Notes on design, AI and complex products.

Yesterday I heard a story that reflected something I hear more and more from people around me: frustration with fruitless AI initiatives in their companies. Teams are building and presenting new things, but they are struggling to turn that work into meaningful revenue or something that actually helps their customers.

I like what Apple’s folding iPhone could mean for design. Called iPhone Duo, it has a smaller outer screen for use when closed and a larger display inside that opens up when you unfold it. That gives us a reason to question familiar layouts and try ideas that would have made less sense on a conventional phone.

When I ask an AI agent to make a change, I need to be clear about what it can change and how it should check the result. The amount of preparation also needs to make sense for the work involved. A small spacing correction should be straightforward, while a new page needs more discussion and review.

When a team can turn an idea into a working interface in a few hours, it is tempting to start building straight away. In companies that describe themselves as AI-first, analysing the problem and exploring the design can feel like a delay, especially when there is already something on screen that looks close to finished.

If someone has to look across several screens to understand what they own, it can be difficult to tell whether they are seeing the complete picture. The way amounts are displayed matters as well, particularly when a total includes a loan and it is not clear how that affects the value shown. During a client meeting, the relationship manager then has to spend time explaining how to read the screen.

In a complex product, designers, business analysts and developers need to work through questions together before they can consider a feature ready to build. A requirement may describe what the business needs without explaining how someone will use it. A design may show a complete journey while leaving questions about the data or implementation unresolved.