Drawing and visual annotation as the natural next modality for AI interaction¶
Insight: Hoang identifies drawing/visual annotation as a more natural modality than text for AI interaction with design work. When working with chat assistants, vibe coding, or image generation, practitioners revert to visual annotation — circling things, drawing arrows, sketching alternate layouts. A single sketch conveys what would otherwise take paragraphs, especially for spatial relationships, hierarchy, and flow. This suggests the next evolution of AI design tools needs sketch/annotation input, not just text prompting.
Detail: Hoang frames this in the context of "high displacement variance" — a period where foundational assumptions shift simultaneously, interfaces are unsettled, abstractions collapse, and roles blur faster than titles can keep up. His key thesis: the hardest problems are no longer about capability but about selection — choosing what should exist. He advocates developing fluency over certainty.
Sources
- David Hoang — "My 2026 focus areas" (2026-01-04)