Life After UI

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Babich — Product Designer and one of the most widely read design writers on Medium — to break down one of the most talked-about tools right now: Claude Design.We explore what Claude Design actually is, how it compares to Claude Code, and where it fits in a real design workflow. Nick shares his perspective on when it’s useful, when it’s not — and why token limits might be the biggest blocker for adoption.We also dive into his framework of AI fluency for designers, what separates beginners from advanced users, and why many designers are still stuck using AI at a very surface level.Beyond tools, we talk about the bigger shift happening in design — from traditional workflows to faster, more experimental, AI-driven ways of building. Including when it makes sense to move from design to code, and how designers should approach learning new tools today.🔗Nick Babich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nbabich/🔗 Nick Babich on Medium: https://medium.com/@101

In this episode, we sit down with Patricia Yu, Senior Product Designer at Adobe, who's thinking about design systems in a way most designers haven't considered yet — one that includes conversational guidelines for AI interactions, not just visual tokens and components.Patricia walks us through the triple diamond design process she uses at Adobe, how enterprise design systems are evolving from Figma-based component libraries toward something closer to vibe coding systems, and what it looks like when a large company starts encoding brand voice and conversation rules into the tools their teams use daily. We also get into her honest take on Claude Code vs Cursor — why she's making the switch, what she still appreciates about Cursor, and how she's been experimenting with the Figma MCP + Claude workflow on personal projects despite enterprise privacy restrictions.We close on a topic that doesn't get discussed enough: the pace difference between startups and enterprise when it comes to AI adoption. Patricia makes the case that large orgs are closer than you think — they're just watching, learning, and moving deliberately.🔗 Patricia Yu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciayu00/🔗 Adobe: https://www.adobe.com

In this episode, we sit down with Mahta Moattari, Senior Product Designer with experience at Shopify, who still starts every design project with pen and paper — even in the age of AI.Mahta walks us through what it's like going from Shopify's structured design team to a fast-moving startup, and how her process has evolved along the way. We explore how she uses AI tools like Cursor and Claude not for ideation or design thinking, but for communication — articulating ideas, summarizing thoughts, and bridging the gap between messy thinking and clear output. She shares why vibe coding works only after you have something solid in Figma, how design systems make AI-assisted workflows actually viable, and why she believes AI won't make designers 10 times faster.We also get into the creative side — the connection between music and design, lateral thinking, learning by doing, and why the best ideas still come from a pen, a piece of paper, and a quiet room.🔗 Mahta Moattari on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahtamoattari/🔗 Shopify: https://www.shopify.com

In this episode, we sit down with Javan Wang, Senior Product Designer at Shopify, who's flipped the traditional design workflow on its head - Figma is now his last step, not his first.Javan walks us through how he uses Claude, Cursor, and v0 to handle ideation, problem synthesis, and prototyping before ever touching Figma. We explore how Shopify's design system becomes the bridge between AI-generated prototypes and production code, why canvas-based tools like v0 feel different from chat-based tools like Cursor, and the specific moments where Figma still can't be replaced - custom icons, gaming assets with gradients and texture, and pixel-level detail work.🔗 Javan Wang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javan-wang/🔗 Shopify: https://www.shopify.com

How is AI actually changing the daily workflow of product designers in 2025? In this episode, Christina Yang - Senior Product Designer at Descript - shares how her team is shipping AI-powered features, why Figma is being pushed to the fringes of the design process, and what it means when designers start submitting pull requests.We dive deep into the real tools and workflows Christina uses daily - from Claude and Cursor for ideation and prototyping, to handling Git and pull requests as a designer. We also discuss the shift from T-shaped to comb-shaped skill profiles, systems thinking vs. design thinking, and how small teams at companies like Descript are outpacing larger orgs.Whether you're a product designer navigating AI tools, a design leader rethinking team structure, or just curious about where the design profession is heading - this conversation is packed with practical insights.Check Christina's LinkedIn profile 👉 HERE