Why years of client work, deadlines, and professional practice reshape a designer’s relationship with emerging technology.Photo by K. K. on UnsplashI was having lunch with a couple of friends the other day. Both happen to be designers. They’re also around my age, in their early forties, and they’ve been designing for roughly as long as I have, about 20 years. As you might expect, the conversation eventually drifted toward AI.Both of them talked extensively about how they have integrated AI into their workflows, which I found particularly interesting because they work in very different areas of design. One is an SVP of Design focused primarily on high-level UX strategy. The other freelances across product design, branding, and packaging.The conversation got me thinking about what actually makes a designer more likely to embrace AI. My recent transition from industry to academia has...