Welcome to the ADPList x Kittl Podcast Recap: “Will AI replace designers?” where we break down the conversations shaping the future of creative work.
In this episode, we sit down with Felix Lee, founder of ADPList, creator of AI First Designer, and one of the leading voices helping designers navigate the AI era.
This conversation arrives at an interesting moment. AI is evolving quickly, but not in a straight line. As Felix points out, major tech shifts often move slowly until they suddenly leap forward.
There may even be a bubble or correction before things stabilize, but the direction is already clear: AI is reshaping how designers work, think, and build.
So the real question becomes: Will AI replace designers? How do we build meaningful creative careers in a world where the rules are changing faster than ever?
Instead of focusing on hype or fear, this discussion zooms in on what’s actually happening at ground level.
- What skills will matter most?
- How will our roles evolve?
- And how can designers stay confident and curious when the tools, workflows, and expectations around us keep shifting?
If you’ve been trying to understand what AI means for your day-to-day work, your long-term growth, or your identity as a designer, this recap will give you the clarity you’ve been looking for.
Will AI replace designers? No. But now, the era belongs to designers who experiment
The biggest message Felix leaves us with is refreshingly simple. This moment in design isn’t about being perfect or ahead of the curve. It’s about being curious enough to start.
- We’re still at the very beginning of AI’s impact on design. Nothing is fully defined, which means designers have a rare chance to shape what happens next.
- The people who experiment early, even when they feel like beginners, will adapt the fastest and move ahead the quickest.
- AI will replace some repetitive tasks, but it won’t replace the human parts that matter: your ideas, your taste, and your ability to make meaning.
- You don’t need to master every tool. You just need to start with one and build something real, even if it’s small.
- Curiosity is quickly becoming one of the most valuable creative skills. The more you explore, the more opportunities you’ll see.
- Don’t wait for permission. Pick a tool, pick a project, and start creating.
Design’s future is wide open for creatives who are willing to jump in early and try things before everyone else catches up.
But then, who is Felix Lee?
Felix Lee is best known as the co-founder and CEO of ADPList, and the creator of the AI First Designer newsletter and school.
His work has made him one of the most recognizable voices helping designers navigate the fast-changing landscape of AI and creative careers.
But his story starts far away from the tech world. Felix grew up in his parents’ small bakery in Singapore, surrounded by a tight-knit community where people worked hard but didn’t always have access to the same opportunities.
That early experience shaped his belief that mentorship and learning shouldn’t depend on background, privilege, or geography. It’s the thread that runs through everything he builds.
Today, Felix splits his time between Singapore and San Francisco, experimenting with new AI tools, building digital clones of himself, and sharing what he learns with designers who want to stay curious and move confidently into the next era of creative work.
He’s also been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his contributions to design education and community building.
Felix’s mission is straightforward: help designers grow, explore, and build careers that can thrive even as the industry shifts around them.
If you want to explore his work, you can find him here:
- ADPList at adplist.org
- AI First Design School
- AI First Designer newsletter
Want to become an AI-first designer? Start with Design by Intelligence, the free guide from ADPList that shares the AI workflows, prompting techniques, and design stack that top designers are using right now.
Key insight #1: The designer role is changing faster than we think
One of the first big themes Felix brings up is how quickly the definition of “designer” is shifting. A few years ago, designers were expected to hand over polished Figma files.
Today, the expectation is moving closer to something more hands-on. Felix calls it becoming a prototype builder. So, no wonder many are asking, “Will AI replace designers?”
In his own workflow, he’s been experimenting heavily with tools like Claude Code and Cursor. Instead of stopping at wireframes, he’s now able to go from idea to a fully working prototype in just a few hours.
He even built a live, interactive digital twin of himself over a weekend. That’s the kind of speed he believes companies will value in the next few years.
Why does this matter?
Because once designers can put a realistic prototype in front of users almost instantly, the whole process changes. You get faster feedback loops, clearer communication with teams, and a better sense of what actually resonates with real people. In Felix’s view, startups are already adopting this mindset, and bigger companies will follow:
“Designers can now get to a realistic prototype and put it in front of users in a matter of hours. That is the future of design with AI.”
Felix isn’t saying every designer needs to become a full engineer.
His point is that the tools are evolving, and designers who understand how to use them will naturally be able to do more, test more, and explore more.
Key insight #2: Taste is the new superpower
As AI gets better at generating visuals, copy, layouts, and even full product flows, the designer’s value is shifting toward something far more human: taste.
Felix brings this up again and again. He said,
And “taste” doesn’t mean being fancy or elitist.
It means being able to look at a design and instantly know whether it’s on brand, whether it communicates clearly, and whether it will make a user feel something.
Felix sees this becoming such an important skill that he imagines a future job title centered around it. Every company will need someone who understands aesthetic judgment and user emotion well enough to guide AI-generated work in the right direction.
Key insight #3: Will AI replace Junior designers?
This is the part of the conversation where Felix gets very honest.
The tasks AI is best at right now are the same tasks most junior designers are expected to do. Things like cleaning up design systems, organizing layers, exporting different asset sizes, finishing small UI states, or making endless variations of a banner or thumbnail.
AI can already handle a portion of this work, and it will handle even more in the next few years. But here’s the important part. AI can execute, but it cannot lead.
AI cannot choose a direction. It cannot set the emotional tone or understand why one design feels right and another feels off. Those are human skills.
Felix predicts that designers will move further into creative director territory.
Not in the title, but in the responsibility. You’ll spend more time deciding what should exist, and much less time manually producing every variation by hand. The role becomes more strategic, more opinionated, and more taste-driven.
So yes, AI will absorb the repetitive work. But the high-impact creative thinking, the part that makes the work meaningful, remains firmly in human hands.
Key insight #4: How Junior Designers can still win?
Felix doesn’t sugarcoat it. Junior designers are entering the industry at a time when AI can already handle a chunk of what used to be “entry-level work.”
But instead of treating this as the end of early-career roles, Felix frames it as a new kind of opportunity. The playing field is being reshuffled, and juniors can move up faster than ever if they’re willing to adapt.
The path upward is no longer about waiting your turn or slowly climbing the ladder. It comes from building taste early and learning to work with the tools that will define the future of design.
Felix has seen juniors with incredible taste get hired over seniors simply because they know how to think creatively with AI, not fearfully around it.
The designers who level up quickly are the ones who stay curious, experiment often, and aren’t afraid to spend a weekend going down a rabbit hole just to understand how a new tool works.
Key insight #5: Originality isn’t the point. AI won’t replace you if you understand what a connection is.
One of the biggest debates in the design world right now is whether AI destroys originality. If everything is trained on existing work, how can anything feel “new”? Felix takes a much more grounded view.
Most design wasn’t truly original even before AI. Designers have always pulled from the past, remixed references, and reimagined ideas that already exist. What actually matters is the feeling your work creates.
Felix mentioned, “The question isn’t whether something is original. The question is whether someone feels something when they look at it.”
The CEO of ADPList points out that the most exciting trends right now are unapologetically nostalgic. Designers are bringing back 90s website aesthetics, retro Apple graphics, and early internet typography.
None of this is new. But done with taste, it hits an emotional nerve that feels fresh, modern, and intentional. For Felix, AI is just another tool in that remix process. It can generate endless variations, but only the designer can sense which version carries meaning. Which version sparks curiosity? Which version will make someone pause?
Key insight #6: Three ways designers can start experimenting with AI today
Felix closes the conversation with something every designer wants: a starting point. The AI landscape changes fast, and it’s easy to feel behind before you even begin.
But Felix breaks it down into three simple, practical steps that anyone can follow, no matter their skill level.
1. Learn one powerful tool deeply, not twenty tools superficially
As Felix explains, the designers who push ahead are the ones who take the time to understand how AI actually thinks.
It’s not about pressing a generate button. It’s about learning how to guide the system with intent. Strong prompting becomes part of that foundation.
For Felix, the next step beyond prompting is diving into tools like Claude Code or Cursor.
These platforms let you build full websites, create digital twins, and even develop specialized “sub-agents” that can handle tasks such as research, writing, or analysis.
2. Use AI to solve a problem you actually care about
Felix didn’t start by following a random tutorial. He built a small accounting system for his family’s bakery because it mattered to him.
That emotional connection made the learning process feel motivating instead of overwhelming. You don’t need a big project. Start with something small that would genuinely make your life easier.
The real advantage comes from going deeper than surface-level usage. When you understand what the system can do under the hood, you start using AI in ways that feel creative and personal instead of generic or automated.
3. Experiment widely, then choose one or two tools to master
Felix points out that many designers say they’ve “tried” AI coding tools, but very few have actually built anything meaningful with them.
In his view, the real advantage goes to the people who are willing to look inexperienced long enough to genuinely learn.
It’s important to explore different tools, but eventually you need to commit to the ones that resonate with your workflow.
Felix encourages designers to test platforms like Lovable, Figma Make, Kittl Flows, and other AI-powered tools, then choose the ones they want to master. As he puts it, “Try different tools, but pick one or two to master. That’s where the real magic starts to happen.”
Kittl Flows fits neatly into this same approach. For graphic designers, it gives you a clear space to brainstorm, experiment, refine ideas, and move between boards without losing the thread.
Where designers can learn more from Felix
Find the talk insightful? You can learn even more from Felix through the two platforms he’s built to support designers at every stage of their careers.
These platforms reflect Felix’s mission: to make mentorship accessible and help designers build careers that can thrive in a rapidly changing industry.
1. Design by Intelligence Guide
Curated by the ADPList team, Design by Intelligence breaks down how AI is reshaping design — technically, culturally, and professionally. The guide includes a curated AI design stack, prompting techniques for real design workflows, and a 30-day roadmap for becoming an AI-first designer.
You can access the guide for free and start applying the frameworks immediately. It’s a great starting point for designers who want to understand AI deeply, stay relevant, and build smarter, faster, and more confidently.
2. AI First Designer School
A one-time payment of 129 USD gives you lifetime access to career frameworks, mental models, and practical AI workflows.
The school is part of Felix’s AI First Designer platform, which now has over 200,000 subscribers learning how to work confidently in an AI-driven design landscape. It’s built for early-career creatives who want to grow fast without feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace of new tools.
Will AI replace designers? An honest conversation that makes the future of design feel a little less scary
Conversations like these don’t just answer questions; they open up entirely new ways of thinking about our work as designers.
Felix brought a clarity that feels rare in the current AI conversation. Instead of fear or hype, he offered a grounded look at what’s changing and what’s still very much in our hands.
A huge thank you to Felix Lee for joining us on the podcast and sharing the kind of insight creatives genuinely need right now. His perspective reminds us that design is still a deeply human craft, even as the tools evolve.
If this conversation sparked something, take the next step. Try Kittl Flows and build smarter, faster creative boards.
Dev Anglingdarma is a Content Writer at Kittl, specializing in UX writing and emerging tech that empowers designers to work faster and smarter. With five years of experience in economic research and IT solutions, she transforms complex topics into clear, actionable insights for creative workflows. At Kittl, Dev explores AI features and tools that make design intuitive from the start.
