OpenAI’s Indgila Samad Ali on what remains human in design

For Indgila Samad Ali, the emotional power of form transcends language and geography. The Moscow-born, San Francisco-based designer brings Persian heritage and Russian upbringing into conversation with technology, creating brand systems that operate at an extraordinary scale whilst preserving human connection. After three formative years at COLLINS, she joined OpenAI’s design team in 2024, shaping how millions of people experience AI. Her work bridges precision and poetry, drawing on constructivist structure and folk art lyricism to build systems that feel both universal and deeply personal. In an industry increasingly defined by rapid technological change, Samad Ali’s practice offers a vital counterpoint: design that moves people not through novelty, but through careful attention to what remains fundamentally human. Here, she reflects on navigating the pace of AI development, the lessons learned across continents and cultures, and why instinct and imperfection will always belong to people. TBI: Hi Indgila! How has the year been going so far? ISA: It feels like the year just started, yet somehow it’s already winter. So much has happened, it could’ve been five years in one. Change, motion and only a few rare moments to just stop and take it all in.