Stacy Thorwart, Founder, The Intelligent Designer

Beyond the Prompt

This week Andrew welcomes Stacy Thorwart, AI educator, founder of The Intelligent Designer, and a fast-growing voice in the design technology space whose social platforms now reach tens of thousands of designers learning how to navigate AI.

After years working with designers at Steelcase—and later helping lead global AI strategy—Stacy stepped into entrepreneurship to help the design industry move beyond curiosity and fear toward practical adoption. Her platform and community focus on a simple shift: AI literacy isn’t just about writing better prompts, it’s about understanding how designers collaborate with intelligent tools.

Andrew and Stacy discuss why many firms struggle with AI adoption, how leadership and culture influence experimentation, and why early “AI wins” are often the key to momentum. They also explore how the designer’s role may evolve—from hands-on creator to manager of AI agents and digital collaborators—while keeping creativity, context, and human judgment firmly at the center of the process.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Stacy Thorwart on LinkedIn

References and resources

The Intelligent Designer

Get in touch with us at bte@sandowdesign.com

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

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