Design Leaders Growth Forum: Design Leadership in the Age of AI

On 15 July 2025, Perpetuate hosted the Design Leaders Growth Forum, an invitation-only conversation over Zoom for VPs and Heads of Design from across Australia. The public announcement said the group came from leading Australian tech companies such as Atlassian, Xero, Employment Hero, Flight Centre Travel Group, Hireup and WooliesX. The theme was Design Leadership in the Age of AI.

The Question: What Does Design Leadership Look Like in the Age of AI?

Sophia Philippou framed it this way: as AI becomes embedded in the design toolchain, the job of a design leader is no longer just about pixels and process. It is about change management, enablement, and redefining where design delivers strategic value. Her recap described "a mix of experimentation, excitement, and healthy tension" as teams adopt AI.

Where Teams Are Today

• Adoption is gaining pace, though maturity varies. Most teams are experimenting with tools for research synthesis, microcopy and rapid prototyping.
• Data privacy is still a barrier. This is especially so for legacy businesses and those handling sensitive data, and governance is still taking shape.
• Vibe coding tools such as Bolt, Lovable and V0 enable fast front-end prototyping, but raise concerns about code quality and system integration.
• Sentiment is mixed. Some designers see AI as a creative boost, others worry about job security. Leaders are encouraging safe experimentation, skill-building and open dialogue.

We're not just designing with AI. We're now designing how to lead through AI.

One guest, quoted in Sophia Philippou's recap.

Guardrails and Governance

The discussion on guardrails was practical. Ideas shared included:

• Centralising design knowledge (the design system, components and Figma files) and moving from prompt engineering to context engineering.
• Running pilot programmes, naming AI champions and building a community of practice inside the design organisation.
• Sharing widely through Slack channels and Loom videos, to build a culture of curiosity, visibility and experimentation.
• Building 20% time for innovation into design OKRs.

Leading Through Change

Vibe coding came up as more than a shortcut. The room saw it as an alternative to paper prototyping and a way to bring stakeholders along on a proof of concept. Run as a co-creation team sport, it puts a premium on craft, because UX principles, accessibility and design systems all still have to hold.

For a Head of Design, the shift is from craftsperson to strategic partner, and the advice was "show, don't tell". Use AI yourself, so you know what it cannot do and can endorse best practice with authority.

Talent follows the same logic. With AI taking over executional tasks, teams are doubling down on insights, synthesis and complexity, backed by upskilling, design growth profiles and research and testing embedded with designers.

The group planned to reconvene three months later to share progress, new tools and practical governance strategies.

We run the Perpetuate Growth Series because this kind of intimate, candid conversation is hard to find elsewhere: invitation-only, peer to peer, for senior design, product and marketing leaders across Australia. Thank you to everyone who contributed so openly. Sophia leads Perpetuate's Product search practice, which includes Product Design leadership, and more of our forums and lunches are listed on the events page.