tools in design. They stress the importance of developing horizontal skills rather than just focusing on specific tools. The duo shares insights on integrating AI into workflows and discusses its financial and environmental impacts. They also explore ways to manage the overwhelming pace of tech advancements while encouraging hands-on learning. Discover why it's crucial to carve out regular time for skill development in this ever-evolving landscape.
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Discovering Practical AI Workflows
- Charli described working with an agency (Casper) that built an AI workflow to auto-generate hiring graphics for her team.
- She learned about Creatomate and realized many useful tools exist that she hadn't noticed before.
Hands-On Trainings Reveal Hidden Value
- Femke shared a Replit training at Gusto where they demoed using Replit in design workflows and a custom GPT for creating landing page content.
- She found hands-on demos revealed clear, immediate value she hadn't anticipated from the tools.
Invest In Horizontal Design Skills
- Femke prefers investing time in core, horizontal design skills over becoming tool specialists because tools change fast.
- She values skills like storytelling, stakeholder buy-in, and principled design for long-term career impact.