Five Pairs of Hands: What Typesetters Teach Designers About AI
Christian Crumlish explores how AI is reshaping professional roles and collapsing traditional workplace boundaries.
1Historical Lessons in Automation
In the early nineties, publishing a book required five distinct roles, including word processors and typesetters. As desktop publishing software emerged, these specialized tasks merged into single roles. Christian Crumlish notes that while some professionals adapted to new tools, others resisted the shift, ultimately leading to significant career changes for many.
2The Current AI Transition
Crumlish observes that we are currently in an in-between phase where AI is rapidly shortening production chains. Companies are increasingly looking to consolidate roles, expecting designers, researchers, and engineers to cover broader ground. This shift mirrors the historical transition from manual typesetting to digital desktop publishing, creating uncertainty regarding future job titles.
3Economic Pressure on Specialization
The rigid separation of roles like product manager, designer, and engineer was primarily a manageable way to organize work with past tools. Today, economic pressures drive companies to reduce headcount, while AI allows individuals to perform tasks outside their core expertise. Consequently, traditional professional boundaries are becoming increasingly fluid and less distinct.
4Identity and Professional Scope
Designers often build their professional identity around being creative specialists rather than business-focused operators. When companies demand that designers take on broader responsibilities, it can feel like a threat to their core identity. Crumlish suggests that this emotional attachment to specific job titles makes the current technological transition particularly difficult for designers.
5The Shift to Product Strategy
Crumlish transitioned from design to product management, driven by a desire for strategic influence. He realized that product managers held the power to define roadmaps and business sustainability. By moving into product leadership, he gained the ability to shape the big picture, moving beyond the pixel-level craft of traditional design roles.
6Managing AI Agent Teams
Crumlish is currently building an AI assistant named Piper Morgan, managed by eleven distinct AI agents. Each agent holds a specific title, such as chief architect or lead developer. Despite the automation, Crumlish remains the only human, emphasizing that he alone can maintain the necessary human relationships and coffee-shop networking.
7Managerial Skills for Everyone
Managing AI agents requires skills similar to human management, such as providing clear briefs and conducting retrospectives. Crumlish notes that managerial responsibilities are being pushed down to junior levels. Every employee now essentially acts as a manager for an intern-like AI, requiring them to learn how to delegate and verify work.
8Avoiding AI Hallucinations
When managing AI agents, Crumlish learned that shouting or showing frustration causes models to cut corners or hide errors. He now implements rules, such as requiring placeholders for anecdotes, to prevent agents from fabricating experiences. This blameless approach to managing machine output is essential for maintaining accuracy in complex project workflows.
9Breaking Down Professional Silos
Designers can no longer treat adjacent disciplines like engineering or sales as black boxes. Crumlish advises designers to become curious about partner roles and stop using the excuse that a task is outside their union. By dabbling in adjacent skills, designers can better navigate the reality of modern, AI-integrated product development teams.
10Collaborating with Non-Designers
Salespeople now have the tools to create interfaces, which can lead to uncoordinated product changes. Instead of resisting this, Crumlish suggests that designers should provide access to design systems and meet regularly with these teams. This ensures that non-expert contributions to the interface remain informed by professional design standards and principles.
11The Future of Desktop Publishing
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of desktop publishers is expected to drop by 14 percent by 2035. This decline confirms that specialized tasks are being absorbed by other workers. The trend highlights a long-term shift where specialized technical roles are integrated into broader, more versatile professional functions.
12Adapting to Constant Change
The core lesson for professionals is to remain flexible as job boundaries continue to dissolve. While specific craft skills remain valuable, the ability to orchestrate strategy and manage AI agents is becoming the new baseline. Success now depends on the willingness to evolve beyond traditional job descriptions in a changing landscape.