Is generative UI ever going to happen?

Design Systems WTF

Design Systems WTF
Is generative UI ever going to happen?
Sep 14, 2026 Season 2 Episode 63

Live recording of the fortnightly podcast Design Systems WTF (back for season two!), where Luke Murphy and Michelle Chin attempt to combat all the amazing wtf in design systems. In each episode, they answer a single question around design system troubles with a Q&A from the live audience.

A few years ago everyone started talking about how AI-powered interfaces are going to start generating UI on the fly. But how close is that from being a reality? Have there been any advances towards it being a mainstream thing? And what do we need to know from a design systems perspective to cater towards it?

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Episode Artwork Is generative UI ever going to happen? 51:25 Episode Artwork What should we call design systems? 41:33 Episode Artwork What is the future of agentic design systems? 44:18 Episode Artwork How do you get research findings back to the design system team? 52:35 Episode Artwork Is Governance Just Theater? 47:50 Episode Artwork What do the Config 2026 announcements mean for design systems? 55:15 Episode Artwork ⁠⁠Is driving adoption just a polite way of begging 40:18 Episode Artwork If AI can generate your design system docs, what does that say about how valuable those docs were in the first place? 43:10 Episode Artwork Is Figma holding design systems back? 46:28 Episode Artwork How do you make developers to care about your design system? 37:09 Episode Artwork Is a design system mandate worth fighting for? 40:30 Episode Artwork Does your design system need a PM? 40:46 Episode Artwork What do you actually test? 34:43 Episode Artwork Do MCPs care more about patterns or components? 47:05 Episode Artwork Are we delighting enough in our design systems? 41:00 Episode Artwork Do our design systems give new joiners anxiety? 32:55 Episode Artwork What will happen in design systems in 2026? 39:41 Episode Artwork What's with the emotional baggage with design systems? 37:35 Episode Artwork Are we reducing complexity with design systems?? 32:01 Episode Artwork Episode 44 - Should we care about consistency? 46:53 Episode Artwork Are we finally at the point of contextual documentation? 39:44 Episode Artwork Can you actually measure the ROI of a component? 24:19 Episode Artwork Should designers know how to code? 29:45 Episode Artwork Are accessibility guidelines enough to be inclusive? 25:28 Episode Artwork Are design systems a dead end? 31:22