WHY AI IS EXPOSING DESIGN'S CRAFT CRISIS

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

AI design tools exposed a technical literacy crisis that has been eroding designers' strategic influence since the early 2010s, when the industry collectively decided that designers don't need technical knowledge. When tools like Figma AI and Figma Sites launched with serious flaws, many designers couldn't evaluate whether outputs were functional or broken. Designers who maintain strategic relevance understand technical systems deeply enough to participate in product decisions, evaluate AI-generated work, and advocate for users in technical conversations.