Asher Cohen
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Web Review 2025

What's shaping the web this year: generative UI, platform design evolution, and the shift from creation to orchestration

I like to regularly review trends in web development and design.

The last two years have reshaped UI/UX practice.

Generative AI: The Standout Breakthrough

Generative AI is the stand-out breakthrough. Tools like Google's experimental Stitch now turn a text prompt or rough sketch into production-ready interface code in minutes.

Researchers call this "generative UI"—a shift where designers act more as editors than pixel-pushers. As the SpecifyUI paper notes, this enables "structured, iterative collaboration between humans and AI" (arxiv.org/abs/2509.07334).

Platform Evolution

At the same time, major platform languages are evolving:

  • Apple's Liquid Glass design language brings glass-like materials and physics-based light effects (The Verge)
  • Google's Material 3 Expressive aims for richer, more adaptive Android experiences (Times of India)

Expert Perspective

Designer John Maeda has said:

"AI will not replace designers, but designers who embrace AI will replace those who don't."

The Takeaway

These trends converge on a simple takeaway: the craft of UI/UX is moving from pure creation to orchestration.

Rapid prototyping, adaptive interfaces, and immersive environments are no longer future visions—they're here.

#ui #ux