The Rise of the Model Designerwith Barron WebsterJanuary 6, 2026Hey there, we're Ryan, Federico, and Robin, a trio designers who have noticed an undercurrent of change in the design world. AI is taking over software, and as it does, the demands on its designers are changing. AI is squishy and has a mind of its own, so designing AI-first products feels less like designing for print or HTML, and more like working with some kind of alien intelligence that crash-landed on Earth. The skills needed by designers are rapidly changing, and every day a new model or tool drops that turns everything on its head.So we started AI Design Field Guide to serve as both a resource for our peers in the field, and also a time capsule of this unique time where we're all figuring out how this new kind of work is done in real time. Each article is an interview with a designer working in the field who has a unique perspective on what's happening.Our first interview is with Barron Webster. We knew we had to talk to him first because he's been elbow-deep on AI products for over 8 years (AI years are kind of like dog years). If there's anyone that could see through the hype cycles and into the future, it would be him. Early in his career, he designed Teachable Machine at Google Creative Lab, the first consumer tool for training AI models. It launched in 2017. After Google, he joined Replit to work on their AI features, which were the force that drove them to grow from a startup into a unicorn.He recently joined Figma as one of the world's first model designers – a new hybrid role for people who want to get their hands exceptionally dirty with LLMs. The emergence of this new role seems like proof of this change we're noticing. So, we thought that unpacking it with Barron was the perfect way to kickstart our conversation about how design is changing in the age of AI.Ryan MatherSo what's a day in the life of a model designer look like? What's your mandate?Barron WebsterI sit with the AI research