A reflective piece on the state of design as a profession, touching on how design's grand ambitions have given way to enshittification and user-hostile patterns. It references Sean Goedecke's argument that meaningful software design requires deep familiarity with the codebase, and Maggie Appleton's concept of the Design Engineer who understands the technological medium. It also covers Canva's acquisition of Affinity, framing it as a strategic move to capture non-professional designers by giving away pro tools as a loss leader.
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