More than just pictures
Bridging the gap between visual design and interactivity in the digital age
"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." – Jobs
This Steve Jobs quote has been repeated so often it's almost become a cliché in the design world. Yet, in the context of modern digital product design, it's more relevant than ever.
There's a crucial part of the design process that defines how a product works, but most of us can't access it because it requires coding skills. Some designers can code, sure, but most of us aren't eager to dive that deep into another profession. Even if it would give us more control over the user experience, it's a tall order. This gap between design vision and coding reality limits how much we can shape the interactive parts of our products.
We're at the cusp of something exciting in the design world. New interaction patterns are emerging, especially around AI. Nielsen's even calling it the first new UI paradigm in 60 years. Meanwhile, companies like Linear are putting craft front and center as a differentiator. It's exactly what we were after at the AI startup I worked at a couple years ago.
We were grappling with UI for custom AI models. Testing was a major pain point because we were dealing with novel interaction patterns. Our options were limited: either simulate with minimal interactivity or request dev time. Both were slow and expensive, creating a real bottleneck in our process.
Companies are starting to recognize this gap. Duolingo and Linear, for instance, are actively seeking out 'design technologists, design engineers'. The catch? These unicorns are rare and take considerable time to train.
This situation highlights a growing challenge in our field. As digital products become more complex and interactive, the line between design and development is blurring. We're asking designers to think more like developers, and developers to think more like designers. But is this the right approach?
Perhaps what we need is a shift in how we think about design tools and processes. Instead of expecting designers to become coders, or vice versa, we should be looking for ways to bridge this gap. We need tools that allow designers to create complex interactions without necessarily writing code.
The future of design likely lies in creating more intuitive ways to handle logic and interactivity. Imagine a visual editor where designers could construct logic by assembling and adjusting blocks, similar to how we create visual designs now. This could eliminate the need for traditional coding skills while still allowing for complex interactions.
Digital design, whether UX/UI or product design, has two core components: visual and interactive. While we've made significant strides in the visual aspect, we're only now beginning to fully appreciate the importance of scalable interactive design.
As we move forward, we need to rethink what it means to be a designer in the AI age. It's not about becoming developers, but about having the right tools to bring our interactive visions to life. This is where tools like Moio come in, aiming to bridge this gap and empower designers to create complex, interactive experiences without extensive coding knowledge.
By focusing on such solutions, we can push the boundaries of design and create more engaging, intuitive digital products for everyone. It's time to make "design is how it works" a reality for all designers, not just the coding unicorns.
