All Things Design

Humanizing AI in Design: Building AI Mentors & Teams with Kristin de la Fuente| All Things Design

This week on All Things Design, I sat down with Kristin de la Fuente, a design veteran who has worked with major brands like Qantas, IAG, and is now a key member of our team at Torii. Kristin  shares her journey in building AI-powered design teams, highlighting the balance between human leadership and autonomous agents.
 
We explored the future of design, from how AI agents can help run design processes to the potential of a single person running an entire AI-powered design team. Kristin’s insights into humanizing AI, fostering collaboration, and breaking down complex AI concepts for team adoption are crucial for anyone looking to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of design.
 
Key Topics Covered:
 
Humanizing AI: How to make AI approachable and useful for design teams
 
Building AI-powered design mentors and agents to amplify your team
 
The future of design teams in an AI-driven world
 
Scaling from solo designer to leading a full-fledged design team
 
The role of human leadership in an AI-dominated environment
 
🔗 Resources:
— Connect with Kristin de la Fuente on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristindelafuente/
 
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign/
 
 
⏱️ Timestamps:
(00:00) — Introduction to Kristin de la Fuente
(01:00) — Kristin’s journey from graphic design to AI in design
(01:55) — Building AI agents and mentors in design teams
(08:34) — Designing AI Agents: From Concept to Creation with Human-Centered Approach
(13:59) — Humanizing AI for Design Teams and Mentorship
(21:33) — Building AI Dream Teams and Empowering Design Roles
(27:37) — Humanizing AI and the Importance of Design in AI Projects
(31:31) — Designing for the Future with AI Agents and Evolving Roles
(36:47) — Challenges and Opportunities
(43:03) — Key advice for embracing AI in design and upskilling
(51:45) — Wrapping up: the future of AI and design teams
 
 
#AIInDesign #DesignLeadership #HumanizingAI #AIinDesignTeams #DesignMentorship #AIInBusiness #DesignThinking #KristindelaFuente #AIForDesigners #InnovationInDesign #AIForCreatives #DigitalTransformation #DesignEmpowerment

Jakob Nielsen on the Future of Design: Embracing AI and Agency

In this episode, Jakob Nielsen, one of the original pioneers of usability and user-centered design, shares his thoughts on the future of design in the age of AI. With 42 years of experience, Jakob discusses the rapid evolution of design systems, how AI is changing the way we work, and the critical importance of agency in design. He stresses the need for designers to embrace new technologies, evolve with the times, and play an active role in shaping the future of design.
 
Jakob also dives into the concept of the "pancake effect"—how AI is shrinking teams, boosting productivity, and reshaping hierarchies in the workplace. He warns of the risks of AI denial within the design community and explains why it’s essential for designers to adapt to these technological advancements to stay relevant.
 
Whether you're a designer, product leader, or AI enthusiast, this conversation offers invaluable insights on the role of agency in the design process, the importance of keeping up with AI, and how AI will influence design jobs in the future.
 
🔑 Key Themes:
 
Jakob Nielsen's journey in design and usability
 
The evolution of design from mainframes to AI-driven systems
 
How AI will impact team sizes and productivity
 
The risks of AI denial and embracing change
 
The future of design agency in an AI-enabled world
 
The importance of adapting to AI to stay relevant in design
 
AI’s role in shaping the future of design careers
 
Productivity and creativity boosts with AI in design
 
The shift from command-based to intent-based design with AI
 
Why AI is not replacing designers but empowering them
 
🔗 Resources:
— Connect with Jakob Nielsen on LinkedIn: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakobnielsenphd/
 
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign/
 
⏱️ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to Jakob Nielsen’s Journey in Design
01:31 - The Early Days: From Mainframes to the Web Revolution
06:58- AI’s Impact on Productivity: The "Pancake" Effect
13:12 - The Future of Design Teams: Efficiency, AI, and Organizational Changes
18:01 - The Evolution of Design: AI’s Impact on Efficiency, Teams, and Tools
28:00 - AI for Career Growth and Shaping the Future of Design
34:10 - Embracing AI, Flattening Hierarchies, and the Role of Agency
38:48 - The Evolving Role of Design and Agency in the Age of AI
42:12 - Jakob’s Vision for the Next 5 to 10 Years in Design
50:09 - Where to Follow Jakob Nielsen and Stay Updated on UX Trends
 
#JakobNielsen #aiindesign  #Usability #designsystems  #AIRevolution #designagency  #futureofdesign  #techindesign  #designinnovation  #designcareers  #aiimpact  #UsabilityInDesign #designthinking  #designleadership  #AIAndUsability #PioneersInDesign #digitaltransformation  #AgencyInDesign #aifordesigners  #ProductivityInDesign #designcommunity

From Psychology to Design: Renuja Marshall Talks UX Strategies for Business Success

In this episode, Renuja Marshall, Experience Design Lead at IDP Education, shares her expertise in aligning user needs with business goals. She discusses her journey combining psychology with design and how it shapes the user experience. From the importance of thorough UX planning to working within business constraints, Renuja reveals the strategies and techniques that drive success in complex environments. Learn how to navigate between quick wins and sustainable design solutions while maintaining a focus on customer experience.
 
Whether you're a designer, product leader, or business strategist, this conversation provides invaluable insights on aligning design with business objectives and understanding the broader impact of design decisions.
 
🔑 Key Themes
 
Aligning UX with business strategy
 
Understanding customer needs through research
 
Balancing quick wins with long-term solutions
 
The importance of design systems for consistency
 
Overcoming business constraints to innovate
 
Educating the business on the value of UX
 
Building cross-functional collaboration
 
Designing for sustainability in business
 
How UX can drive product success
 
🔗 Resources
— Connect with Renuja Marshall on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/renuja88marshall/
 
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign/
 
⏱️ Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 - Intro: Renuja's Design Journey
01:38 - Balancing Quick Wins vs. Thorough UX Planning
04:36 - Aligning Strategy, Stakeholders, and Design for Successful Projects
07:26 - Focus on the Customer: Build Personas Based on Real Insights
9:18 - Make Time for UX: Why Research Shouldn't Be Rushed
14:20 -Understanding the 'Why': Unlocking Deep Insights for Better Product Design
18:05- Ask the Right Questions, Not Just 'What' – Digging Deeper into User Needs
21:24 - Communication Over UX Jargon: Making Your Message Clear for All
23:35 - From "User" to "Customer" - The Key Shift in Design
25:24 - Connect with Renuja: LinkedIn for Direct Access
 
📌 Tags
#uxdesign  #businessstrategy  #productdesign  #designsystems  #designleadership  #customerresearch  #stakeholdercommunication  #userexperience  #businessgoals  #designthinking  #sustainabledesign  #UXInnovation #designstrategy  #CrossFunctionalCollaboration #productsuccess

How to Build Trust, Secure Funding & Prove Design’s Value in Business | Bonnie Mooney

 
In this episode, Bonnie Mooney, Head of Design at McMillan Shakespeare, shares her journey from hospitality to leading design in large enterprise environments. We dive deep into how designers can bridge the gap between customer needs and business goals. Bonnie discusses how to earn trust, secure funding, and prove design’s strategic value — even in high-stakes environments. Plus, insights into building a mixed team, aligning design with business needs, and leading teams to think like business leaders.
 
🔑 Key Themes
 
Bridging business goals with customer outcomes
 
Earning trust and securing budget for design
 
Building a team that works cross-functionally
 
Proving design's strategic value in high-stakes environments
 
The importance of educating stakeholders on design
 
Navigating design’s role during budget restrictions
 
Designing for customers and internal teams
 
How to get a seat at the table as a designer
 
Using design to help teams achieve business goals
 
Designing for impact, not just aesthetics
 
🔗 Resources
— Connect with Bonnie Mooney on LinkedIn:
 
 
 / bonniemooney  
 
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
 
 
 / joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign  
 
⏱️ Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 - Intro: Bonnie Mooney’s Design Journey
10:39 - Choosing the Right Project to Pitch for Design Impact
14:13 - Aligning Design with Business Goals for Greater Impact
19:26 - Securing Funding and Understanding Business Needs
22:29 - The Key to Sustaining Design in Challenging Times
24:11 - Balancing Design Quality with Business Constraints
29:54 - Designing for Both Customers and Internal Teams
34:11 - Upskilling and Empowering Designers for Success
40:25 - Building Trust and Relationships to Drive Successful Design Projects
48:25 - Empowering Teams to Champion Design
51:20 - Turning Design into a Strategic Asset
53:23 - Where to Connect with Bonnie Mooney
 
📌 Tags
design leadership, design strategy, business design, design in business, product design, customer-centric design, design thinking, business outcomes, design education, cross-functional design teams, design for business success, design value, design mindset, stakeholder engagement, design for impact, design and business alignment, enterprise design, Bonnie Mooney, McMillan Shakespeare design, business goals, design for customer experience, enterprise design thinking

Designing the Future with AI – Christina (CJ) Jones on GenAI ⁨@canva⁩ , Simplicity & Team Leadership

In this episode, we dive deep into the evolving relationship between AI and design with Christina (CJ) Jones from Canva. We explore how AI is transforming workflows, empowering designers, and reshaping how products are built and used. From upskilling teams, experimenting with tools, and driving innovation, to making AI feel invisible and intuitive for users — this is a masterclass in future-proofing design.
 
Whether you’re a designer, product leader, or AI enthusiast, this conversation is packed with insights on how to lead with curiosity, adopt the right tools, and build responsibly in the AI era.
 
 🔑 Key Themes
-Empowering design teams to experiment with AI tools
-Balancing deep focus with rapid tool evaluation
-Creating intuitive AI experiences inside Canva
-Using LLMs for critique, ideation & research
-Shifting designer mindsets from fear to curiosity
-Building responsibly with data privacy in mind
-Multimodal interfaces as the future of design
-Adapting workflows around AI strengths and limits
-How AI is shaping the future of design careers
-Designing for invisible AI that feels natural
 
🔗 Resources
 
— Connect with Christina (CJ) Jones on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjonesish/
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign/
 
⏱️ Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 - Intro: CJ's role at Canva
02:42 - Major AI innovations: Canva AI & Canva Code
03:32 - Making AI-powered experiences simple and useful for everyone
07:36 – Learning from user feedback: Lightweight editing before full design
09:45 - Upskilling through shared knowledge
11:56 – Creating space for focused AI exploration without burnout
14:43 - Structure for evaluating tools efficiently
16:17 - Canva’s internal AI Everywhere initiative
22:47 – Why AI won’t replace designers: Mindset shifts & creative partnership
25:31 – Designing invisible, intuitive AI that meets users where they are
31:14 – The future of prompting: From text to multimodal interfaces
33:35 – How to upskill as a designer in the AI era
37:37 - Using LLMs for critique and ideation
43:35 – Where designers should focus next in the AI era
45:07 – Will design teams shrink or evolve?
48:12 - Final thoughts & where to connect with CJ
📌 Tags
#AIUX #DesignLeadership #GenAIDesign #Canva #ProductDesign #DesignCulture #AIProductDevelopment #CreativeLeadership #DesignStrategy #InclusiveDesign

From Solo Designer to Leading 40+ - Steve Packham on Building Design Culture

This week on All Things Design, I sat down with Steve Packham — Chief Design Officer at Macquarie Group — to dive deep into how to build a thriving design team from the ground up.
 
We explored what it takes to scale from a solo designer to leading a 40+ person team, the mindset shifts required to lead with empathy, and how to embed feedback, play, and psychological safety into your team’s culture.
 
Whether you're just starting out in design leadership or scaling a team in a complex organization, this episode is packed with insights on what makes design teams truly thrive.
 
🔍 Key Topics Covered
 
• Growing a design team from 1 to 40+
 
• Leading without a traditional design background
 
• Using design thinking to guide leadership decisions
 
• Building a culture of play, safety, and feedback
 
• Overcoming impostor syndrome
 
• The power of iteration over perfection
 
🔗 Resources
 
— Connect with Steve Packham on LinkedIn:
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-packham-63a82999
 
 
— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign/
 
 
⏱️ Timestamps
 
(00:00) — Introduction - Steve’s journey into design
(01:25) — Building a strong culture in a design team
(03:57) — Prototyping everything: a mindset for leadership
(05:14) — The leadership is facilitation in slow motion
(05:50) — Embracing Imposter Syndrome: Why It Means You’re Growing
(07:40) — Why Feedback Culture Is the Backbone of Great Design Teams
(17:54) — Why a Culture of Play Drives Creativity and Team Bonding
(20:29) — Building Inclusive Team Culture and Fostering Collaboration
(21:42) — Fostering a Collaborative Team Environment
(26:49) — Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning & Growth
(34:08) — Balancing Excellence with Progress & Building Culture from Scratch
(36:31) — How Designers Can Drive Change Without Authority
(40:16) — Earn Trust First, Evangelize Design Later
 
 
 
🏷 Hashtags
 
#DesignLeadership #TeamCulture #UXDesign #FeedbackCulture #CreativeLeadership #AllThingsDesign #JoeWoodham #StevePackham #ProductDesign #DesignThinking #PsychologicalSafety

Why AI Literacy Matters Now — Business Risk, Talent, and the Future of Design

This week, I sat down with Riley Coleman — design leader, ethical AI strategist, and founder of AI Flywheel — to explore what it really means to build AI literacy inside design teams and organizations.
We unpacked the real risks of waiting, what “trustworthy AI” actually looks like, and how design leaders can guide their teams responsibly through this transformation. This one’s packed with actionable takeaways for designers, product leaders, and execs navigating AI today.
—
Key Themes:— Why design leaders must build AI literacy now— The business risks of staying still— Three layers of designing with AI: literacy, integration, and trust— How to evaluate AI tools without compromising privacy— The emotional impact of AI on team identity and leadership— Communicating the value of design in an AI-first world
—
Resources:— Visit AI Flywheel: https://ai-flywheel.com— Connect with Riley Coleman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-coleman-a185754/— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewoodham/
—
Timestamps:(00:00) — Why not training for AI is putting your team at risk(05:05) — Australia’s shift to mandatory AI regulation(10:03) — Why fact-checking AI is a human responsibility(15:01) — ChatGPT can’t replace real skill—here’s why(20:03) — Is AI giving you time back or creating noise?(25:00) — How to choose the right AI tools for your team(30:01) — Why corporate blockers are hurting your AI readiness(35:02) — Interface design and the illusion of intelligence(40:04) — Most AI prompts don’t work—here’s the fix(45:04) — Designers must lead responsibly with AI(50:04) — Final thoughts: Trust, ethics, and moving forward
—
#AILiteracy #DesignLeadership #FutureOfWork #ResponsibleAI #AllThingsDesign_Torii #JoeWoodham #RileyColeman

The Future of Design Teams (Unlock Your Team's Potential)

This week, I sat down with Brad Alphonso, Senior Manager of Service Design at Bupa, to talk about what design leadership really looks like today.
We went deep on the shift from generalist to specialist, how to communicate design’s value in business terms, and the role leaders play in creating space for real innovation.
Brad brings a brilliant perspective on strategic design, and this one’s packed with takeaways you can apply straight away.
 
Key Themes:
Specialist vs generalist design skillsets
Design as a business problem-solving tool
Communicating design’s value to stakeholders
Creating space for strategic conversations
Building high-impact service design teams
Resources:
For more about Torii Consulting: https://toriiconsulting.com.au/
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewoodham/
Connect with Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-alphonso-637914126/
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Introduction
(1:00) - Communicating Design Impact to Stakeholders
(5:41) - Understanding Stakeholder Needs
(11:20) - Aligning Design with Business Objectives
(24:01) - Proving the Value of Design
(32:13) - Redefining Design: From Aesthetic to Problem Solving
40:17) - Transitioning from Designer to Design Leader
(45:49) - Rebranding Design Leadership

The Simple Way to Scale Your Design Team (and Fast!)

Join me in this insightful episode featuring Abi Iyer, a leading expert in design leadership and UX team management. We explore practical strategies for scaling UX design teams, building ownership-driven cultures, and hiring critical thinkers over mere problem solvers. Abi provides invaluable insights on why successful scaling isn't about headcount but about cultivating the right mindset.
Key Themes- Why scaling people doesn’t work- Building ownership-driven teams- Problem solvers vs critical thinkers- Hiring for mindset, not just skills- Evolving team chemistry for success
Resources
- For more information about Torii: https://toriiconsulting.com.au/- Follow Joe Woodham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewoodham/- Follow Abi Iyer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iyer/
(0:00) - Introduction(1:09) - From Design to Strategy: The Evolution of a Designer(7:18) - The Importance of Communication in Design(9:00) - Building a Design Team: Challenges and Growth(10:57) - Scaling Design: Strategies for Success(17:31) - Finding the Right Talent: Interviewing for Success(29:46) - Building a Cohesive Team Culture(38:42) - Scaling Operations in a Rapidly Growing Company(18:45) - Practical ways to evolve team culture(43:33) - Strategic Planning for Future Growth
#DesignLeadership #UXDesign #ProductDesign #TeamManagement #ScalingUX #DesignTeamCulture #UXHiring #DesignStrategy #UXManagement #CriticalThinking

Will AI Replace Designers? Not If They Learn This…

AI is moving fast... but that doesn’t mean designers are done. In today's episode, I sit down with Sharbani Dhar, to unpack what designers must do to stay relevant. We explore human-centred AI, the skills that still matter, and why great design goes way beyond UI.
If you’re a designer wondering how to future-proof your career, this one’s for you.
Key Themes:
Will AI replace designers?
The future of design leadership
Human-centred AI in practice
Accessibility as a strategy
What’s beyond the UI iceberg
Resources:
For more about Torii Consulting: https://toriiconsulting.com.au/
Follow Joe Woodham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewoodham/
Connect with Sharbani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharbanidhar/
Timestamps:(0:00) - Introduction(1:03) - Will AI Take Over the Design Industry?(6:29) - How Designers & Leaders Can Stay Ahead of AI(9:26) - The Hidden Risks of Relying on AI Tools(18:12) - How to De-Risk the Use of AI(20:17) - Building a Team That’s AI-Literate(23:19) - What a Responsible AI Framework Looks Like(26:50) - How to Upskill Your Design Team in AI(29:57) - AI Will Not Replace You… If You Do This(33:53) - The Fastest Way to Level Up Your Design Career(37:50) - The Secret to Smarter Design Teams
Produced by Reidentify.co