The Generalist in the AI Era:

AI is shaking up every industry right now, and its impact is hitting entry-level roles the hardest, especially for those just getting started in design. As a student with one year left, there are friends across every design discipline, from industrial to apparel to digital, struggling to land jobs or even get callbacks. There are a lot of reasons for this: overhiring during COVID, global tensions, trade wars, economic uncertainty, and, of course, AI. All of these play a role, but to actually make a difference in the future, it is important to focus on what can be controlled. Right now, that means understanding and leveraging AI.

In this new landscape, where automation and hyper-specialization are being upended by AI, it is more important than ever to become someone who can bridge disciplines, a generalist. The generalist is not just a jack of all trades; it is someone with deep curiosity and a toolkit that spans design, engineering, marketing, and more. Those who have formally studied design already have a leg up: design thinking is about curiosity, creativity, empathy, and relentless problem-solving. The next step is expanding reach, using AI to break into those other areas that used to feel off-limits, like engineering or business strategy.

For industrial and apparel designers, this shift is especially real. AI tools can now generate dozens of product concepts, simulate materials, or even predict trends by scraping massive datasets. What used to require a team of specialists can now be prototyped by a single designer willing to learn the basics of coding or prompt engineering. Full-stack development skills are not necessary, but it is important to be comfortable asking the right questions and iterating quickly with these new tools.

Outside the corporate world, this is a huge advantage for creatives who want to build something of their own. Those who can design, tell a compelling story, and actually make or manufacture the product are already ahead. AI can help fill in the gaps, acting as an engineer, marketer, or operations assistant. However, the value is not in using AI to crank out generic content. The real benefit comes from using these tools to execute on the most original ideas, the ones that only an individual could come up with.

Continual learning is non-negotiable in the AI age. It is necessary to pick up enough technical skill to guide the AI, whether that is through prompt engineering, basic coding, or learning how to communicate ideas clearly to both humans and machines. Take a course in prompt engineering, stay on top of new AI tools, and do not neglect the business side: communication, marketing, sales, and project management are all essential. The projects being worked on are only going to get broader in scope, and staying organized will be key.

What I am doing to learn these tools:

• Stay curious, and explore and play with your projects.

• Come up with creative ways to make the laborious parts of your process automated.

Courses I’m Taking:

• Prompt Engineering by Vanderbilt University (Coursera)

• Google Project Management (Coursera)

• Professional Selling by Kennesaw State University (Coursera)

Videos and Inspiration for This Post:

• Vibe Coding Fundamentals In 33 minutes
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLCDSY2XX7E

• How Designers Can Become Millionaires
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdUtp53xkM&t=5s

• Why Now is the Best Time to be a Designer
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9A2NP5DtAA&t=1s

I am always looking for ways to integrate new skills into my workflow, whether that means enhancing my coding abilities to create custom tools, diving deeper into project management, or refining my graphic design techniques in Adobe Illustrator.

The key is to keep experimenting, keep learning, and always look for opportunities to automate and innovate.

Ultimately, the designers who thrive will be the ones who combine creative vision with the ability to execute, those who can dream up something new and actually build it. The world does not need more copy-paste ideas; it needs people who can think across boundaries, collaborate, and use AI as a true creative partner. For those willing to keep learning and stay curious, this is the moment.