The Three Designer Archetypes That Our Clients Need Right Now

Anthropic's Head of Design declared the design process dead. The three archetypes she's naming now show up in every brief we see.

A designer archetype is a recurring profile of skills and mindset that companies keep hiring for across roles and seniority levels. Jenny Wen, Anthropic's Head of Design and former Director of Design at Figma, recently appeared on Lenny's Podcast and dropped a statement that's been echoing in my head ever since:

"The design process that designers have been taught, that we treated as gospel — that's basically dead."

Strong words. But honestly? I think she's right.

Why the Old Playbook Is Breaking Down

Here's what I'm seeing in our day-to-day work: The role of how we collaborate with clients is fundamentally changing. For years, we were the executing service provider — clients brought us the challenge, we determined the design process, and we delivered the solution.

Now? We're increasingly becoming drivers and sparring partners. Clients are doing more themselves (thanks to AI and better tools), processes are becoming more flexible and faster, and we need to react in real-time. We're less about controlling the process and more about guiding the thinking.

Therefore, we're becoming two things simultaneously:

Consultants who guide clients from initial ideation all the way through to market launch. We're in the room earlier, staying longer, and thinking beyond pixels and prototypes.

Sherpas who lead teams through uncharted territory with our deep expertise. Not just showing the way, but teaching clients how to navigate complex design and product challenges themselves.

This shift demands a different kind of designer. And that's exactly what Jenny Wen outlined in her conversation with Lenny.

The Three Designer Archetypes Companies Want

🔲 The Block-Shaped Generalist

The Profile:
This isn't your traditional "jack of all trades, master of none." The Block-Shaped Generalist operates at the 80th percentile across multiple skills — think product thinking + design + front-end development + marketing thinking.

The Motto:
Be dangerous in 3-4 disciplines, not world-class in just one.

Jenny puts it perfectly: "The design role is stretching and spanning. We're all becoming more PM-shaped, more engineering-shaped. If you already have strong skills in a few different buckets, it's really easy for you to flex."

Why clients need this:
In fast-moving projects, you need people who can jump between conversations — from technical feasibility with engineers to go-to-market strategy with the marketing team — without missing a beat. These designers don't just design; they connect dots across the entire product ecosystem.

👕 The Deep-T Specialist

The Profile:
You know the T-shaped designer concept? This is that, but the tip of the T goes way, way deeper than everyone else. We're talking top 10% in the industry in one specific craft.

The Motto:
Be the person teams bring in because you teach what AI cannot do (yet).

Jenny's insight here is crucial: "Given that anybody can make anything, having that deep specialist slant feels like they can really differentiate the things we're building."

Why clients need this:
In a world where AI can generate decent designs in seconds, the real value lies in creating something so thoughtful, so refined, so deeply considered that it simply can't be replicated by algorithms. These designers push quality to levels that become competitive advantages.

They're not just executing design — they're elevating entire teams' understanding of what excellence looks like.

⚡ The Cracked New Grad

The Profile:
This one is often overlooked, but I really agree with Jenny here. It's not about age or years of experience — it's about being defined by never-ending curiosity and diligence.

These designers learn new tools in days, not months. They think anything is possible. Because for them, it is.

The Motto:
Be the person who has no idea what's "impossible" and builds it anyway.

Jenny describes them as "Someone who's early career, wise and experienced beyond their years, but very humble and eager to learn."

Why clients need this:
Every team needs someone who hasn't yet learned what "can't be done." Someone who approaches problems with fresh eyes, no baggage, and boundless energy. They bring disruption not through rebellion, but through genuine curiosity and the fearlessness that comes from not knowing the "rules" yet.

What This Means for Teams and Clients

After countless projects with clients across industries, I'm convinced these three archetypes represent exactly what organizations need right now:

Broad experience — to navigate complexity and connect silos
Exceptional individual quality — to differentiate in a world of AI-generated mediocrity
That bit of disruption — to challenge assumptions and unlock new possibilities

The best teams I've worked with don't just hire one type. They deliberately build a mix. The generalist who can quarterback the entire process. The specialist who ensures the core experience is truly exceptional. The curious newcomer who asks the questions everyone else stopped asking years ago.

The Question Worth Asking

As design continues to evolve — shaped by AI, changing client needs, and new ways of working — the real question isn't "Which archetype is best?"

It's: Which archetype are you? And are you building your own hybrid?

Because here's what I've learned: The designers who thrive aren't necessarily the ones who fit perfectly into one box. They're the ones who understand their strengths, lean into them, and strategically build complementary skills that make them invaluable.

The design process we treated as gospel might be dead. But the opportunity for designers who adapt? That's very much alive.

What's your take? Which archetype resonates most with your experience — or are you seeing a fourth emerge?

Read next:

• Designers Who Code, Developers Who Design — the same convergence seen from the other side of the fence
• Vibe Coding: The Real Risk Nobody Talks About — what happens when production itself becomes a commodity
• The Democratization of Production — why the floor keeps rising for what one person can ship alone