Digital Detox: Getting Back to Hands-On Design

By Anthony Salahor • June 2025

Industrial designers are living through one of the most radical changes in the history of the field. This transformation revolves around the rapid rise of AI-driven design tools. While these technologies offer immense technical advantages, they also threaten to reshape the way we work, and not always for the better.

Designers are no strangers to change. In the early days, we were artists and sculptors, shaping clay, painting, and crafting objects by hand. As technology progressed and new tools were introduced, we became masters of CAD modelling and computer rendering, and started physical prototyping with 3D printing. This allowed us to work faster, expanded our creativity, and made new solutions possible. Each new tool amplified creativity without dictating direction.

This time, though, the shift feels different. Bigger. More fundamental. AI-based tools have the potential to disconnect designers from the very core of our mandate: creating systems, products, and experiences for people. This article is a reminder that AI is a tool, not a replacement for a designer.

Digital tools can enhance design practice. They boost efficiency, sharpen precision, and help us organize our thoughts. But they fail when asked to make design decisions. Never have we faced a tool so powerful, so seemingly all-knowing. It’s easy to be seduced into believing it can replace the designer entirely. AI cannot understand the emotions or sensory experiences of the end user. It cannot sense the subtle nuances we design for or the tacit knowledge that guides every choice we make.

In physical product design, human insights are everything. My job has enabled me to work with anyone from beginners to with athletes at the pinnacle of their sport. In my experience, only by working with people, in their environments, and with physical prototypes, can meaningful insights emerge. AI cannot sense frustration, delight, awe, or confusion. It cannot feel the weight of an object, the satisfying click of a mechanism, or the tactile sensation of a materials texture. It is our responsibility to create these experiences with end users, using physical prototypes, and to be the ones who recognize and interpret them.

This is not an argument against AI. I am not a Luddite or a technophobe. It is a call for reason and a reminder of what matters most: working with people. Creating physical models and engaging directly with end users can be time-consuming and costly, but it is a critical step in the design process. We must advocate for it and find ways to make it more practical and business-friendly, in order to glean the insights and feedback that drive exceptional products, systems, and services.

As our field evolves, some things cannot change. We must remain close to users, close to context, and close to the sensory world in which our designs live. Get out from behind your computer and work with your end users!

About Anthony Salahor

Anthony Salahor is an industrial designer at TRUE Hockey, where he works on everything from skates and sticks to protective gear, designing for everyone from NHL and PWHL athletes to first-time skaters. He graduated from Carleton University’s School of Industrial Design and recently a Master of Engineering Design at McMaster University. When he’s not designing, you’ll usually find him outdoors — exploring trails, golfing, or, when the weather cooperates, skating on a frozen pond.