Design Decision-Making and Taste in the Age of AI
The importance of design decisions and the role of taste in the era of artificial intelligence.
1Introduction
As AI democratizes design processes, strategic thinking and decision-making have become competitive advantages. Designers' value now comes not from producing outputs but from knowing which outputs deserve to exist.
2What is Taste?
Taste is the ability to recognize quality and apply this knowledge consistently. It requires deep understanding in areas like history, proportion, typography, and interaction. Taste not only identifies quality but also involves the responsibility to act on it.
3AI and Taste
AI models can predict preferences by learning from human-made work. However, these predictions cannot replace human abilities like understanding intent or making contextual decisions. AI can measure preferences but cannot exercise judgment.
4Preference vs. Judgment
Preference explains what people choose, while judgment explains why something is the right choice. AI can predict preferences but cannot envision what should exist in the future. This is the essence of design.
5Taste in Organizations
Organizations may lose their sense of taste due to multiple layers of approval and compromise in decision-making. This weakens the originality and impact of design. The rise of AI has made this issue more pronounced.
6The Importance of Context
Every important design decision is made in context. What's right for a banking app may not suit a children's learning platform. AI struggles to understand these contextual differences.
7Limits of Best Practices
Best practices describe what worked in the past. But design must go beyond these when the future demands something different. Radical decisions like removing the iPhone's physical keyboard exemplify this.
8The Apple Example
The iPhone imagined a new future instead of optimizing existing preferences. Removing the physical keyboard seemed irrational at the time, but it transformed the phone into a software-defined device.
9Organizations and AI
Even before AI, organizations relied on preference aggregation over taste in decision-making. Everyone critiquing designs in meetings stifled originality. AI could amplify this tendency.
10Conclusion
AI and corporate processes highlight the importance of taste and decision-making in design. Designers can stand out by honing strategic thinking and contextual decision-making. Taste remains an irreplaceable human ability.
Original article: UX Collective - Medium — AI Çağında Tasarımda Karar Verme ve Zevk