Last week in the Rosenverse: The UX identity

Last week in the Rosenverse, we hosted a session with Angelos Arnis about the identity we hold as UXers: how it’s shifting, and what this means.

Log into the Rosenverse to watch the recording.

See what you missed below.

Our Fragmented Identity

“The designer is not describing a profession, but naming the one remaining place where their sense of self holds together.”

June 12: You have been told, repeatedly, what you need to do. Upskill. Adapt. Prove your value. Learn to work with AI. Each piece of advice assumes that the variable is always you. This talk argues the opposite. The professional vertigo you are feeling is not a personal failing. It is the correct reading of of a decades long problem in the making. Angelos Arnis traces how the profession lost access to its critical tradition, how the return to craft removed the certain important elements that made design credible, and how AI completed a sequence that was already underway. This talk is not a framework telling you what to do, but more of a safe space for you to realize that if you have been feeling off for the past few years… well, you are not alone. Watch the recording »

About the speaker:

Angelos Arnis is a strategic designer who builds the structures and conditions for holistic and resilient systems that enable impact, cross-functional collaboration, and intentional change. He is using design to create more equitable conditions for the planet and its people. Read more »

Q&A with our speaker, Angelos Arnis

Q: What does “fragmented identity” mean in the context of design work?

A: It refers to the way design has become one of the few remaining places where people try to hold together their sense of self, work, and value. When the profession becomes tied to personal coherence, changes in the industry can feel deeply destabilizing.

Q: Why has design thinking come under criticism?

A: The critique is that design thinking was often treated like a business spectacle: it signaled innovation and purpose without always preserving the substance of design judgment. In that view, it generated meaning on the surface while hollowing out some of the field’s deeper critical tradition.

Q: Why does strategic judgment matter so much in design?

A: Strategic judgment is what lets designers shape direction, not just execute tasks. When roles narrow toward production alone, designers become more vulnerable to replacement, less able to influence outcomes, and less connected to the broader system around the product.

Q: Is AI really replacing designers?

A: Not in the full sense. The session suggests AI can produce fluent, superficially competent work, but it does not understand systems, take a stand, or push back on bad decisions the way human designers can.

Q: What role can designers still play in an AI-driven future?

A: Designers still bring something AI cannot replicate: forward-directed imagination shaped by human experience and context. The talk frames that as a basis for collective renewal rather than resignation.

Catch up on last week’s recordings, and mark your calendar for upcoming events.

See you in the Rosenverse!