As designers, we’re entering a new era. AI isn’t just a tool we use behind the scenes, but a collaborator we’re designing with and for. It’s a shift that challenges our assumptions, pushes us beyond static interfaces, and calls on us to rethink what it means to create experiences in an intelligent, adaptive world.
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In this episode, we talk with Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred—co-authors of the upcoming book Sentient Design—about what it takes to design for this new frontier. Josh brings three decades of UX wisdom, while Veronika, a rising voice in the field (and, as it turns out, Josh’s daughter), brings fresh perspective as part of the first generation of AI-native designers. Together, they offer a framework for designing interfaces that respond to context, intent, and user agency—without falling into the trap of chatbots-as-default.
We dig into why chat interfaces might be holding us back, explore new experience patterns that go way beyond conversation, and discuss what it means to design systems where users can essentially draw their own interfaces into existence. We also tackle the thorny questions around trust, transparency, and what happens when we cede control back to users in ways that could make traditional designers uncomfortable.
Learn more about Josh and Veronika:
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Learn more about the Sentient Design book from Rosenfeld Media.
Read more from Veronika and Josh at bigmedium.com.
Bios
Josh Clark is the founder and principal of Big Medium, where he leads UX design efforts that help complex organizations navigate digital transformation and design for emerging technologies. His work spans AI, connected devices, responsive design, and enterprise-scale design systems. Known for shaping future-friendly interfaces, Josh has helped organizations adapt their products and processes to meet rapidly evolving user needs.
He coined the term Sentient Design to describe AI-mediated experiences that feel almost self-aware, and he explores this concept in his forthcoming book Sentient Design: AI and the New Digital Experience (with Veronika Kindred, Rosenfeld Media). Josh is also the author of Designing for Touch and Tapworthy, and he’s spoken at more than 100 events worldwide, delivering keynotes, workshops, and executive sessions on the future of digital interfaces.
Veronika Kindred is a designer and researcher at Big Medium, where she collaborates with leading companies to define and solve complex design challenges. She is co-author with Josh Clark of Sentient Design: AI and the New Digital Experience, a forthcoming book from Rosenfeld Media that explores how AI is reshaping user experience and digital interfaces.
With a degree in Politics and a minor in Data Science from NYU, Veronika brings a unique lens to organizational and technical design work. Her research spans topics from climate change hearings to mobile tech’s role in African politics to the impact of AI on UX. Also a trained photographer, her work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine and on UNWomen.org. Outside of design, she teaches ballet to young students in Brooklyn. In both dance and design, she enjoys bringing discipline, grace, and an air of lightness to her work.
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