The designers who thrive in the AI era aren't just fluent with the tools—they know exactly where human judgment takes over. This is my journey from cautious observer to AI-native practitioner, learning what to collaborate on and what to protect.

Product design without user input is guessing. Product strategy without validated intent is theater—polished, fast, and convincing, until the market punishes you for building the wrong thing beautifully.

It started as a way to make sense of a chaotic year in design—AI hype, layoffs, shifting roles. Looking back, it became something else: a record of what it feels like to design and lead at the start of a new era.