"But Marco, no one will ever hire you if you don't have a polished online portfolio!"

Let's unpack this. First of all, I'm not actively job-hunting; I actually really like my current role at Kohl's. If I were to invest countless hours into a slick online portfolio, I'd still be competing in a crowded market. As a former developer turned product designer, it's tough to compete based solely on that flashy first impression recruiters and hiring managers obsess over.

The Harsh Reality of the Design Job Market

Design job openings are scarce these days. When one does pop up, there are often hundreds of applicants, most of whom get tossed aside at the portfolio-review stage. Truly excellent designers can be rejected without any meaningful consideration. I've seen it happen. Some of my designer friends have stunning bodies of work in their portfolio and they still don't get hired. If the unthinkable happened and I lost my job, I might build some form of portfolio presence—but even then, who knows if it'd actually help me stand out?

"So what's the deal, Marco?"

Well, here's my take: product design isn't art. It's not simply about making pretty visuals or even building design flows. Flows, screens, and pixel-perfect UIs are just a fraction of what product designers really do. And guess what? In a year or two, AI will probably handle much of that fractional work for us. None of what we do is rocket science. Most UX patterns have been done thousands of times, which means AI can easily gather the best of the best and spit out incredibly polished solutions.

AI is About to Transform the Core of Our Workflow

Picture a scenario: You prompt your AI design assistant,

"Create a fully annotated sign-in flow. Include 2FA, password recovery, login with code via email or SMS, and integrate Google Material Design. Provide an annotated Figma doc."

Boom! You now have a near-perfect sign-in flow in minutes, informed by the collective knowledge of thousands of successful UX patterns. There are AI-driven design tools doing rudimentary versions of this right now. They aren't perfect yet, but if you look at how fast image generators like Midjourney evolved in just two years, you'll see how fast design AI will improve.

Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Age and Competition

"So what the heck do you do if you lose your job?"

I'm 51. If I were to lose my current job, it would be hard to land another comparable senior product design role because there are armies of thirty-something designers with show-stopping portfolios. That's exactly why I don't obsess about creating one. Instead, I focus on something else: AI. I live it, I breathe it. Every day. In my free time because I love AI filmmaking and music but more importantly: in my job. I soak in it like a sponge, acquiring as much knowledge and experience as possible.

If you're a designer who's worried about your viability in the market—especially if you're also over 40—start learning AI. Right now. Dig in. Understand how to leverage large language models, image generators, and (design) automation tools. Try and learn something new every day. I guarantee your productivity and output quality will skyrocket. My team will tell you that I use AI for nearly every part of my workflow, wherever I can: from synthesizing discovery session notes and brainstorming ideas to generating user research insights or creating stakeholder updates.

Multiply Your Value: Become an AI-Enabled "10x Designer"

With AI, you can effectively become "ten designers in one body." Use it to analyze customer feedback, review your design decisions, propose hypotheses for A/B testing, or even onboard a new team member. Generate summaries after each meeting and share them with your stakeholders. The possibilities are endless.

Will AI come for our design jobs? Yes, but it won't easily displace a lean, mean, AI-savvy 10x designer. If you want to future-proof yourself, harness AI's capabilities. You'll outshine any fancy-looking portfolio because substance—in the form of expertise, adaptability, and speed—will trump simple visuals.

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Sources and Further Reading

• Midjourney AI – for AI image generation
• Galileo AI – early-stage AI UI design tool
• Figma Community Plugins – explore AI plugins for workflow automation

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That's it. Invest in yourself with AI skills. Let everyone else scramble over who has the shiniest portfolio. The future belongs to those who deliver results—fast, efficiently, and intelligently.

Welcome to the future. It's going to be a bumpy ride but also a very exciting one.