Anton Stén on AI, Taste, and the Designer’s Expanding Role
Reflections from a veteran designer on his practical use of AI today and how design will evolve in the age of AI
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Anton Stén, a veteran designer who has worked with companies like Spotify and Google, to discuss his hands-on experience with AI tools and his outlook on the future of the design profession.
Today, Anton is Head of Design at Summer Health, a pediatric healthcare startup helping parents access better care for their children in the US.
AI in the current workflow
Anton has integrated AI into three distinct areas of his work: user research, design and copy, and imagery.
For user research
Anton is a big fan of Granola for taking notes and summarizing user research calls. While the summarization is helpful, he finds its real power in synthesis.
After speaking with about ten users, he can ask Granola to pick out themes from all of those calls. He said this helps counter a common human bias. Often, one interview resonates on a personal level more than others, and it’s easy to focus on that single story instead of seeing the full picture. For Anton, AI serves as leverage to help him understand the research from a broader, more objective perspective.
For design and copy
He uses ChatGPT extensively, primarily for two tasks.
Generating on-brand copy: Anton set up a custom GPT with instructions that match his product’s tone of voice: human, warm, and simple. When designing a section or screen, he can ask it for a headline and description, and it often gets it right on the first try.
A sparring partner: He keeps an ongoing thread with the AI for specific tasks like product strategy. He’ll outline a new feature, such as a tool for scheduling visits, and ask for feedback, using the AI’s memory of their past conversations. He’s careful not to take its suggestions at face value, though. As the designer, he sees it as his job to decide what truly makes sense.
For imagery
Finding appropriate imagery in healthcare, especially when working with kids, is a unique challenge. Anton has used image generators like Visual Electric to create specific, hard-to-find images.
He gave the example of needing a photo of a child with a severe rash on their arm, or even more sensitive (and hard-to-Google) images related to newborn health. AI helps him generate visual aids that feel on-brand without the challenges of sourcing authentic stock photos.
For prototyping
Anton hasn’t yet found a tool that codes multiple screens exactly as he designed them. He uses AI tools like Replit and Cursor to quickly build working prototypes, which help him test real interactions. During testing, he asks users to ignore the design and focus on functionality. Hands-on use gives more valuable feedback than a polished but static Figma mockup.
The future of design:
blurring lines, taste and business
We then discussed how these tools might change the design industry in the near future.
Anton believes the line between designers and developers is becoming a little more blurred. He used Cursor to build his own site, relying on his understanding of CSS without having to write it all from scratch. He also notices that the engineers he works with are now making more design-related tweaks.
Looking ahead, he thinks designers will bring two things that matter most: taste and a deep understanding of the business. To him, this shift is progress. It finally gives designers a real seat at the table by separating their value from pure execution.
He illustrated the idea of taste with a great analogy: music producer Rick Rubin. Anton noted that Rubin can’t operate the mixer board or play any instruments, yet his taste, and his confidence in it, have allowed him to produce iconic records across genres, from Metallica to Jay-Z. For designers, Anton said, taste is that same ability to understand what will resonate with people.
On the business side, Anton believes the scope of a designer’s role is clearly expanding. As the position moves beyond its traditional boundaries, it becomes easier to see when a designer isn’t rising to those broader responsibilities. He sees AI as a powerful tool for developing the business mindset that modern designers need. Where they once might have turned to business school, they can now use AI and the internet to access sophisticated strategic knowledge. Anton’s main point is that as the designer’s role grows, the tools to meet those new demands are growing too.
Cultivating skills in the age of AI
Anton sees AI as a powerful democratizing force here. He contrasted today’s learning environment with the past, where developing strategic thinking often required formal business school or extensive reading. Now, AI can act as a mentor or sparring partner. Combined with the wealth of knowledge online, he feels anyone with curiosity can level up quickly.
Anton also addressed the risk of learning uncritically from a flawed source. He acknowledged this danger but stressed that the need for critical thinking isn’t new; it has always been risky to treat any single source, whether a school or an expert, as an absolute truth.
His recommended approach is to gather information from many inputs and then decide for yourself what makes sense. This mindset is even more crucial with AI, which is known to “hallucinate.” A healthy skepticism is essential. The real, modern challenge, Anton pointed out, is that information now comes too easily. When everything is served on a “silver platter,” it takes more effort to pause, question, and form your own judgment.
A balanced path forward
As we wrapped up, Anton reflected on the interesting times we’re in. He observes two distinct camps forming in the design community: designers that don’t use AI at all, and then there are designers that want to use AI for everything.
He doesn’t believe either extreme is the right path. AI is a great tool, he concluded, but it’s not always the best tool.
For more insights from Anton, you can subscribe to his newsletter. He also recently launched Products People Actually Want, a practical guide to building digital products that solve real problems. The book distills 25+ years of experience consulting for companies like IKEA, Google, and Spotify into actionable advice on everything from user research to team leadership.
Until next post,
Thomas
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