"Design is deciding" — AI produces fast but lacks judgment¶
Insight: AI eradicates the "tyranny of the blank page" by producing high-fidelity output immediately, but experienced designers still outperform AI-assisted non-designers because design is fundamentally about knowing where, when, and how to make decisions. In a timed Build Wars competition, an experienced designer using Webflow beat a non-designer using Lovable despite starting slower — the non-designer plateaued after the initial AI burst because he didn't know what to decide next.
Detail: Mall observed two distinct pace curves: the AI-assisted non-designer (Henrik) had a massive burst at the start then flatlined, while the experienced designer (Brett) started slow but compounded decisions over time to overtake. The AI tool encourages "diffusion, pattern matching, statistical synthesis" but doesn't consciously diverge from patterns unless instructed. Mall distinguishes between producing (which AI does well) and deciding (which still requires design muscle memory). He also notes the importance of "motifs" — signature design decisions that give work personality — which the experienced designer developed naturally but the AI-assisted approach never found.