How AI Is Reshaping Product Design (feat. CJ)
From Craft to Systems
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future feature. It is already embedded in the tools millions of people use every day.
Design software generates layouts.
Copy tools rewrite content instantly.
Image models create visuals in seconds.
The surface layer of product design is accelerating at unprecedented speed.
The question is no longer whether AI will change design. It’s whether designers and product teams understand where the real leverage has moved.
Because when execution becomes instant, judgment becomes the differentiator.
About the guest
Christina (CJ) Jones is Head of Design at Canva, one of the world’s largest design platforms, used by hundreds of millions of people globally.
She leads Generative AI Design, working at the intersection of product, engineering and AI to shape how artificial intelligence is integrated responsibly at scale.
Her work focuses not just on what AI can generate, but how it should be evaluated, governed and deployed inside a real product ecosystem.
This isn’t theoretical AI.
It’s operational AI inside a global platform.
And at the core of her thinking is a deceptively simple definition of design:
Design is… can it get from the problem that’s at hand to the solution that you need.
That framing matters.
Because AI changes how we get to solutions — but it doesn’t remove the responsibility to define the problem.
The “Good Enough” Illusion
One of the most honest parts of the conversation came when CJ described what she’s seeing with junior designers:
I see this with a lot of junior designers where they feel like, what’s the point of my role now? … I could just put something into a model, and it can… it looks good enough.
That phrase — “it looks good enough” — captures the moment we’re in.
AI can produce polished outputs almost instantly. But CJ cautioned against mistaking polish for precision:
Once you start diving deep into those things that are generated… some things don’t work… a lot of those outputs are just the average of everything.
Average doesn’t differentiate.
Average doesn’t build enduring products.
Average gets you close — but not necessarily right.
From Craft to Curation
AI changes the entry point to creativity.
As we discussed in the episode, AI can act as what we called “the imitator for you” — aggregating patterns that previously required years of manual repetition.
But that shortcut raises a deeper concern about mastery. CJ reflected on her own training:
When I was in art school, we had to draw classical statues… that’s how it looked.
Imitation builds proportion.
Repetition builds taste.
Constraint builds judgment.
If AI removes that early friction, what happens to the development of craft?
CJ doesn’t dismiss AI, instead she uses it deliberately. But she emphasises something critical:
If AI is generating all of these average outputs, you kind of need that craft and curation to actually say, this is good or this is bad.
That is the new bar.
Not just generating — Curating.
Not just prompting — Judging.
Finding Where AI Helps — and Where It Hinders
Perhaps the most practical insight from the episode was this:
It’s about finding in your process where AI actually really helps you and where does it hinder you.
This is not a binary debate. It’s not “AI replaces designers” versus “designers ignore AI.”
It’s about integration.
CJ even noted that some designers on her team deliberately avoid certain AI tools because:
It doesn’t help me think through the way I would normally do things.
That’s a powerful reminder that AI is a tool, but thinking remains human
Why This Conversation Matters Now
Creative industries are among the first to experience deep AI integration.
What happens in design will ripple into product management, marketing, engineering and beyond.
If AI can generate execution-level output in seconds, then the competitive advantage shifts upward:
Toward taste
Toward judgment
Toward systems thinking
Toward defining quality
This is not about replacement. It’s about evolution and that evolution is already underway.
Listen to the Full Episode
In this episode of What The Tech (AU), we explore:
How Canva integrates generative AI at scale
Whether AI is replacing or elevating designers
How teams evaluate AI outputs before shipping
The ethical tension around copyright and originality
Why systems thinking is becoming the defining skill
🎧 How AI Is Reshaping Design is now live on:
📬 You can also subscribe here on Substack for episode breakdowns, reflections, and behind-the-scenes thinking.
Question for readers:
If AI makes execution instant, what becomes the true measure of a great designer?
Let us know what you think.