Is Product Design Finished?

I’ve spent the last few days looking at designs created with Gemini 3.0, and it’s made me wonder what this means for those of us in product design: polished layouts, well-chosen typography, and components that are increasingly indistinguishable from the work of a senior designer.

For a long time, there was a very clear line: if you didn't know anything about UX/UI, it showed. Without visual judgment, everything ended up feeling like a rough prototype. But now, it feels like AI is starting to lower that barrier. If you know which references to send, if you define the style well, and if you refine the prompt, it gives you back something more than just "adequate"—it gives you something that could pass for a real design.

Does the role of the product designer no longer make sense? To me, it’s exactly the opposite.

If AI raises the average standard, what sets you apart is no longer your ability to move rectangles around in Figma. What differentiates you is understanding exactly what problem you are solving and the experience the user has with that solution.

Furthermore, the better your judgment, the better the results. AI is a powerful amplifier: if you have taste, it gives you something great; if you don't, it gives you exactly that... but faster.

For those of us in love with technological progress, I believe we are living through one of the best moments in history, and being a product designer makes more sense than ever. But not if you want to lock yourself away in Figma. It makes sense because you can direct these tools instead of being dependent on them. To have judgment. To know when something works and when it doesn't.