Designs vs PMs vs Engineers: Survival of the least automatable

"Will AI take my job?" is the new "Do you have a minute to talk?"
Naturally, this sparks some very rational, completely unbiased discussions in the team :)

Exhibit A:

PM: "I’m using tools like Lovable and Bolt to whip up fully functional prototypes. Sooo... you designers are kinda screwed, right?"

Engineer: "Cute. Maybe improve prompting to get your specs right first? And before you come for me—AI writing actual production code? Yeah, let me know when that’s not a hallucination."

Me: "Fantastic, Mr. PM! You’re finally not dependent on us designers for at least a simple single-screen UI. That means we can focus on solving real problems—like workflows across dozens of screens with hundreds of states that don’t feel like a robot made them.
And Mr. Engineer, let’s just say the jury is still out on whether AI will replace designers with taste, empathy, and craft… or engineers stacking generic UI components like a Jenga tower."

So who’s actually winning here? AI. We’re just arguing over who gets replaced last.
Now excuse me while I update my LinkedIn skills to include ‘Collaborates Masterfully Well with AI :)’”

Where are our supercars!

I just watched Lotus reveal a vision car that physically transforms while driving (crazy right), less than 24 hours after a heated debate with my design team about using consistent button shapes and colors. What's wrong with us?

It's not that we lack creativity. We just limit our imagination to two-week sprints, quarterly roadmaps, and endless stakeholder meetings.

The auto industry's secret? They never stopped creating concept cars – those wildly impractical, impossibly futuristic vehicles that rarely see mass production.

Are these exercises in futility? Quite the opposite. They're strategic north stars that shape entire industry roadmaps. They stretch our imagination of what's possible, inject bold ideas into conservative roadmaps, and most importantly, spark crucial debates about where we should be heading.

We digital product designers have this same superpower, yet we rarely unleash it. Our job isn't just to solve today's UX problems. It's to envision tomorrow's possibilities before anyone else can see them.

Here's what I wish to do at Zenoti Design in 2025:
- Carve out dedicated "concept design" time – completely detached from current roadmaps
- Push beyond incremental improvements to imagine transformative possibilities
- Use these visions to inspire engineers, product managers, executives and our customers!

Remember, our concept might be the spark that fires the entire product roadmap. The auto industry has known this for decades. Time for us to reclaim our power to dream bigger.

What's your "concept car" this year?

Even Harry Potter has haters! :(

While exploring gifting ideas for my son’s friend, we stumbled upon the Harry Potter collection and it was fascinating to see thousands of negative reviews alongside the countless praises. 

This stark reality serves as a powerful reminder that no matter how iconic your work is, you will never satisfy everyone.

I see this phenomenon play out in our work all the time. In our quest to create exceptional experiences, we often fall into the trap of trying to appease every opinion.

Great design is about making choices that serve your audience best—not chasing after every voice. So let’s stop spreading ourselves thin, folks!

Before You Do 90 Hours, Try Doing 9

Before leaders jump to 90 hour weeks, maybe they should ask their teams to pack-in more work during the stipulated 40?

A typical "hardcore" workday in the life of a knowledge worker:
• 10:30 AM: Get in a bit late because … well….rush hour
• 11:00 AM: Daily standup (after breakfast, of course!)
• 11:30 AM: Pre-lunch scrum meeting
• 1:00 PM: Lunch break
• 1:30 PM: Post-Lunch Soota+chai break
• 2:00 PM: Post-lunch status update
• 4:00 PM: Evening snack break
• 5:00 PM: End-of-day alignment meeting

P.S. Would love to do 90 hours but my calendar is fully booked with meetings about productivity :)

The best seat in the house isn’t always at the table!

After years of being the loudest ‘Seat at the table' evangelist (And pitching it as the Holy Grail of design careers), I have a confession to make...

I'm actually loving NOT being at the executive table these days (and not having to perfect my 'I'm totally following this financial forecast' face 🤫🤫). 

Turns out, not being summoned to countless Business Reviews has got me to discover the joy of actually ... building!

Going deep into our craft. 

Discovering new tools and tactics.

Mentoring the team. 

Solving real user problems.

Don't get me wrong – design absolutely needs strategic influence in organizations. But maybe, just maybe, influence can come from doing exceptional work rather than sitting through 47 status updates about things that won't change your life.

So ... here’s to enjoying the strategic absence from certain tables, because (often) the best view isn't from the table, it's from the design studio where actual work happens 👍 ❤️👍

A leadership lesson in transforming a pitty party to a possibility!

"It's so frustrating... feels like pulling teeth to get people to align on a direction” a teammate vented during our 1:1.

I found myself nodding along, that familiar cynicism creeping in. It's easy to get pulled into that spiral of negativity, isn't it?

But then I thought about the leaders who've had the most impact on my career. The ones who truly stood out weren't the ones who joined my pity party. 

They listened intently to my frustrations, acknowledged them, and then guided me to see beyond the immediate storm. They had this remarkable quality - an unwavering optimism that wasn't naive, but rather grounded in experience and wisdom. When I'd vent about a process being broken, they'd ask, "What opportunity do you see here?" When I'd complain about constraints, they'd challenge me with, "How might this push us to be more creative?"

Over the years, I've come to realize that this ability - to transform frustration into focus, problems into possibilities - isn't just a leadership trait. It's THE leadership trait.

As we enter another review cycle full of 1-1s, I'm reminded that sometimes the most valuable thing we can offer our teams isn't agreement with their frustrations, but the gift of perspective. 

To show them that beyond every challenge lies an opportunity for growth, learning, and positive change :)

How a weekend ritual transformed my year on LinkedIn

As 2024 comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on how a casual weekend ritual grew into a meaningful journey—my weekly LinkedIn musings

• My reach and engagement grew 30x compared to last year - a reminder that consistency, even in small doses, can have compounded (and unexpected) effect!

• I’ve connected with hundreds of colleagues across departments and offices who I'd rarely interact with otherwise. The posts gave peers a little window into my thinking (which is impossible to manage within traditional org structure) and often become conversation starters :)

• Finally, this has also sparked meaningful connections in the design and product community, leading to everything from podcast invitations, networking opportunities, and talent reaching out!

But perhaps the most valuable outcome? Sharpening my writing skills. As product and design professionals, we often underestimate the power of clear, compelling writing in shaping ideas, building advocacy and influencing decisions.

Here's to more sharing, learning, and growing together in 2025!

What it takes to be a design legend

What makes a design legend? Re-reading Jony Ive's biography after many years revealed that even a design virtuoso of his caliber needed Steve Jobs as his champion to truly reshape Apple’s future and our world.

Jobs didn't just appreciate Ive's talent; he put design at the heart of every decision, transforming Apple's entire DNA in the process.

This dynamic between Jobs and Ive remains rare in today's tech landscape. While every growing company rushes to hire CTOs and CPOs as soon as they reach maturity, CDOs in the C-suite remain conspicuously absent.

To my fellow designers eyeing the C-suite: Technical excellence alone isn't enough. The path to executive leadership isn't just about mastering your craft - it's about positioning design as a strategic driver of business success. It means adopting the strategic mindset of product management while staying true to our design roots. And yes, we can do this without drowning in administrative overhead, endless meetings, and lengthy PRDs that often bog down PMs.

The next generation of transformative products won't just need visionary designers - they'll need design leaders who can shape company strategy, rally executive support, and champion the power of design to transform businesses. 

Just as Jobs amplified Ive's impact, we need to be our own advocates, find champions who believe in design's transformative power and and create the future we know is possible! 

From Good to Great: The PM playbook!

After years in the trenches with so many PMs, I’ve learned one thing: 

Great product management is NOT for the faint of hearts! 😅 

Here’s my humble take on the 3 factors that separate good from great.

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Good PMs approach their role with the lens of project management, diligently filling trackers, shipping features, and closing tickets. 

Great PMs fundamentally focus on their core mission: knowing the problems deeply, driving distinctive customer value, and creating measurable business impact.

Good PMs mostly write in tech jargon and present PowerPoint decks that never fail to induce corporate coma 😅 

Great PMs are communication ninjas - they articulate a vision with laser-sharp clarity and can sell a strategy in the time it takes others to load their PowerPoint!

Good PMs can be a bit insecure, seek personal validation, and demand rigid protocols like medieval gatekeepers. 

Great PMs are collaborative champions who are secure enough to let design, engineering, and other disciplines shine!

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.

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Great product management isn't really a job. 

It's a calling 🙌 

Wanted: Designer who moves needles, not just pixels

We're not just hiring a designer to add to our team. 

We're looking for a design powerhouse with a proven track record (aka you've seen some design sh*t) and a portfolio that makes other designers weep with jealousy!

We Offer:

• Chance to (actually) move the needle in our industry

• Complex product challenges that push your skills

• Culture that celebrates creativity over meetings, management and everything else

Intrigued? Let’s talk!

PS > We’re much bigger and diverse than the picture reveals :)

Imposter syndrome isn’t a wall—It’s just a line in chalk

So, I got this ants video on my YouTube feed, and my imposter syndrome started to make total sense - – just like these bugs can't cross a simple pen line, I've forever been blocking my own path with imaginary barriers.

Over the years, I’ve told myself:

• (There's no way) I can break into the American creative industry 

• (There's no way) I can win industry-leading brands from Silicon Valley to Tokyo

• (There's no way)  I can bag prestigious international awards

• (There's no way)  I can make the move from advertising to consulting to product

• (There's no way)  I can upgrade from scrappy startups to enterprise software

Each of these statements was a line I drew for myself, a boundary I believed was uncrossable. 

UNTIL I CROSSED!

BUT, the remarkable thing about overcoming imposter syndrome isn't that it disappears completely. 

It doesn't. 

Those doubts still whisper, still question my capabilities.

But now, I've learned to recognize them for what they are – just lines drawn in chalk, waiting to be stepped over. 

So while I continue to doubt myself for sooo much that I have not yet accomplished, I've gained confidence: If I could overcome these barriers before, I can continue to leap forward.

To anyone feeling trapped by their own invisible lines – look closely. They're not walls. They're just lines waiting to be crossed.

Digital India: From playing catch-up to leading the way!

Just got back from two weeks in the USA, and quite unlike the countless trips in last 20 years, I didn’t come back bickering about ALL the things India lacks.

Yes, usually every return sparks a rant—about traffic, pollution, hygiene, roads, and (as a designer) even the lack of enough digital design talent and innovation in our country. 

In fact the gap used to be so wide, I’ve ended up building teams across Latin America (Brazil and Argentina) and Eastern Europe (Romania and Ukraine) with resounding success (yet a feeling of sadness).

But fast forward to 2024, and things have changed. And how!

While the physical infrastructure still has a way to go, India’s digital infrastructure? A whole different story. From ordering food to booking tickets, from making payments to buying mutual funds, we’ve not only closed the gap—we’ve leapfrogged ahead. The experience, the innovation, the speed—it’s a world-class experience compared to what the US dishes out right now! Today, as I design world class experience for a globally leading SaaS company,I wouldn’t even consider building the design team anywhere else.

While I was enjoying the streets of New York and Las Vegas, I was also feeling proud of how far we’ve come when it comes to digital revolution. Proud of what we’re building and the future ahead.

Building better design teams: What worked (and what didn't)

Growing Zenoti's design team 4x in 3 years was quite a journey!

But scaling is never just about adding numbers—it’s about building capability, raising the bar, and ensuring design is a driving force.

While there’s much to celebrate, there are always lessons along the way. Here’s a quick retrospective:

🎉 What Worked Well:

Show, Not Tell:

Instead of giving gyaan on how design should be done, we rolled up our sleeves and brought ideas ( Not PDs :) ) to life — fully baked, hi-fidelity, stunning executions packaged with compelling narratives! Nothing built credibility faster than a killer example.

Specialists Over Generalists:

Once we had budget (and leadership backing) to scale, I brought in specialists — experts in research, interaction, visuals, and motion. Pairing them into nimble 2–4 person teams around key projects unleashed magic!

Lead, Not Manage:

Forget (micro) managing people—my focus is on lifting the work with active participation or individual contribution. With experience has come the ability to switch contexts very fast and keep the quality bar sky-high across many projects simultaneously.

🧠 What Could’ve Gone Better:

Direct Customer Relationships:

We left customer relationships solely to product folks, mostly. It’s a miss. Designers need firsthand insights to build empathy and ground their work.

Deep Product Context:

We didn’t dive as deeply as we should into understanding the product's nuances and business impact, across everything we do. A better grasp = stronger design decisions.

Advocacy is a Must:

Assuming everyone “gets” design was naive. Investing in optics—internally and externally—isn’t optional and something we should do more of. Advocacy ensures design gets the spotlight (and respect) it deserves

This journey has been a whirlwind of wins, misses, and growth! Onwards and upwards from here 👍

Breaking down the false dichotomy between PMs and designers

Noah Levin’s ‘Design vs PM’ graphic is one of the more nuanced take on PM and UX relationship I have come across and dispels any notional BS about this tug-of-war between product priorities and design vision.

However, the PM ↔ Designer relationship has become lopsided in many organisations. For instance, designers are often not clear about what they want to be involved in and end up waiting for opportunities to be handed to them instead of doing their discovery and creating those opportunities.

Similarly, the PMs do not participate actively in design critique to influence the experience and challenge assumptions in a way that sharpens the final output, beyond the tactical features and functional roadmap. 

The truth is our roles overlap far more than they are distinct and we can be in each other’s lanes without arguing over ‘feasibility or delight’. 

That’s where the best work is likely to happen.

The missing (designer’s) seat at the table

Design is technically not a “peer” in the product triad, when it’s positioned under product or engineering functions.  (With some notable exceptions, of course) 

This can be attributed to both historical structures (designer not being part of founding team) as well as the leadership’s perception that design cannot really drive business results.

What’s the impact?

The most senior designer gets relegated to s middle management role, with limited access to the strategic discussions of product and engineering

Why’s that a problem?

The designer’s point of view may not reflect in the product strategy, leaving a gaping hole in the roadmap, NOT because our ideas are “better,” but because they bring a different, and absolutely necessary, perspective!

Is there a way ahead?

Yep … keep smashing eggs, produce compelling work, and proving impact. 

Because shifting perception takes time :)

Design speaks before features do!

“I LOOVVE this, Adit!"

x four times. 

Yes, that’s how many times a customer dropped that line every time I put up a screenshot of one of our upcoming redesigns of a legacy module. Mind you, this was before I even dove into the new enhancements in any detail.

Let this be a lesson for all product teams that prioritize:

• Hitting a release date over crafting something with passion.

• PM's "signoff" over the designer's gut instinct.

• Function over form.

Remember, users feel before they function and react to design, not a Gantt chart of deadlines :)

The three wishes from a design leader :)

The three wishes from a design leader, to make the endless product reviews he has to sit through, a lot more enjoyable and productive :)

Pre-Access to Work:

Imagine if we could all review concepts/prototypes/builds before the meeting—just like Amazon’s infamous "document review" process where it expects (rather enforces) employees take 30 minutes to read a document in silence before discussion starts! This means everyone comes in ready with sharp, insightful questions instead of fumbling through vague suggestions.

Better Presentation Decks:

Oh, how I wish that presentation skills were a core part of MBA, engineering and design programs. Some decks I see from well-credentialed folks are, frankly, embarrassing. A little more emphasis on design and storytelling could make a world of difference.

Leaders, Take a Step back
To all the leaders and senior executives, resist the urge to jump in with feedback right away. Channel your inner Nelson Mandela and “Be the last to speak.” This helps avoid decision bias and gives everyone a chance to voice their honest opinions.

Let’s make every review count :)

Designing software to be the next status symbol!

In a world drowning in software options across every vertical, is 'good enough' good enough? As a software designer, I fantasize about the day when using a certain software feels like … flaunting a designer bag, a high-end watch, or a Michelin-star meal

—a true status symbol highlighting the value the user puts on craft and quality :)

But let’s be real—aside from say Apple, who (more often than not) nail that trifecta of superior experience, aesthetics, and capabilities when it comes to software, no one’s even close!

However, as software increasingly becomes a part of our identity, we, the UX and UI designers, have the opportunity to be the luxury brand creators of this industry. The polish we put into pixels, the innovation we bring to interactions—this is what has the potential to set our software apart from the commoditized crowd, creating a brand premium that discerning customers (hopefully) happily pay for.

Yes … designing software that people covet isn’t just a pipe dream, it’s the fantasy we should be living every day!

Why your design needs a little extra (icing)?

Why put icing on the cake?

Let’s just stick to the cake—bland, plain, but technically, well… still cake :)

In digital product design, functionality is THE king. Form follows function, as they say. 

And (to some extent) rightly so. Unless your product is useful and usable, the surface-level delight will turn into frustration :)

But at the same time, our audiences often react to "form" BEFORE they even choose to engage with the "function" :) If the form doesn't intrigue, they might never discover the function :)

Design is MUCH more than mere "problem-solving". It’s about those little “extras” … like craft, aesthetics, animation, words – you know, all the stuff that makes people actually feel something? 

“Nah, let's just stick to making things barely usable and call it a day. Because who needs an emotional connection when you can just have … buttons? 😏”

==

P.S. For those of us who like our food with a bit of flavor and our designs with a bit of soul, let's keep pushing for the delightful stuff. 

Because honestly, life’s too short for dry cake and dull design. 🍰

What makes a design team (appear) strong?

"Adit, your team is not very strong."

Hearing this from a leader a few weeks back hit me HARD. As an extremely proud manager, my instinct was to defend my team fiercely. But being defensive and argumentative with someone influential giving you their perspective isn't the smartest move. 

So, I've been contemplating what could be going wrong here.

What makes a design team "appear" strong? 

What makes a designer competent and "leave a good impression"?

In my opinion, it starts with aligning specific work to specific people and setting the right expectations. Design isn't a one-size-fits-all discipline, and the notion of the "unicorn designer" is a myth. Hear me out, here…

\If a fantastic visual designer presents a prototype proudly but struggles to articulate a data-backed business context when questioned, it forms an impression that the designer "is not strong enough.”

If a solid interaction designer receives comments about incoherent wording on the interface, leading to confusing workflows, it forms an impression that the designer "lacks attention to detail”

If a designer competently solves functional and usable needs but fails to package the concept into something delightful, it forms an impression that the designer "lacks flair and creativity."

BUT, these impressions are bound to happen!

User researchers and Product Managers have both the competency and time to arm the designer with data-backed insights

Most designers aren't good at copy and will struggle when tasked with using words to communicate with users

A LOT goes behind making software more than mere functional and usable that our users do not just tolerate but love. From a lovely animated emoji, silky smooth micro interactions, or a quirky piece of messaging and more!

It's our job as design managers to advocate with executive stakeholders to unlock investments in building a strong team. 

A team that then is empowered at the SAME level as product and engineering.