The future of enterprise user experience
Not for toothpaste, but for the UX Enterprise Event 2025. The location? Perfectly chosen. A modernized factory transformed into a creative hub. Industrial with a touch of innovation. Just the right atmosphere for a day full of new insights into Enterprise User Experience and AI.
The program was filled with talks, masterclasses, and above all, lots of inspiration. From information architecture to AI-enhanced tools, from DesignOps to game design principles. But two topics stuck with me: game design in enterprise software and Sentient Design. These two visions are going to fundamentally change the way we work. And I would like to share that with you.
The opening: AI needs a foundation
The day began with a keynote speech by Bram Wessels on Information Architecture (IA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). His message was clear: AI without good data is like building on quicksand. Data quality and policy are essential. Augmenting people with AI? That reduces risks. Replacing human autonomy? That actually increases them.
A powerful insight: designers who use AI tools become 80% faster and more efficient. That’s no small improvement. That’s a revolution. But only if we do it right.
The challenges: UX teams in business
Throughout the day, I heard familiar challenges. UX teams struggle to demonstrate return on investment (ROI). This is mainly because enterprise UX focuses not only on end users, but also on employees who need to work more efficiently. That impact is difficult to measure.
Many organizations are still in the early stages of UX. The solution? Engage people in active training. Teach them what user research is and why it is important. Plot design skills on a maturity matrix and identify where the gaps are.
DesignOps was also mentioned. Having a clear design strategy and governance helps enormously. It ensures uniformity, quality, and structure. In the long term, it saves time and money. Any company that wants to scale seriously with platforms and applications should have a well-documented design system.
Game design: From pixels to personas
This brings us to a topic that resonates with me as a former serious game designer: the use of game design principles in enterprise software.
Thorbjørn Lynggaard Sørensen’s talk was about archetypes and personas. How do you ensure that users remain actively engaged in their daily work? Enterprise software often gets stuck in the MVP phase. Functional, but not inspiring. But what if we go further?
Here is my interpretation: This will change in the coming years. Why? Because AI and vibe coding make it possible to personalize experiences based on archetypes. What does this mean?
Imagine: an employee with the ‘explorer’ archetype is given an interface with exploration options and visual data insights. Someone with the ‘strategist’ archetype sees overviews, dashboards, and decision support. The same tool, but tailored to how people work and think.
This may sound futuristic, but the technology already exists. AI makes expanding MVPs cheaper. And the best part? This personalized approach delivers measurable impact. We can finally see which archetypes perform best, where people get stuck, and how we can improve this.
Game design teaches us: engage people by activating intrinsic motivation. By giving meaning to tasks. By making progress tangible. These principles don’t just belong in games. They belong in every tool that people use on a daily basis.
Sentient Design: The new material for creativity
And then came the session that made my day. The final talk by Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred (father and daughter) about Sentient Design. This is not a buzzword. This is a fundamental shift in how we think about AI and design.
Their vision is simple but powerful: AI is a material. Like pen and paper. Like HTML and CSS. It is a tool. But creativity makes the difference.
Flat prompts produce flat designs. But with creativity and good prompt engineering, an LLM is a blank canvas on which you can create anything. Think of Mirage2, where you can build an interactive environment that you can walk through by thinking and visualizing.
What does this mean for interface design?
Interfaces become adaptive based on context and need. Users receive exactly the data and tools they need at that moment to perform their task. Examples already exist:
- SAP Joule
- Salesforce Generative Canvas
- ServiceNow: AssistNow
The designer becomes a maestro. A creative director who determines the experience. Which design system do we use? How should the bot influence each other? What design rules are there? A good foundation is essential.
The new skills
The role of “pixel pusher” or “code writer” is disappearing. We are shifting to a management role in which we supervise agents. The most important skills?
- Creativity – Being able to formulate and visualize your vision
- Prompt engineering – Communicating your ideas effectively with AI
- Design foundations – Strong principles and systems as grounding
A dreamer who can turn ideas into reality with an LLM. A technical architect who understands AI and can integrate it. A data analyst who can manage AI. These are the profiles that will change the world in the coming years.
Why I fully believe in this
I have already invested a lot of time in this area over the past year. Not because it is trendy, but because I can see the impact it has. Sentient Design combined with prompt engineering expertise can have a huge impact on both society and the business world.
The examples from the presentation showed what is possible. Interfaces that think along with you. Systems that adapt. Tools that really help users instead of frustrating them.
Other valuable insights
Between talks, I spoke with various colleagues from the UX domain about the future of UX and AI. These conversations are valuable. They confirm that we are not alone in asking these questions. And it is precisely these kinds of events that provide the opportunity to engage in conversation with colleagues and specialists. It is clear that we only recognize that our field of work is going to change significantly, but certainly not that AI will replace us.
At Rabobank, I heard a quote that stuck with me: “I did not understand what design came to do, until I saw what it meant.” I recognize this from my own work. People are always skeptical at first. But after experiencing real UX, they want it in every subsequent project.
Keen Design’s masterclass emphasized something important: focus on outcome, not output. As designers, we can challenge politics to achieve better results. Every success story showed that UX designers who go the extra mile to find a well-founded solution deliver more value than those who simply carry out an assignment.
Reflection: What will I take away from this?
The event was well organized, with a variety of speakers and topics. The combination of strategic talks and practical masterclasses worked perfectly. But it was the conversations with other professionals that made the day particularly valuable.
My key insights:
- The transition is coming fast. Sentient Design, creative prompt engineering, and AI are going to change our world significantly. This is not a distant dream. It is happening now. And it energizes me. The possibilities are enormous. The impact we can make is huge.
- Foundations first. All enterprise companies must prioritize quality rules and design systems. Without grounding these foundations, an AI transition becomes an enormous challenge. You cannot build an intelligent system on shaky ground.
- The designer is evolving. Our role is changing from executor to director. From pixel pusher to creative director. From code writer to prompt engineer. This requires a different mindset and new skills. But it also opens up enormous possibilities.
- Game design principles belong in enterprise. Personalizing experiences based on archetypes and personas will have a significant impact. AI makes it affordable and measurable. We can finally build enterprise software that inspires people instead of frustrating them.
Finally
This event inspired me and confirmed the direction in which I am working. AI is not a threat to designers. It is a superpower. But only if we use it properly.
Invest in your creativity. Learn prompt engineering. Build strong design foundations. And dare to dream about interfaces that are truly intelligent.
The future of design is Sentient. And I look forward to contributing to it.
Interested in getting your foundation in order?
SUPERP can help you with all major enterprise platforms such as SAP, Mendix, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Our AI teams and UX teams have the expertise for grounding, technology, and design systems.
