Should young designers pay senior designers to teach them?
Summary
Host Praveen discusses the crisis in entry-level product design with guests Jay Dutta and Shreyas Satish, exploring how AI automation eliminates traditional "grunt work" essential for building judgment. They debate whether junior designers must find new ways to practice or shift toward high-level critique, noting that companies no longer hire juniors due to high training costs. The conversation highlights the need for designers to seek informal apprenticeships, engage directly with users, and demonstrate business acumen to survive in an AI-driven market.
Topics discussed
Introduction: The cooking analogy and AI's impact
The crisis in product design hiring and junior roles
Jay's perspective: Building taste through grunt work
Shreyas's view: Apprenticeship and real-world feedback
The danger of automation and loss of foundational skills
Economic shifts and the changing value of designers
Proposed solutions: Paid apprenticeships and mentorship
Can AI replace the learning process of design?
Future of design education and structured training models
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