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Nov 14, 2025 
Carl Rivera, Chief Design Officer at Shopify and former CEO of Tictail, explores the future of product design in an AI-driven world. He discusses whether design phases will become obsolete with AI's rise, sharing insights on the five pillars of great product design. Rivera highlights the balance between shipping fast and crafting quality experiences, and he reflects on how incumbents may leverage data advantages in the evolving landscape. Tune in for his take on how AI impacts creativity and the overall design process!
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Launch By Theater
- Carl Rivera launched Tictail live on stage by timing the website countdown to his talk at a major e‑commerce conference.
- He demoed signup and onboarding in front of the audience to release the product instantly.
Quality Trumps Bare Minimum MVPs
- Shipping fast is valuable but over‑MVPing often yields hollow learning and mediocre products.
- Deeply considered end‑to‑end journeys remain a powerful competitive advantage.
One Company, Many Rhythms
- At scale Shopify contains many companies that require different operating rhythms and product approaches.
- Teams must choose between rapid iterative work and long, deliberate builds depending on risk and impact.