What AI Taught Me About Product Design: 6 Lessons for Better Design Thinking

When I first tried ChatGPT, I didn’t expect much. It’s just a chatbot, right? But the more I poked at it — asking silly questions, tricky ones, vague ones — the more I noticed something interesting: its quirks mirror many of the same challenges that make the product design process so rewarding (and sometimes frustrating).

Not because AI is flawless (far from it), but because the way it responds reminded me of a few fundamentals that every designer, engineer, or innovator needs to keep in mind.

Here are six lessons AI helped me rediscover — and why they matter for turning ideas into real, usable products.

1. Curiosity Fuels the Product Design Process

The fun part of design is that it never really ends. There’s always a new material, method, or tool around the corner. AI is just the latest in a long list.

Treating it with curiosity instead of fear keeps the process playful, and play often leads to the best ideas. At Poru Design, curiosity underpins everything we do — whether it’s CAD design, branding, or rapid prototyping.

2. Proof Matters More Than Passion

One of ChatGPT’s quirks is how confidently it can present nonsense. Design ideas can be the same: they sound great until they hit real-world testing.

That’s why prototyping, stress-testing, and design for manufacture are so important. It’s not enough for an idea to look good on paper — it has to survive the workshop.

3. Empathy is the Human Edge in Industrial Design

AI can’t feel what it’s like to open a stiff lid or the joy of a perfectly weighted handle. That’s where human designers shine.

Empathy transforms clever engineering into products people actually love using. This is why user-centred design is at the heart of Poru Design’s approach — from industrial hardware to consumer-facing products.

4. Why Clarity is Critical in Design Briefs

Ask AI a fuzzy question, get a fuzzy answer. The same is true for product briefs. Without clarity at the start, everything downstream becomes messy.

Stripping a problem back to its simplest form makes design stronger. That’s why we spend time upfront with clients to define the challenge clearly, before sketching or modelling begins.

5. Iteration Powers Innovation

The first draft — whether an AI output, a CAD model, or a hand sketch — is rarely the one that sticks.

Real progress comes from cycles of refining, discarding, and reworking until something clicks. At Poru Design, iterative prototyping and CAD drafting are built into our process because iteration isn’t failure — it’s momentum.

6. Tools Extend Designers, They Don’t Replace Them

When CAD arrived, people thought it would replace sketching. When 3D printing exploded, some thought it would replace workshops. Neither happened.

AI won’t replace designers either. It’s just another tool in the box. The judgement, creativity, and empathy still come from people. At Poru Design, we see AI as a way to extend what’s possible — never as a substitute for human insight.

Final Thought

Experimenting with AI hasn’t changed how I design — but it has sharpened my perspective on what really matters: curiosity, clarity, empathy, iteration, validation, and the smart use of tools.

At Poru Design, those principles guide everything we do — whether sketching ideas, building CAD models, prototyping, or shaping a brand. Tools evolve, but great design stays rooted in timeless principles.