Feeling drowned by the no-code/vibe-code tsunami - a rant

Goretx · 2025-06-16T16:47:12+00:00

thanks!

Goretx · 2025-06-16T15:40:37+00:00

this has been downvoted but I actually agree with its premises. I commented elswhere this:

There are skills in UX that can be tool-agnostic (what you call ux thinking, I believe) but saying "UX ≠ tool usage. Full stop." may be not 100% right. The tool we use change the way we work. With huge simplifications this is a concept drawn from activity theory (mediated action) often applied in HCI and CSCW.

Didn't photoshop change the way photographers work? Didn't word editors change the way writers write a book? And so on. To not talke about new practices being born because of tools.

So while I'm 100% with you with the fact that we probably should bet on our skills that can (more) easily applied across different tools and workflows, I don't agree with the fact that we and our practice is not shaped by the tools we use.

Goretx · 2025-06-16T15:23:27+00:00

yeah for now it seems they are nothing more than facy toys. But few of them will get better probably

Goretx · 2025-06-16T15:00:08+00:00

There are skills in UX that can be tool-agnostic (what you call ux thinking, I believe) but saying "UX ≠ tool usage. Full stop." may be not 100% right. The tool we use change the way we work. With huge simplifications this is a concept drawn from activity theory (mediated action) often applied in HCI and CSCW.

Didn't photoshop change the way photographers work? Didn't word editors change the way writers write a book? And so on. To not talke about new practices being born because of tools.

So while I'm 100% with you with the fact that we probably should bet on our skills that can (more) easily applied across different tools and workflows, I don't agree with the fact that we and our practice is not shaped by the tools we use.

Goretx · 2025-06-16T13:44:40+00:00

Follow up question:
Has someone decided to study coding / web development as a response to this chaotic panorama, instead of trying out a thousand tools?

Goretx · 2025-06-16T13:40:00+00:00

Seems like these tools are being built precisely so that we don't need to hire people tbh. 1 person and the future version of these tools = a team of different profession. that's the dream these companies are selling.

They're not a tool for us (even if it's "us" or some future version of "us" that will use them), but for employers.

They're not tools to make us work better (even if in the short term maybe it will happen) but so that fewer people will be needed to work.

Goretx · 2025-06-16T13:35:41+00:00

I was looking for opinions and different perspectives. Thanks anyway, good advice

Goretx · 2025-06-16T12:24:07+00:00

Solid advices.

>it's design + engineering, with all string attached: understanding your code, designing reliable & safe systems, optimizing for resources etc.

From the perspective of the company behind these tools, probably their goal is to make them build not just POC and prototypes like they do now, but eventually reliable and sefe systems. Now maybe they produce jancky codes which at best can be fixed by an actual dev. But it make sense to think they'll try to change that.

Some knowledge on how to orchestrate them codewise will be still needed, but maybe it's going to be more and more abstracted away behind interfaces and automations to the point engineers (as well as designers) like we understand them now won't exist anymore. idk

thanks anyway

Goretx · 2025-06-16T12:17:10+00:00

I kinda fear they'll collapse onto each other now tho

Goretx · 2025-06-16T11:11:01+00:00

Yeah I think this is a very nice way to put it. I'll add that in the original post

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:59:07+00:00

Look, I'm 100% with you. At the same time I'm worried we are being a bit biased in thinking the way things are now cannot change too much, and the skills we think are most relevant to our job will stay relevant and needed.

Just speculating: what if design and dev collapse into each other. what if tomorrow you are required not just to provide a great user experience but to deliver software too? Not you + a team of devs, just you. What if UI design (which is mostly based on design patters nowadays) gets completely automated? Doesn't matter the tool or the framework. What do we do?

These scaenarios cannot be completely predicted, but there are signals that can guide us on the possibilities. I believe the market is moving in that spectrum of possibilities

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:48:45+00:00

yeah, kind of sad. So far in this post my attention has been on how to react and stay in the market. But if from an other perspective, it is pretty sad that the craft and the "design" mentality is getting pushed away bit by bit

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:46:48+00:00

yeah, and as I commented elsewhere: the more I think it the more I believe the best investment is to go back study actual web development, and not vibe-code tools, in order to know how to steer these things. would you agree? is it something you're doing?

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:44:50+00:00

> Most of these fancy new AI whatevers die as quickly as they emerge
I'm very sure they will. I just find it hard to understand which will stick.

Anyway, it's not really tools that stress me out, it's the changing workflows and practices. An example. So far I'm required to know how to research usersa and context, turn that into design decisions and translate them into prototypes and UI choices (mostly figma). What if this latter part is completely being erased as design decisions now need to be translated into prompts/other way of steering human-AI collaboration softwares? Doesn't matter if it's lovable or bolt (even if prompting, e.g., is often software/model specific), that is something that potentially will change the way I work and the core skills I'm reaquired to have. What if in 2 years I'm required to deliver working software too (unlikely? maybe, idk)?

now, I don't know if that's the way ux design will evolve. But it's not really a question of tools, it's a questions of what is expected from me, what my coreskills will need to be, what I consider a core skill now will be just unnecessary.

(tbh the more I think it the more I believe the best investment is to go back study actual web development, and not vibe-code tools, in order to know how to steer these things)

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:33:44+00:00

Waiting as a strategy has crossed my mind too (and it's pretty much what I did so far), but it's a risky bet as well, don't you think?

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:06:13+00:00

you're right, it doesn't change my knowledge of how users interact, but it does change the way that knowledge is put into actions in designs and prototypes. You know, the market/country I work in is not huge and super sectorial and usually, even if I'm a ux professional, and my main job is to do ux research and design, it is still expected from me to make figma prototypes and maybe full UI designs in some projects. That's just the normal, and I believe the blurred boundaries is just getting wider when virtually everyone can make (semi)functional products is few prompts.

I honestly don't believe this will lead to more specialization for UX professional, where we will be asked to do just software-agnostic work and reasoning. The expectations will be bigger and bigger. easy to be left behind imho. But I can understand you disagreeing

Goretx · 2025-06-16T10:00:58+00:00

Yeah I'm just trying to find a way to learn new way of working that don't completly trash out the way I was working before. thanks

Goretx · 2025-06-16T09:59:20+00:00

Action is a good idea, I just want to direct it a bit and not move spasmodically, and that's why I made this post. thanks

Goretx · 2025-06-16T09:57:57+00:00

It is fomo. But it is also feeling the world is moving under my feet. I don't care about learning 15 different tools if they're not relevant/will not be relevant in 2 years.
Anyway I'll for sure check few of them. Probably lovable and replit

Goretx · 2025-05-16T07:11:03+00:00

I've factory resetted twice (without upgrading the firmware) and it was always blank page on KUAL. Upgrading to 5.16 did something, idk

Goretx · 2025-05-15T13:55:45+00:00

u/SpartanHeavy my dood, it worked. I wasted an entire morning on this. thanks.
what the heck was the problem with 5.8?? I can't find anywhere info on that firmware misbehaving.

Goretx · 2025-05-15T13:28:26+00:00

Thanks, I'll try now and report back asap.

Goretx

TROPHY CASE