📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT
Integrating AI Into Real Design Work
- UX Designer Fanny Build breaks down her experience working with AI in her design work, finding that while AI is far from replacing designers, it can meaningfully augment workflows—especially in research, ideation, and documentation.
- Ultimately, success with AI depends not on automating tasks, but on orchestrating tools, prompts, context, and critique in a thoughtful workflow.
- “The integration of AI into design workflows isn’t just about automation—it’s about amplification… AI helps me break out of my mental patterns by suggesting approaches that feel foreign to my design sensibilities, which often leads to interesting solutions.”
How to Evolve Your Product Without Losing Your Users
- UX Designer Kunal Rathore explores how scaling products effectively means balancing innovation with stability—designers must carefully evolve features without alienating users by maintaining continuity within the existing UX.
- Rathore champions using iterative processes, user feedback loops, and careful change management (such as gradual rollouts and communication) to help reduce friction and maintain a cohesive experience.
- “As a product grows, features added over time can feel scattered. It may seem logical to regroup everything in a redesign. Don’t redesign as if starting from scratch — redesign to evolve what users already know.”
Minimizing Your Site's Environmental Impact
- Design consultant James Chudley considers how our digital footprint—through data centers, device usage, and network traffic—contributes to global carbon emissions, making digital sustainability a pressing concern for the modern era.
- He argues that performance optimization—especially reducing page weight—can actually serve a double benefit, since faster, leaner sites consume less energy and also feel better for users.
- “If the internet were a country, it would be the 4th largest polluter in the world and represents the largest coal-powered machine on the planet… As responsible digital professionals, we must act quickly to minimize the environmental impact of our work.”
💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION
Olivia Fay, a UX Academy graduate, brings clarity and empathy to her design work, creating experiences that are both functional and engaging. In Unpackd, a sustainable shopping app, she designs intuitive flows that help users track purchases and reduce waste, making eco-friendly choices feel simple and rewarding. For Pacemaker Audio, she designed a mobile-first booking site that makes it easy for touring bands to reserve studio time and navigate venue rentals—transforming what was once a clunky process into a much more seamless experience. Her work demonstrates a strong ability to merge thoughtful research with polished design, delivering experiences that are clear, functional, and purposeful.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
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The details are not the details. They make the design. — Charles Eames, designer
🧪 FROM THE LAB
🚀 Courses Launching Soon
AI for UX Design (Launching 10/3)
- Perfect for: Those looking to understand how to leverage AI to enhance and streamline their UX design process
- You’ll learn: How to use AI to accelerate user research, generate and evaluate design concepts, improve workflows like wireframing and thoughtfully integrate AI into your UX workflow
- What students say: “Something that used to take me two hours now takes me two minutes. That frees me up to focus on the strategy, the storytelling, and the nuances of design.”
- Next steps: Secure your space today.
UX Academy Foundations (Launching 10/6):
- Perfect for: Those totally new to UX design looking to learn the fundamentals in a supportive structure
- You’ll learn: Visual and UI design foundations, proficiency in Figma, how to iterate on design work, integrating AI, and more. Be fully prepared for UX Academy upon completion.
- What students say: “The experience was fantastic. The curriculum was very well rounded and provided me with the fundamentals of design. The projects were challenging and well prepared. The mentorship experience was really great—having to interact with someone that’s actively working on the fields as a designer was very helpful.”
- Next steps: Join our upcoming UX Academy informational webinar today, 9/26 at 11am ET to learn more or enroll now.
