Wow. That's actually something that hadn't really struck me until reading this comment. While there is development to be done in ever project still, the upfront amount is growing smaller and smaller with the (P|I|S)aaS techs available to companies. A lot of it does really come down to making the front end of a product.

This is my feeling as well. I'd add the caveat that design shouldn't be interpreted merely as "front end work" or "ui". You also have to design your algorithms, data models/structures, features, and an optimal user experience.

Building Instagram required a lot of engineering work?