What can UX Researchers learn from YouTube’s success with Gen Z?

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.

“If we’re being honest with ourselves, the transformative new era hasn’t been so transformative yet. We were given the ‘most profound technology since fire,’ and companies have used it to make fake candles.

The next stage of this argument is to tackle a thornier problem: AI is seen as a loose-leaf solution rather than a new paradigm of user experience. We know that the value of UX comes from understanding a user’s entire journey and holistically supporting them along the way; yet, AI is being tacked onto today’s experiences to solve micro user needs instead of transforming from end-to-end.”

The agentic era of UX →
By Alex Klein

Editor picks

• AI isn’t human, it’s math →
  How contradictory claims can reasonably coexist.
  By Elaine Lu
• Design shifts →
  Shifting our practices, mindsets, and the focus of design.
  By Ida Persson
• Life after Spotify →
  What no one tells you about life after layoffs.
  By Sophia Omarji
• How AI damages brand trust →
  The underlying concerns consumers hold.
  By Michael F. Buckley

The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.

Lessons learned when you reach 40, by Frank Chimero →

Make me think

• We need to rewild the internet →
  “Our online spaces are not ecosystems, though tech firms love that word. They’re plantations; highly concentrated and controlled environments, closer kin to the industrial farming of the cattle feedlot or battery chicken farms that madden the creatures trapped within.”
• AI at work is here. Now comes the hard part →
  “Despite fears of job loss, leaders report a talent shortage for key roles. And as more employees eye a career move, managers say AI aptitude could rival experience. For many employees, AI will raise the bar but break the career ceiling.”
• The man who killed Google Search →
  “Under Raghavan, Google has become less reliable, less transparent, and is dominated by search engine optimized aggregators, advertising, and outright spam.”

Little gems this week

How to help users spot AI-powered features →
By Tetiana Sydorenko

Curb-cut effect in practice →
By Takuma Kakehi

How all-you-can-eat buffets are designed →
By Elvis Hsiao

Tools and resources

• Building opinionated products →
  How to focus on your vision and values.
  By Avi Siegel
• Make your Figma components work harder →
  Figma components are a form of art.
  By Allie Paschal
• Designing accessible Apple Watch apps →
  How constraints require designers to think out of the box.
  By Yulia Lápicus

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Agentic UX, life after layoffs, making your Figma components work harder was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.