Vandelay Design: Web Design Blog

3 min read Original article ↗
  • The search result you’re used to designing for is disappearing. Not metaphorically—literally disappearing, replaced by AI-generated summaries that synthesize information from multiple sources and present it directly to users. If you design content experiences, marketing sites, or anything meant to attract organic traffic, this shift demands your attention. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the emerging…

  • Open Dribbble on any given day and you’ll see gorgeous interfaces. Clean dashboards with perfect data visualization. Signup flows with delightful micro-interactions. Mobile apps with spacing so precise it looks generated by divine algorithm. Now try to build one of those interfaces for a real product with real constraints. The gap between the inspiration and…

  • There’s a conversation happening in every marketing meeting that designers should know about. It usually starts with a line like “our competitor has a 3,000-word guide on this topic and they’re ranking #1” and ends with a request to add more content to a page that users are already struggling to navigate. This is the…

  • There’s a particular uncanny valley in AI-generated interfaces. You’ve probably seen it: a dashboard that looks polished on first glance but feels wrong the moment you try to use it. A signup flow that follows every pattern in the book yet somehow creates friction at every step. Screens that are technically correct but experientially hollow….

  • For two decades, we’ve optimized websites for search engines. We learned the rules: keywords in headers, descriptive alt text, fast load times, mobile responsiveness. But the way people discover information is shifting, and designers need to understand what it means to build for a new kind of reader: large language models. When someone asks ChatGPT…

  • A designer recently asked me to review her portfolio. The work looked impressive: polished interfaces, sophisticated layouts, cohesive brand systems. But fifteen minutes in, I realized I had no idea what she actually did. Every project showed beautiful final deliverables without revealing anything about how she got there or what decisions she made along the…

  • Every few weeks, a new AI tool launches with claims about revolutionizing design. The demos look impressive. The generated outputs appear polished. And designers everywhere feel that familiar knot in their stomachs. But here’s what the product demos never show you: the messy, human parts of design that happen before and after the pixels. The…

  • If you’ve seen one AI-generated website mockup, you’ve seen a hundred. The same purple gradients. The same sans-serif hero headlines. The same three-column feature sections with the same rounded corner icons. Scroll through Dribbble or Behance lately, and you’ll notice an unsettling homogeneity creeping into design portfolios — a visual convergence that makes everything feel…

  • I’ve been using Midjourney for weeks, and everything I make looks the same”, a designer messaged me at 2 AM. “I feel like a glorified prompt jockey. How do I use AI without losing what makes my work mine?”  That frustration captures a growing anxiety in the design world. As AI tools like Midjourney and…

  • The notification pings. Another AI tool promises to “generate stunning designs in seconds.” The headlines scream about automation replacing creative jobs. And somewhere, a designer stares at their screen, wondering if their carefully honed skills will become obsolete in the age of artificial intelligence. I get it. The fear is real, and it’s spreading through…

  • These earth tone color palettes are perfect for a wide variety of nature-inspired designs. Use the provided hex codes to save time choosing colors.

  • Are you considering a career in graphic design and wondering about the specific qualifications and duties or a designer? Get answers here.