The New Design Skill That Nobody Talks About

Hosted by Erin Essex

Thu, Jun 18, 2026

4:00 PM UTC (45 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

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Figma Crash Course: From Basics to Pro in 4 Days
Erin Essex
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What you'll learn

How to develop taste, judgment, and design conviction

Understand and build visual and UX taste, defend decisions confidently, and articulate the reasoning behind your work.

Where AI belongs in the design process

Learn when and where AI accelerates your work, creates risk, and where human judgment matters most.

Direct AI instead of letting it direct you

Use AI as a collaborator for exploration and critique—not a substitute for thinking or creativity.

Why this topic matters

AI is an incredible collaborator, but your judgment as a designer is still your greatest advantage. As new tools emerge every week, it's becoming increasingly important to know which create value, which create noise, when to use them, and how to direct them effectively. In this lesson, we'll explore why human judgment, taste, and decision-making are becoming even more valuable in the AI era.

You'll learn from

Erin Essex

Sr Interaction Designer @Youtube | Former Shutterstock & MongoDB Design Director

I’m Erin Essex, a UX designer, instructor, and content creator with over a decade of experience helping teams bring ideas to life through design. I’ve taught hundreds of students—from beginners to mid-career professionals—how to level up their design skills. In this lightning lesson, you’ll learn when and where to implement AI, how to direct it collaboratively, and how to articulate the "why" behind your designs tastefully.

Previously at

YouTube
Google
Shutterstock
MongoDB
Major League Baseball
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