Noah Levin, Figma’s vice president of product design, has a clear message for anyone angling for a design role: the interview bar has risen, not fallen, because of AI. In a July 16 interview with Business Insider, Levin laid out how the rapid prototyping capabilities of modern AI tools now compel candidates to present fully interactive demonstrations of their ideas—not just polished static screens. For Windows developers and IT teams hiring product designers, that shift demands new interview strategies and a sharper eye for what genuine problem-solving looks like when AI can generate a plausible interface in seconds.
The New Interview Standard
Levin told Business Insider that a decade ago, most designers could not “produce an idea that really felt like the real product” because building a working prototype took too much time and technical know-how. That constraint is gone. AI-assisted tools now let designers generate interactive prototypes quickly, even without deep engineering skills. The result: Levin expects every candidate to present their design thinking at the “highest fidelity possible.”
This is not about demanding polished aesthetics. Fidelity in this context means an interactive model that behaves like a real product—clickable, navigable, responsive—allowing interviewers to experience the flow rather than simply viewing screenshots. For Levin, the benchmark has moved from “show me your designs” to “show me how your design works.”
What ‘High Fidelity’ Really Demands
The Business Insider piece underscores a critical nuance: Levin is not asking for a pile of AI-generated prototypes. He wants candidates to demonstrate command of their tools and, more importantly, their own craft. “We like to see that people have experimented with new tools and that they’re not lagging behind in how they work,” Levin said, “but that does not mean they can simply AI slop a bunch of prototypes.”
The distinction is vital for Windows-focused hiring managers. A prototype built with Figma’s AI features—or standalone tools like Lovable or Base44—can look credible in minutes. But a credible surface does not prove a designer understands user needs, accessibility, information architecture, or edge cases. The interview must dig into the reasoning behind each interactive element. Levin clarified that the role of a designer has not changed: it is still about solving user problems with good craft. AI is simply the latest tool; candidates need to show they can wield it without losing their own judgment.
The Discarded Work Speaks Loudest
One piece of interview advice from Levin is likely to reshape portfolio presentations for years: include prototypes that failed. He told Business Insider that the strongest candidates show directions that did not make the final cut, because that reveals how they explored the problem space. “Behind every configuration launch this year that we showed, there were hundreds of discarded ideas, prototypes, and mock-ups,” he said. “I think people don’t show that enough.”
For interviewers, this provides a more rigorous test than requesting a single polished prototype. Ask a candidate to walk through several interactive versions, explain why certain approaches were scrapped, and pinpoint where AI accelerated the process and where human intervention overrode the model’s suggestions. The answers separate tool-operators from genuine problem-solvers.
Why This Matters for Windows Teams
Windows developers and IT teams who hire product designers should pay attention to these shifting expectations. The Windows ecosystem—spanning traditional desktop apps, web-based tools, and increasingly AI-infused interfaces—demands designers who can prototype interactively across form factors. With tools like Figma Make, which connects to production code, a designer’s prototype can inch closer to a real Windows application, making it easier for engineering teams to evaluate feasibility early.
Figma’s own product updates back up this industry shift. In a July 9 release, Figma Make integrated GPT-5.6 to improve initial prototype quality and iteration speed. And a May update expanded Make’s connection to local production code, further shrinking the gap between a concept and implementation. For Windows shops, that means a candidate who can build an interactive Windows-style prototype in Figma during an interview—demonstrating familiarity with platform conventions, resizing behavior, and keyboard navigation—is demonstrating readiness that goes beyond visual design.
How We Got Here
The evolution from static mockups to interactive prototypes as an interview baseline did not happen overnight. A decade ago, even at elite design firms, candidates presented vectors of key screens. Prototyping required separate coding or complicated tools like Framer (in its earlier forms) or Axure. Only a fraction of designers could produce clickable prototypes, and those often looked rudimentary.
Three things changed. First, the democratization of design tools: Figma itself made collaborative design accessible, and its prototyping features matured. Second, the rise of low-code and no-code platforms allowed designers to build front-end experiences without writing code. Third, AI accelerated the entire process by generating layout options, filling in content, and even wiring up basic interactions from a prompt. The Business Insider article notes the emergence of “vibe coding” platforms like Lovable, Base44, and Emergent, which produce polished products in minutes. Even traditional platforms like Canva and Wix have layered AI onto their design surfaces.
Figma’s leadership has consistently argued that AI will not diminish the designer’s role. CEO Dylan Field said last October that AI removes “drudgery” from the design process, and in June he remarked that AI-generated designs are largely “average,” creating space for designers to be creative and push boundaries. Levin’s latest comments extend that philosophy to hiring: AI raises the floor, but the ceiling still depends on human insight.
Actionable Steps for Designers and Hiring Managers
For Designers
- Embrace interactive prototyping today. If your portfolio still consists mainly of static screenshots, start converting your best work into clickable, multi-screen prototypes. Figma’s free tier supports this, and Make can generate a rapid first draft you can refine.
- Curate your process, not just the outcome. Build a supplementary portfolio page or slide deck that shows discarded ideas. Explain why each was scrapped—due to usability tests, technical constraints, or strategic fit. This demonstrates the product thinking Levin values.
- Practice the walkthrough. Be ready to screen-share an interactive prototype during an interview, navigating through it as if it were a live product. Highlight where AI tools accelerated the build and where you exercised judgment to deviate from the model’s suggestion.
- Stay current. Experiment with Figma Make, GPT-5.6-based plugins, or vibe coding platforms. Even if you don’t use them daily, familiarity signals to hiring managers that you adapt to emerging tools.
For Hiring Managers and IT Teams
- Revise interview loops. Replace “walk me through your portfolio slides” with a live prototype review. Ask candidates to present a working demo, then modify it on the spot in response to a new constraint. This tests both tool fluency and strategic thinking.
- Probe for decision-making. After the demo, ask: “Which AI tool did you use, and what did you reject from its output?” The answer reveals whether the candidate treats AI as a collaborator or a crutch.
- Look for Windows-specific fluency. For roles targeting Windows applications, test whether the prototype respects platform conventions like context menus, window management, and accessibility standards. A candidate who builds a truly interactive prototype can demonstrate these in real time.
- Expand the evaluation rubric. Add criteria for process rigor, such as how well the candidate articulated alternate design directions, validated assumptions, and incorporated feedback. An interactive prototype that tells only the success story is less valuable than one that reveals the journey.
A simple comparison table may help interviewers adjust expectations:
| Traditional Expectation | New AI-Era Expectation |
|---|---|
| Portfolio of static screens | Portfolio of interactive prototypes |
| Explaining design rationale | Demonstrating design rationale via walkthrough |
| Final designs only | Final designs alongside discarded explorations |
| Tool proficiency (e.g., Figma) | AI-augmented workflow proficiency (e.g., Make) |
| Polished look and feel | Usable, navigable prototype with real flows |
What’s Next
Levin’s candid remarks are not a one-off; they signal where design hiring is heading across the industry. As AI models improve and integration with production code deepens, the expectation to deliver interactive, near-real prototypes will become a standard interview requirement, not a differentiator. Figma’s trajectory with Make—continuous model updates, tighter code connections—hints at a future where the designer’s prototype is essentially a working product shell. Windows teams that adopt this mindset early will be better positioned to evaluate top talent and build more intuitive user experiences. For designers, the message is clear: AI hasn’t made it easier to get the job; it’s simply given you better tools to show what you can do. Now you have to use them.