Henry Modisett offered a glimpse into how AI is reshaping his team’s UX process. At Perplexity, AI-powered code generation has blurred the lines between design and engineering, fostering collaboration and a focus on quality over implementation. Modisett’s team has used AI to create everything from production code to brand assets and even a podcast.

“It’s become less of a handoff [between design and engineering] and more of a conversation,” Modisett explained. “The main focus has become less about how we’ll build it and more of an ongoing evaluation of quality – is this good yet?”

Balancing user needs and business needs isn’t always easy. Jenny Arden, the Chief Design Officer at Zillow emphasized the benefits of getting cross-team alignment and accountability for design quality. She also tapped friend and fellow CDO John Hoke, who explained that business leaders need to understand the importance of design.

“Design is destiny. Design is dynasty,” Hoke says. “If you repeat this over and over again it creates a covetability and a desirability of whatever it is you’re designing.”

A recurring theme was the shift from pure utility to experiences that spark joy and emotion. Google’s Matías Duarte and Christian Robertson shared four design maxims intentionally broken while evolving Material Design, including “Don’t design by committee” and the famous “Form follows function.”

“It’s too easy to confuse what was delightfully simple and focused with the stark minimum required for the viable product,” Duarte told the audience.

Figma’s product keynote also included exciting news for Material Design users. The Material 3 Design Kit is now available in every Figma file, packed with components, prototyping features, seamless integration with Material Symbols, and even code snippets for Jetpack Compose. The kit ensures that designers stay connected to Material’s evolution, receiving updates as the design system progresses.

While many attendees sought practical advice for navigating the job market, Teenage Engineering CEO Jesper Kouthoofd offered a less conventional path. His success stemmed from a lifelong passion for music and technology, culminating in the creation of beloved music tools. This personal journey, while inspiring, may not offer a replicable blueprint for others. Asked how someone could get a job at Teenage Engineering, Kouthoofd replied: “You just do things and then you try to fix it over time.”

On a more relatable front, inventor and YouTuber Simone Giertz spoke about her unique career journey finding delight in robotic failures. Once known as the “Queen of Shitty Robots,” Giertz pivoted to a place more focused on craft and rigor: “My favorite invention by far has been my job.”

The Google Design lounge was a hub of activity, offering attendees a chance to relax, chat with designers, and demo experimental Material Design features. Hundreds of sticky notes captured ideas for the future of Material, ranging from “sustainable” and “co-designed” to the whimsical “coastal grandma.”

The outpouring of appreciation for Material Design and Google Fonts was a highlight. Countless attendees shared how they’ve made Google’s design offerings their own.

While the design world grapples with the implications of generative AI and Figma's newly released AI tool suite, lettering artist Jessica Hische emphasized the enduring value of craft and the joy of manual creation. Citing a recent design event where the promise of AI-led design failed to inspire, Hische highlighted the importance of engaging with the production process.

"I asked the crowd, Who here wants to spend all their time ideating and doing high-level thinking and absolutely zero time doing production? And no hands went up," she recalled. Sometimes, joy and fulfillment come from the non-automated path.