How to multiply your value as a Designer in the age of AI

The #1 question I see being asked by designers today is:

“How do I stay valuable in a world of AI where teams are shrinking, expectations are rising, and business impact is everything?”

So I wanted to bring in someone who’s been shaping this space for years: Kate Syuma. Kate was the first Growth Designer at Miro back in 2017 and went on to be the Head of Growth Product Design for over 6 years through the rise of Product-Led Growth (PLG). 

Today, she’s a founder of Growthmates and Growth Advisor with a mission to help teams grow meaningful products that delight users.

So I asked Kate to shares her 5 principles to multiply your value as a designer in the age of Ai 👇

Why PLG + UX is more relevant than ever

A turning point in the design world is reaching its maximum. The shift to accelerate AI and the economic climate force teams to focus on ROI. Designers are expected to think like business partners, not just product creators.

“The biggest question for businesses remains the same: how to deliver business value with fewer people, less time, less confidence, and higher uncertainty”

And today, that means learning how to connect design, data, and impact.

So, how do you do that as a designer? Let’s see.

Who is a Growth Product Designer

Growth design is not as new as it sounds. The discipline emerged around 2016 with the rise of Growth teams, Freemium and Trial models that SaaS started actively testing. The first Growth PM needed a companion — a Product Designer, who can speak the same business language, prioritise hypotheses, and find most impactful solutions with speed. 

The ongoing Live data shows the demand for Growth roles has been increasing over the last couple of years. These multi-disciplinary designers combine several domains of knowledge: Growth, User Research, Data Science, PM and of course the Designer craft skills.

“Growth Product Designer is a full-stack Product designer who knows how to connect user needs to business goals, validate assumptions, and achieve impact on business metrics.” 

Looking at this definition today, I’m surprised at how deeply it resonates with the needs of the market that is automating more and more elements of a traditional workflow. What remains still not automated with AI is a deep, empathetic understanding of the market and the user to design solutions that will be smartly distributed and adopted. 

I also got inspired by the concept of 10x engineering and tried to apply it to design.

“A Growth Product Designer is a 5x designer who combines skills such as [1] Product design + [2] Data analysis + [3] UX research + [4] Impact prioritization + [5] Speed of iteration. If this combination can be found in one designer, it can be an invaluable “team of one” for any business.”

Now, how to start applying that mindset to become an indispensable Product designer who is not just aware of the latest AI trends, but also becomes a reliable business partner? Let’s break down 5 principles for becoming a designer who multiplies business value 👇

1 — Start with data and a clear hypothesis

Don’t jump straight into Figma / Lovable / whatever. Start by asking:

• What business outcome are we optimizing for?

• What do we know about user behavior in this journey?

• What’s our working hypothesis?

Your hypothesis becomes your north star — it ties the problem to real-world data and lets you track impact over time.

🎯 Ask 1 data question to become more business-savvy. Create a clear hypothesis for your current project. Share a UX heuristic with your PM to help them think more user-centrically.

2 — Fail forward and iterate smart

Only ~10% of experiments lead to a successful outcome (yes, even at Google or Airbnb). So the goal isn’t to be right on the first try. It’s to learn fast and fail forward.

At Miro, Kate led a 5-year iterative redesign of onboarding. The most impactful changes came not from big bets, but small compounding experiments.

🎯 Run 1 experiment and re-run it with 1 new iteration. Always run a second iteration.

3 — Use cognitive psychology in your design

Great design solves real problems. But elite design solves the real root cause.

Kate suggests applying principles like Hick’s Law — the more options you give users, the harder their decision-making becomes. This is how you reduce friction and improve conversion.

🎯 Apply 1 new cognitive bias to your next design exploration. Make opinionated decisions using both data and UX heuristics.

4 — Optimize for the speed and quality of learnings

Design hidden behind internal polish doesn’t help users — or your team. You don’t need perfection to ship. You need learning.

Cut what doesn’t matter. Get feedback sooner. Learn faster.

🎯 Say NO to 1 unnecessary polish and YES to 1 scrappy idea that will teach you something new next sprint.

5 — Share accountability and show your impact

Design isn’t just about aesthetics anymore — it’s about results.

“A great design is not enough; it must also drive meaningful results for the business”

Sometimes the best design move is to remove something, not add. That’s still an impact. And impact is what earns you visibility, influence, and trust.

🎯 Connect your current project to a measurable impact. Find 1 “quick win” and prioritize it this week.

“A growth mindset is not just about design principles — it’s about openness to new ways of working and experimenting.”

Want to go deeper? Start here:

• Ask a data question

• Run a test + iterate

• Use 1 cognitive bias

• Ditch 1 polish, test 1 idea

• Find 1 quick win

Kate’s approach is grounded, strategic, and 100% user-centered — and if you want to go deeper, she just launched a course on exactly this.

It’s called User-centric Product-led Growth, and it breaks down her full framework for applying these principles inside product teams. If you're trying to tie UX to revenue, experimentation, and long-term strategy — this is for you.

👉 Use code DIVE for $120 off the course — the cohort starts on 16th of June