After our last episode where Phillip Maggs outlined a vision for automating design production work, we asked ourselves,How might design organizations need to change as a result of AI? To answer this we spoke to the best in the industry, Peter Merholz who co-authored the book “Org Design for Design Orgs.” While our focus is on design, what we discuss will help anyone working on product teams.

01:49 Meet Peter Merholtz: Design Expert 05:44 Scaling Design Teams: Challenges and Solutions 14:07 AI in Design: Opportunities and Concerns 24:16 Ethics and Future of AI in Design 34:59 Gen AI in Design: Non-Linear Experiences 38:58 Personalization and Regulation in AI 42:27 Challenges and Opportunities in AI-Driven Personalization 44:15 AI's Role in Organizational Design 47:51 The Future of Design Teams with AI 58:04 Collaboration and Identity in Design

This is episode 21 and we’re having our most important conversation about design’s struggles:

➤ Scaling design teams & scaling their problems

➤ Designers and design leaders are overwhelmed➤ Importance of working in a culture that values learning

➤ AI's potential impact on design

➤ Doubts about personalization & adaptive experiences

➤ What designers need to do to succeed

Peter Merholz has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organizations. His clients include JP Morgan Chase, Ceridian, The New York Times, Roblox, and Starbucks.

He co-founded Adaptive Path, the premier user experience consultancy, acquired by Capital One in 2014. After leaving Adaptive Path, served as a design executive, leading teams at Groupon, OpenTable, Capital One, Snagajob (now Snag), and Kaiser Permanente.

He co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams, and co-hosts Finding Our Way, a podcast exploring design leadership.

Oh, and, yeah, he coined the word “blog.”

Follow him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermerholz/ And contact him via his website https://www.petermerholz.com/

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This episode was hosted by:

Arpy Dragffy Guerrero (Founder & Head of product strategy, PH1 Research)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adragffy/

Brittany Hobbs (VP Insights, Huge)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyhobbs/

21. Redefining Design: Peter Merholz on AI and Organizational Change for Product Teams

Product Impact Podcast | Formerly Design of AI