This document outlines 10 principles for design in the age of artificial intelligence. It discusses how design should solve important human problems, be context specific rather than relying on historical cliches, and enhance human abilities without replacing humans. Other principles discussed include designing for everyday use by everyone, discreet design that doesn't distract from meaningful experiences, designing platforms that grow over time, building long-term relationships without emotional dependency, leveraging machine learning to predict behavior, accelerating innovation, and removing complexity from life. The overall message is that good design with AI should focus on solving problems and augmenting humans rather than replacing them.
10. We’re on the cusp of a new era of design. Beyond the two-dimensional focus on graphics
and the three-dimensional focus on products, we’re now in an era where designers are in-
creasingly focusing on time and space, guided by technological advances in artificial in-
telligence, robotics, and smart environments.
While great thinkers like Dieter Rams and George Nelson offered their own design princi-
ples in past eras, industrial designer Yves Béhar points out that there are no comparable
manifestos or guidelines for designers working with AI, robotics, and connected technology
today.
12. 1. DESIGN SOLVES AN IMPORTANT HUMAN PROBLEM
What problem are you trying to solve with AI? Considering the multitude of “smart” prod-
ucts that are actually quite stupid, it’s a question worth asking.
“What is our intent in the world? For a company, for a product, for a service, I think it’s an im-
portant question to ask ourselves.”
13. 2. DESIGN IS CONTEXT SPECIFIC (IT DOESN’T FOLLOW HISTORI-
CAL CLICHES).
The trend of anthropomorphizing robots is nothing more than a historical cliche and should
be avoided. “Why do we need to anthropomorphize these kinds of machines?”
Moving beyond these well-worn cultural cliches, to instead put context first, will be impor-
tant for designers working on truly “smart” objects.
14. 3. DESIGN ENHANCES HUMAN ABILITY (WITHOUT REPLACING
THE HUMAN).
Robots are coming for our jobs—right?
Well, not if they’re designed to enhance our human abilities. This principle encourages de-
signers to think about how products can thoughtfully augment people rather than replace
them. “Can we design different services to complement humans and their lives instead of
replicate them?”
15. 4. GOOD DESIGN WORKS FOR EVERYONE, EVERYDAY.
Design tech that isn’t just pleasing to one user, but is present and useful for everyone in a
home. “Which means that technology can’t be something that’s hard to install, something
that is hard to live with,”
16. 5. GOOD TECH AND DESIGN IS DISCREET.
It should make your life easier, but it shouldn’t get in the way.
Ultimately, great design means discreet design that doesn’t distract from more meaningful
experiences: “You have to decide which [products] allow you to focus on other things that
are maybe more important, or which ones take you away from interacting with the environ-
ment in a way that’s enriching.”
17. 6. GOOD DESIGN IS A PLATFORM THAT GROWS WITH NEEDS AND
OPPORTUNITIES.
When you’re designing with AI, you’re designing a system that learns and grows, with func-
tionality that may change over time thanks to software updates.
Products are no longer immutable—they should be designed to allow room for develop-
ment and change.
18. 7. GOOD DESIGN BRINGS ABOUT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT
BUILD LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS (BUT DON’T CREATE EMOTIONAL
DEPENDENCY).
A product should create loyalty by improving over time, sowing the seeds for a lifelong re-
lationship with a user.
19. 8. GOOD TECHNOLOGY DESIGN LEARNS AND PREDICTS HUMAN BE-
HAVIOR.
As machine learning and AI slowly infiltrate our tech, products not only have the ability to
learn—they can also predict human behavior in a way that better serves the user.
20. 9. GOOD DESIGN ACCELERATES NEW IDEAS.
True innovation can be pushed forward faster in the hands of a great designer.
21. 10. GOOD DESIGN REMOVES COMPLEXITY FROM LIFE.
There are plenty of menial everyday tasks at which people are still much more adept than
robots. But there are also tasks that computers are simply much better at, and these are
the areas that designers should be focusing on. The question designers must ask: What is
a mundane experience, and what is a meaningful one, and what role should AI play in ei-
ther?
Make the world a little less dystopian and more utopian
