📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT
- Editor at Figma Jenna Xie reflects on the themes emerging from Config 2025, emphasizing a shift in the design community toward valuing emotional connection and intentionality over mere efficiency.
- Speakers and attendees advocated for using AI not just to expedite processes but to enhance creativity, craftsmanship, and meaningful UX in a call to balance tech advancements with care and purpose.
- “On the rocket ship that is AI, having a human at the helm is critical. It seems we’re no longer interested in just steering toward faster product cycles (though those are nice, too)—we want to provoke feelings and genuine connections along the way.”
Case Study: The Art (and Science) of Creating Goals that Stick
- UX consultant Peter Ramsey analyzes why Strava's goal-setting features often fail to retain users—despite being a leader in the fitness app space, 84% of users drop their set goals within days.
- Ramsey identifies UX shortcomings, such as a lack of personalization, and suggests how changes like emotional engagement could improve user experience and, as a result, engagement and retention.
- “Strava is one of the most goal-driven fitness apps in the world. They're exceptionally successful at motivating people to move—but only 2% of their users pay for a subscription, and their retention rate is below industry standards.”
Stitch is Google's AI-powered tool to help design apps
- At Google I/O 2025, the company introduced Stitch, a generative AI tool that transforms text prompts and images into functional web and mobile app interfaces. Powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, Stitch generates HTML/CSS code and allows exports to Figma, streamlining the transition from concept to prototype.
- Stitch enters a competitive field alongside tools like OpenAI's Codex and Microsoft's GitHub Copilot. While it may offer fewer features than some rivals, Stitch emphasizes ease of use and rapid prototyping, serving as an accessible entry point for developers and designers.
- Google product manager Kathy Korevec describes Stitch as a starting point for design, enabling users to quickly generate initial iterations before refining them.
Matt Fredette, a UX Academy graduate, channels his background as a recovery coach intohis design work for Anchor, an end-to-end app to help prevent addiction relapse through real-time support and coping tools. His thoughtful UI work creates an inviting, accessible interface, while robust personalization features ensure the experience meets individual user needs. In his responsive redesign for coffee shop Last Cup Cafe, Matt couples research to understand pain points in user flows with the same strong visual sensibility to create a welcoming, intuitive new experience for digital visitors.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
- Why The Jaguar Rebrand Failed and What it Can Teach Us
- A Restaurant or a Sketchbook?
- The Problem With AI Interviews
- Stable Diffusion and Its Alternatives
Design in intelligence made visible. — Alina Wheeler, author
🧪 FROM THE LAB
🎤 Event: UX Academy Alumni Panel and Q&A 🎤
Join us this coming Wednesday, May 28th, at 6pm ET for an interactive UX Academy Alumni Panel and Q&A. We’ll sit down with four UX Academy alumni and discuss their experiences transitioning into UX design.
These individuals span various backgrounds, disciplines, and levels of prior experience, but all have one thing in common: they found a new, successful career as a UX/UI designer. We’ll chat about their time in UX Academy, what it was like switching into UX, and any advice they'd offer to those considering the same path. We’ll also have a Q&A at the end so you can get any questions you have answered! Register here to attend live or receive a recording.
🎥 Watch the Recording: AI Prototypes That Win Stakeholders 🎥
In case you missed it: our recent session with AI expert and Designlab mentor Mel Hogan is now up on our blog. In the session, participants learned to unlock the power of AI-driven prototyping using Lovable.dev together with Figma. View the recording now.
🎨 Bonus Figma Make Session Added to Prototyping in Figma 🎨
We’ve just added a brand-new bonus session to our upcoming cohort of Prototyping in Figma course—all about the just-announced Figma Make. Taught live by one of our top mentors, this session will break down what Make is, how it could change prototyping, and what designers need to start thinking about as AI tools become part of the workflow.
This special session is exclusive to students in the May 30th cohort, and participants will be able to attend live or access a recording after. Enroll in Prototyping in Figma today.
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