AI Is Reshaping Design Workflows, Not Just Tasks

Stantec's design automation lead says AI is moving from single-task speedups to redesigning entire workflows, letting non-coders build automation. That's a real operational shift for design teams, not just a research demo.

Steven Costa, Stantec's director of design automation, says accessible AI tools are letting engineers and designers automate repetitive workflow steps without deep coding — shifting the conversation from 'which tool' to 'how work gets done'. This mirrors product design: AI plugins for research synthesis, variant generation and handoff are becoming workflow layers, not novelty add-ons. For a junior designer, this matters less as 'learn every AI tool' and more as 'map your own workflow and spot where AI removes friction' — research tagging, component variants, first-draft copy. Label: **adoption** — this is operational integration inside a real practice, not a demo.

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