#31 Preparing Tomorrow’s Designers: Reflections from the Malmö University IXD Advisory Board
What does it take to succeed as an interaction/UX designer in the coming years? My answer might sound boring. Even though the industry is evolving faster than ever and development practices have come a long way, the fundamentals of great design work are pretty much the same today as they were 30 years ago.
Recently, Clint Heyer, Head of the IXD Study Program at Malmö University, invited me to join the program’s Industry Advisory Board to discuss “pressing and future concerns” in IXD, UX, and design.
As I prepared for the meeting, I realized that while many of my concerns are urgent, they are not necessarily futuristic. Instead, some fundamental aspects of design education might be overlooked—especially in areas related to business acumen, core design skills, and ethics.
Here are the five key areas I highlighted in our discussion, critical skills for students and designers at any stage of their careers.
1. Money, Money, Money
Design isn’t just about creating seamless experiences; it’s about creating viable ones. Understanding how a business operates makes a designer exponentially more valuable. A designer who knows how a product is monetized, how customer acquisition costs impact the business, and how retention strategies can be applied will prioritize smarter and design more effectively.
If you’re running a design program and your students aren’t already learning at least some degree of business strategy, it’s time to integrate it. They should have at least a basic understanding of business models, product-market fit, and growth strategies. And, as Ana Cecília Barbosa pointed out during our discussion, every design brief should include business goals and constraints—students need practice designing within real-world limitations.
2. Understanding People
Great research isn’t just about gathering data. It’s about truly understanding people in their real-world contexts. Too many companies rely solely on surveys, usability tests, or analytics, which only scratch the surface. Deep insights come from observing behavior in context.
During my own university years, I gained invaluable insights from reading authors like Lucy Suchman, Paul Dourish, and Christian Heath, as well as from my time as Kjeld Schmidt’s PhD student (even though I never finished the program). Immersing yourself in the environment where a product is used enables you to gain deeper, more meaningful insights that can significantly shape the product or service you’re designing and that no survey can uncover.
They may need to advocate for it in their first jobs, but the ability to observe and interpret real-world behavior is an essential skill. If your students aren’t already shadowing users, immersing themselves in real contexts, and learning to extract deep insights from observation, they’re missing a crucial part of their education.
3. It Is Not About Figma
Unless UI design is their specific specialty, it’s far more valuable for designers to learn how to use business objectives and actual user research to generate and refine ideas using whiteboards, napkins, or sketchpads than to spend hours fine-tuning a Figma file.
The process and reasoning are much more important than the tools. Also, a great designer is tool-agnostic. Tools change. Sketch replaced Photoshop, Figma took over, and now, AI-powered design tools like Lovable are emerging. The best designers aren’t tied to one platform; they understand the fundamentals and are quick learners. That said, as stressed by both Sofie Marie Ottsen Hansen and Ana during the meeting, Figma currently is the de facto tool for documenting, prototyping, and communicating design in pretty much all organizations.
When giving design feedback to students, focus on their iteration process, not just the polish of their final work. Encourage them to experiment with different tools in each project to build adaptability. Most importantly, assess their designs in the context of business goals and user insights, reinforcing the connection between design decisions and real-world impact.
4. Understanding the Design Material
The debate over whether designers should code is never-ending. And, absolutely, you can be a great designer without coding skills, but a fundamental understanding of technology is invaluable. Take generative AI as an example. To get the most out of tools like LLMs (large language models), designers must understand how they work, their limitations, and suitable applications. Without this knowledge, it becomes incredibly difficult to use the technology effectively and in an appropriate context.
Recognizing when certain technologies reach a usable maturity is also key. For years, voice assistants like Siri and Alexa have been frustratingly unreliable. But if you’ve tried ChatGPT’s voice mode, you’ll see we’re at a turning point where voice interaction might finally become viable (if we can overcome the social stigma of talking to devices in public).
Rather than focusing solely on coding, programs should prioritize technological literacy, helping students understand the capabilities and constraints of modern tools. Encouraging hands-on experimentation with emerging technologies can help prepare designers to create relevant, forward-thinking solutions.
5. Design the Designers We Need
When we started building Ambition Empower, the learning community for design and product professionals I’m working with, I talked to Mike Monteiro. As so often, he dropped a line that stuck with me:
“Make sure to design the designers we need.”
That phrase has never been more relevant. Content moderation trauma, AI bias, misinformation, dark patterns, and social media addiction… these aren’t abstract ethical debates. They’re the consequences of design decisions, shaped by industry priorities and business incentives.
Designers cannot fix these systemic issues alone, but they can advocate for responsible design, resist harmful practices, and integrate ethical considerations into their work. If your students aren’t already discussing the unintended consequences of design decisions, it’s time to start.
Accessibility is a more immediate and tangible responsibility. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) will take effect in June 2025, and digital products in the EU must meet legal accessibility standards. But beyond compliance, inclusive design is about dignity, usability, and equity. A well-designed experience benefits everyone.
A third growing concern is the environmental impact of AI-powered features, which will soon be embedded in nearly every product and service and require massive computing power. Some tech giants are even planning new nuclear power plants just to support AI workloads. Designers should be mindful of these trade-offs and explore lighter, more efficient solutions whenever possible.
Both Viktor Papanek’s Design for the Real World (1971) and Mike Monteiro’s Ruined by Design (2019) should be mandatory readings for all designers, as should resources on accessible and sustainable design.
The Core Remains The Same
What I especially appreciated about the Industry Advisory Board meeting at Malmö University was that our discussion wasn’t about chasing trends—it was about preparing students for the real-world challenges of design.
Thirty years ago, a great designer needed business acumen, a deep understanding of users, strong conceptual skills, technical literacy, and a solid ethical foundation. That hasn’t changed. What has evolved is both the context and the content—how these skills are applied, the challenges designers face, and the tools they use. What matters now is ensuring these areas are covered with care, giving them the attention they deserve to equip students with a strong foundation for a successful career.
A huge thank you to Clint and your colleagues for the incredible work you’re doing. And to Ana, Sofie, and all the students who attended, I truly appreciated the insightful discussion. I look forward to seeing how the program evolves.