Beyond the Happy Path: Josh Clark & Veronika Kindred on “Sentient Design”
What happens when a 30-year UX veteran teams up with a Gen Z designer to rethink interfaces in the age of AI? In this Commit & Push episode, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred of Big Medium about their forthcoming book, Sentient Design—a framework for building adaptive, mindful interfaces that collaborate with users instead of dictating to them.
Listen to the episode:
Cross-Generational Collaboration, On Purpose
Josh brings decades of product and UX practice; Veronika brings a native AI mindset. That tension is the point. She questions “best practices” that were forged for static, reactive UIs; he brings context about cycles of AI hype and winter. The result: a practical way to design with machine intelligence—not just for it.
What “Sentient Design” Really Means
No, it’s not about conscious machines. “Sentient” here means interfaces that are seemingly aware of context and intent, so they can adapt in real time. Designers share agency with machine intelligence to compose experiences “in the moment.”
Core principles
- Contextually aware & radically adaptive: UI responds to intent, not just clicks and forms.
- Collaborative (co-intelligence): The system acts like a helpful partner.
- Deferential: Delegate decisions; don’t abdicate them. Suggest rather than impose.
- Ambient: Steps forward when needed; fades back when not.