Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Interaction designer and educator, Erin Malone, takes a look back to the days of the emergent graphical user interface in her new book In Through the Side Door, Fifty Years of Women in Interaction Design. While discussing the new personal computer and some of the women involved in defining these new experiences, she recalls the disruption this new tool made to the world of graphic design and publishing with tools like the Macintosh, Adobe Photoshop, Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator. It was a time of existential change to an industry. Not unlike what we are experiencing today with the emergence of AI in all our tools. What lessons might be learned from the past as we look to the future? How might we future-proof ourselves in this new world? Join a lively discussion reflecting on the past to shape our future.
Key Insights
-
•
The desktop publishing revolution took about 25 years to replace centuries of craft, but AI's impact on design roles is accelerating much faster.
-
•
Early interaction design innovations at Xerox PARC heavily influenced Apple’s UI development, yet women’s contributions there remain largely invisible in public records.
-
•
Women's workplace rights like credit card ownership and job protection during pregnancy were only established in the 1970s and 1980s, showing how recent gender inequalities shape design workforce demographics.
-
•
AI is poised to automate many 'making' tasks in UI design, prototyping, icon creation, and UX writing, reducing these from people-heavy jobs to machine-driven processes.
-
•
Design roles focused on strategy, synthesis, and planning are less likely to be replaced by AI and represent critical future-proof skills.
-
•
The democratization of UX research risks being shortsighted if organizations dismiss the fundamental need for human insight and generative understanding.
-
•
Bias and ethical concerns in AI systems, especially those affecting women and people of color, require ongoing attention and remediation.
-
•
Balancing AI-assisted automation with preserving authentic human creativity and insight is a key challenge for the future of interaction design.
-
•
Sharing messy, imperfect design processes publicly can demystify design, showing it as an accessible craft rather than a mystic art.
-
•
Educational programs must evolve rapidly to incorporate emerging technologies like AI and multimodal design, while still grounding students in foundational principles.
Notable Quotes
"We can all do it. Making stuff is just a thing you do."
"If AI makes building trivial, the challenge shifts to figure out who’s best to decide what to make."
"Desktop publishing was the most disruptive change in an industry in the history of the US until now."
"Many of us need to catch up with how to position ourselves earlier rather than later in the coming AI landscape."
"There’s still a need for human insight to understand behavior and apply meaningful design decisions."
"Design automation will reduce armies of workers to maybe just a single operator of the machine."
"Those who don’t know the past are doomed to repeat it."
"AI is very biased. We have a lot of work to do to get the bias out before going further with many systems."
"Usability testing may be automated, but generative research—the deep understanding of humans—is unlikely to be replaced."
"Learning the fundamentals will be like learning the classics. You learn them once but may not use them every day."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Personifying the environment as a stakeholder is like Trojan horsing important climate conversations into the design process."
Sheryl Cababa Alexis OhThinking in systems to address climate with Sheryl Cababa
June 12, 2024
"Embracing the beginner’s mind means everything is up for play and creativity, leading to more fun and innovation."
Jemma Ahmed Robert Fabricant Sean McKay Llewyn Paine Kate Towsey Noah BondTheme Panel
March 11, 2025
"User experience can transform complex climate data into meaningful stories that spur action."
Louis Rosenfeld Matt Jones Olga Khroustaleva Michael Leggett Karol MunozDo you want to work on climate? (Climate UX Discussion Series)
November 15, 2023
"Relationships are a currency and if you have strong connections, you’ll be rich in your career."
Rachel Radway Katie Bingham Joe WiertelThe Many Paths Of Design Operations
September 8, 2022
"Inclusion is thinking about creating spaces for people that make them feel that they belong."
Lija HoganPractical Principles of Inclusive Research
March 27, 2023
"There is no solid way to control the course of your re-platforming project; being flexible is essential."
Malini RaoLessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey
June 9, 2021
"I’ve been in the UX world for like 30 something years before we were even calling it UX."
Louis RosenfeldThe Rosenbot and the Rosenverse: An AMA with Lou Rosenfeld
June 5, 2024
"Showing where you’re using research more visibly creates a virtuous cycle of adoption and impact."
Jon Fukuda Jake Burghardt Jose Coronado Natalie Dunbar Denise TillesAll the Ops: Successful cross-functional collaboration
September 10, 2025
"Iteration means don’t prepare your talk the night before. Start early, practice, and evolve your message over time."
Louis Rosenfeld Jemma Ahmed Christian Crumlish Uday Gajendar Chris GeisonCoffee with Lou #3: What Makes for a Successful UX Conference Presentation?
May 2, 2024
