DOC • Why AI is exposing design’s craft crisis

AI tools like Figma AI and Figma Sites haven't created a crisis in design — they've exposed a decade-long erosion of technical literacy among designers. The industry collectively decided designers don't need to code, producing professionals who can't evaluate AI-generated output, spot accessibility violations, or participate meaningfully in technical trade-off discussions. Evidence includes 210 WCAG violations in Figma's own demo sites, Builder.ai's collapse after faking AI with 700 engineers, and a 50% drop in entry-level design hiring at Big Tech. The argument isn't that designers must write production code, but that strategic literacy — understanding APIs, performance constraints, data models, and technical debt — is now the baseline for maintaining influence in product decisions increasingly driven by technical considerations.