With Harmen van Balen & Sjoerd van der Kooij (Fabrique)
In this episode of UX Rotterdam Insights, we speak with Harmen van Balen, UX Director at Fabrique, and Sjoerd van der Kooij, Director and Commercial Lead at Fabrique, about the future of design craftsmanship in an AI-shaped world.
As AI accelerates production and lowers the barrier to execution, the real question becomes:
What happens to craft?
We explore how traditional design processes are evolving — and in some cases, dissolving. The familiar steps, rituals, and frameworks that defined UX for years are being reshaped by tools that can prototype, generate, and test at unprecedented speed.
But speed alone doesn’t create value.
Harmen and Sjoerd share how Fabrique is:
- Rethinking what craftsmanship means when AI becomes part of the workflow
- Redefining the role of designers from executors to strategic orchestrators
- Building new, deeper relationships with clients based on collaboration instead of delivery
- Shifting services from “making” to guiding, aligning, and shaping long-term vision
We also discuss what new skills are becoming essential — systems thinking, facilitation, strategic judgment, and the ability to translate AI potential into meaningful business impact.
This conversation isn’t about fearing AI.
It’s about evolving with it.
Because when the tools change, the real differentiator becomes clarity, taste, and the courage to redefine how we work — together with clients.
