Generating a convincing interface has become easier than ever. Building a useful product that behaves reliably, makes sensible decisions and remains understandable to the people using it is still a different challenge.
Over more than 20 years in design, UX and digital development, I’ve learned to look beyond the screen itself. The audience, the content, the customer journey and the underlying system all shape the experience. AI-assisted development has made it possible to put that thinking to work across a much wider part of the process.
At Pixelhatch, an early experiment building a WordPress plugin developed into Telleo, a live AI visibility platform. Moving from the first idea to designing, developing, deploying and maintaining the product introduced a different set of challenges: evidence quality, uncertainty, human review, testing and the technical infrastructure supporting it.
I’m now exploring some of those ideas in Vareo, a creative production system built around a familiar design problem: adapting campaign artwork across formats while protecting typography, composition and brand intent. It’s a reminder that generating an output and making informed design decisions are not the same thing.
These tools can extend what experienced creative people are able to build, but they don’t replace the fundamentals. Understanding visual hierarchy, communication, UX and the consequences of technical choices makes it easier to question the result and improve it.
I’ve written a longer personal essay about that journey, the mistakes along the way and what it might mean for future designers: AI Slop Isn’t the Whole Story — read the full article on Medium.
— Reuben Lenoir, founder of Pixelhatch