Stop Solving Problems. Start Unlocking Human Purpose.
Jun 22, 2025
The Great Design Delusion
We're all problem junkies, and it's killing our craft.
Every design brief starts the same way: "Users are confused." "Conversion is tanking." "Support tickets are exploding." So we roll up our sleeves, fire up Figma, and get to work patching holes in a sinking ship. But here's the uncomfortable truth: most design problems aren't actually design problems. They're symptoms of something deeper — a fundamental misunderstanding of what people are really trying to accomplish. We've become so good at fixing broken things that we've forgotten how to build meaningful ones.
Intent Changes Everything
Forget everything you think you know about user-centered design. It's not enough anymore.
Intent-driven design isn't about solving problems — it's about fulfilling purpose. It's the difference between asking "What's broken?" and demanding "What are they really trying to achieve here?"
While everyone else is playing whack-a-mole with usability issues, intent-driven designers are asking the questions that actually matter:
What emotional job is this interaction really doing?
What does success feel like to this person?
How can we make them the hero of their own story?
This isn't semantic bullshit. This is the difference between designing a better checkout flow and designing confidence. Between optimizing form fields and creating moments of empowerment.
The $10 Million Mistake We Almost Made
Let me tell you about the time we nearly spent six figures redesigning the wrong thing entirely.
The brief was classic: "Fix this broken user flow. It's too long, too confusing, customers hate it." The metrics backed it up — completion rates were abysmal, support calls were through the roof. Every stakeholder in the room was ready to tear it down and start over.
We did what any good design team does: comprehensive user research. We ran usability tests, conducted interviews, analyzed support ticket patterns. The data confirmed what everyone already knew — the flow was objectively broken in measurable ways.
But here's where most teams stop digging. We kept asking deeper questions. Not just "Where do users struggle?" but "What are they feeling when they struggle?" Not just "What confuses them?" but "What do they need to believe about us to continue?"
Turns out, users weren't struggling with the flow because it was complex. They were struggling because they were scared, frustrated, and felt completely out of control. This wasn't a task they wanted to complete efficiently — it was a crisis they needed to survive with their dignity intact.
The real insight? They didn't need fewer steps. They needed more reassurance.
So yes, we streamlined the mechanics. But the breakthrough came from designing for their actual intent: feeling safe, informed, and back in control. We added proactive communication, built in multiple safety nets, and created micro-moments of validation throughout the journey.
The result? Completion rates didn't just improve — they doubled. Support calls dropped by 60%. But more importantly, user sentiment shifted from frustration to genuine gratitude.
That's the power of intent: solving the right problem, not just the obvious one.
Why Material 3 Gets It—And Most Design Systems Don't
Want to see intent-driven design at scale? Look at Google's Material 3 evolution.
Material 2 was peak design system thinking — clean, systematic, predictable. It solved the problem of inconsistency beautifully. But it had zero personality, zero emotional intelligence, zero understanding that interfaces aren't just functional tools — they're relationships.
Material 3 said "fuck it" to that entire paradigm. Instead of just organizing information, it started expressing identity. Dynamic color theming, contextual shape language, adaptive contrast — features that don't solve usability problems but fulfill deeper human needs for self-expression and personal connection.
This is what separates great design systems from merely functional ones: they understand that people don't just use interfaces — they live in them.
Making Intent Real—Because Pretty Theories Don't Ship
"Design for intent" sounds like consultant speak until you try to actually implement it. Here's how to make it operational without losing your mind:
Replace feature requests with emotional outcomes. When stakeholders ask for "a better search function," translate that into "help users feel confident they're finding the right thing." The solution might not even involve search.
Map intent, not just user flows. Traditional journey maps track what people do. Intent maps track why they do it — their motivations, anxieties, and desired outcomes at each step. This is where the real design opportunities hide.
Design systems for feelings, not just functions. Instead of just documenting components, document the emotional principles they support. What should buttons make people feel? How should error states preserve dignity? This isn't touchy-feely nonsense — it's strategic consistency.
Prototype experiences, not just interfaces. Build rough prototypes that capture the emotional arc of an interaction, not just the visual polish. Test how something feels before you perfect how it looks.
The Intent Imperative
Here's what no one wants to admit: problem-solving design is a commodity. Anyone with basic UX training can identify friction points and smooth them out. AI will eventually automate most of it anyway.
But designing for intent? That requires empathy, intuition, and deep human understanding. That's the work that creates emotional connection, builds brand loyalty, and drives real business value.
The companies that figure this out first won't just have better products — they'll have more meaningful relationships with their users. And in a world where attention is the scarcest resource, meaning is the ultimate competitive advantage.
The old model: Fix what's broken, optimize what's slow, simplify what's complex.
The new model: Understand what people are really trying to achieve, then design experiences that make those achievements feel inevitable, empowering, and deeply satisfying.
Stop Fixing. Start Fulfilling.
Every time you start a new project, ask yourself: Am I solving a problem or fulfilling a purpose?
Problems are about the past — what went wrong, what's not working, what needs to be fixed. Intent is about the future — what people are trying to become, achieve, or experience.
We don't need more problem-solvers in design. We need more purpose-fulfillers.
Because at the end of the day, users don't just want things to work. They want to feel like they're working toward something that matters. And that's not a problem to be solved — it's a human truth to be honored.
The question isn't whether you can afford to design for intent. It's whether you can afford not to.
