It’s never been a better time to be a designer.
I know, it's controversial. But I mean it.
I remember my childhood computer, a Commodore 64. It wasn't just mine though, it was for everyone in the family to use. Back then, computers were a pretty huge investment and laptops weren't really a thing, so our trusty Commodore 64 was stationed in a room we called "the computer room," wedged between the den and the bathroom of my childhood home. Shared between me, my 2 siblings, and my dad (fortunately my mom had no interest).
Time in front of that black and green glow was precious. My brother wanted to play football games on it, my sister wanted to assert her right to time on it whether she actually wanted it or not, and my dad just thought it was neat.
But not me. I had purpose.
I was busy making things of the dot-matrix print variety. The Print Shop, baby. Cards, signs, banners. The world of possibilities felt endless on a black and white dot-matrix printer. I designed and printed so much that I ran out of occasions to print for (there were only so many birthdays in a family of 5). And even still, it was exhilarating.
I feel the same way about AI right now, especially building digital products. With a solid prompt and the right context, the possibilities feel just as endless: meal planning for my black sesame addiction, a website built from a 20-page Google Doc, a therapy agent for designers, and my personal favorite, a pet-matching app designed like a dating app (this one might actually go to production). The only limit is credits. Still worth it.
So I genuinely don't understand when people say it's a terrible time to be a designer.
Yes, the full-time market is rough. That part is real. But for contractors, for idea generators, for people who want to push themselves and try new things, it's wide open. The kid who ran out of birthdays to print for and kept printing anyway? That designer knows exactly what to do with this moment.
