Dynamic times need new tools

Bernhard Staiber

The established design and collaboration tools repeatedly reach their limits when dealing with the dynamic topics we face. We frequently encounter situations where these tools are insufficient. Until now, we had two options:

• Either put a lot of effort into bending the existing tools so that they come closer to our actual intentions,
• or invest a lot of time and effort in learning how to use professional tools, which carries the risk of creating more complexity than it resolves.

What has changed in 2025

Last year, something significant changed in this regard!

New vibe coding tools such as Lovable give us designers who are familiar with code and modeling the opportunity to build our own tools. In the past, this would have required an entire team – now it has become second nature for us to develop our own tools and helpers frequently.

I am currently using tools I developed myself in various projects. Where I would previously have reached the limits of traditional software (How do I map fact A in software X?), I can now push those limits myself. Many topics that I previously felt I couldn't adequately represent can now be captured flexibly, parametrically, and dynamically.

To address specific challenges that are difficult or impossible to represent in established tools, I can now create my own perspectives in the form of tools! And I am significantly less dependent on the existing software landscape.

This changes how we conduct research, design, and develop strategies. Instead of searching for solutions that fit existing tools or must be derived from them, we can focus on the challenge. We no longer ask: What is my tool capable of? We then ask: How do I shape the available knowledge and data so that they significantly advance me in my challenge?

Co-create

Collaboration with our developers has also changed. In a current project, for example, I transferred a system sketch from Lovable directly into an application and then added it to a Git repository. A senior developer added functions based on this and fixed some of the usual Vibe coding teething problems. This results in tools that do not remain at the Vibe coding level.

This workflow enables us to have a very immediate co-creative process – and at the same time leads to a deeper shared understanding of the system or work object.

Of course, the question remains when to create new tools and when to use tried-and-tested ones. However, this is not a new problem – people have been asking themselves this question since the hand axe.

What is new, however, is that today we can create dynamic, parametric tools that access different data sources ourselves and no longer necessarily rely on a whole team of specialized people.

If you are facing questions that cannot be easily solved with your tried-and-tested tools: Let's talk!