The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude)

Traditional Design Process is Dead00:00

This design process that designers have been taught, treated as gospel, is basically dead. Designers no longer have time to make beautiful mocks. A big part of the design role now is helping engineers and teams execute, not just handing over designs. Few years ago, 60-70% of design work was mocking and prototyping; now it's 30-40%. Better off not blocking engineers, letting them cook. Engineers are also struggling to keep up with themselves and their agents—there are seven agents constantly running. Engineering changes force design to change. Visions used to be 2-5-10 years out with beautiful decks; now 3-6 months out, often just prototypes pointing in the right direction. Boris on the podcast said Claude Code helps him come up with ideas. Designers might be holding onto taste, judgment, and design too much. Human brains remain valuable for deciding what gets built and what matters—someone needs to be accountable.

Jenny Wen Background and Hiring Archetypes01:00

Jenny Wen was head of design for Claude, now leading design for Claude Co-work. Previously director of design at Figma (led FigJam and Slides), designer at Dropbox, Square, Shopify. Conversation gives glimpse into future of design profession.

How Design Process is Changing with AI04:32

Engineering has changed more than design so far, forcing design to adapt. Talk in Berlin September called "Don't Trust the Design Process": traditional process (research, discovery, diverge, converge) treated as gospel is dead, dying even before AI, accelerated by engineers spinning up seven clones. Now two types of design work: