📰 3 ARTICLES
Is AI Really Coming for Your Career?
- Through the lens of an illustration career, creative agent James Hugh addresses concerns about AI potentially replacing creative roles in the workforce, a common fear amongst individuals looking to shift their careers into a more creative space.
- While agreeing that economic uncertainty, particularly in an election year, has caused a downturn in demand for creative work, the author argues this is temporary, and that emphasis on human creativity will still be valued in many business sectors.
- “In industries like manufacturing or corporate sectors, where creative work may not be a priority, clients might use AI-generated images to fill spaces… However, the picture changes when you consider clients and industries that value human creativity. Many clients don't want AI-generated imagery to be part of what they create, and some clients have even started adding clauses in their contracts that expressly forbid the use of AI tools in creative work.”
The Reinvention of the Head of Design
- Product Leader and Manager Darren Smith examines how the Head of Design role is changing: shifts in industry expectations require design leads to be involved with strategic business decisions, champion the importance of their teams, and focus on innovation within the design work itself.
- Hiring design leaders who can amplify the impact of design is critical, as aligning design leadership with non-design business priorities can be challenging, especially when reporting to executives unfamiliar with design's strategic value.
- “Investing in design leadership can benefit organizations by fostering innovation, enhancing team performance, and improving customer satisfaction. It involves integrating design thinking into leadership practices, promoting diversity, and focusing on human-centered leadership. This can lead to more creative, inclusive, and effective design solutions, ultimately contributing to the organization’s success.”
The Current State of Mobile UX
- Sonia Sousa, UX researcher at Baymard Institute, looks at analyses of over 8,000 mobile app elements, identifying ten common UX pitfalls across homepage navigation, in-app search, product listings, and app-wide design.
- The comprehensive study determined that through Baymard’s assessment criteria, many mobile apps face issues with their usability; through breaking down each category, an explanation of problem areas and potential solutions is provided.
- “80% of mobile apps were tightly clustered in the “mediocre” category with just 12% faring “decent” and 8% at “poor”. Further, none of the benchmarked mobile apps rated “good” or “perfect” overall, leaving considerable room for improvement in the e-commerce user experience.
💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION
Michelle Andrews, a UX Academy graduate, melds her background in education with her UX skills to bring productivity app EDUblue to life. The end-to-end project harnesses AI to help educators with planning and organization, addressing pain points felt by many of today’s teachers. In her responsive redesign for the independent bookstore Foxtale Bookshop, she creates a more visually cohesive site that also prioritizes ease of use for those who seek a digital shopping experience over the brick-and-mortar store.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
- A Creative Holiday Gift Guide
- A Garden Brings Van Gogh to Life
- Typography as Art Itself
- An Arts Program in Prison
It's very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better. — Jonathan Ive, architect
🧪 FROM THE LAB
🚀 AI for Visual Design Launching Soon
The next cohort of our highly-rated course, AI for Visual Design, launches in just one week, on Friday, November 15th.
Through hands-on projects and weekly lectures, you’ll learn to effectively leverage top AI tools for visual creation. Become a pro at prompt crafting, create AI assets that align with brand strategies, work with animation, and more.
If you’re a designer, marketer, entrepreneur, or just looking to better understand these powerful tools, this course is for you. Spaces are limited—secure your spot today.
🎤 Special Webinar this Week: Designlab for Teams
Interested to learn more about bringing Designlab trainings to your whole team? We’re hosting a special webinar this Wednesday, November 13th, at 12pm ET: Designlab for Teams.
In this session, we’ll lay out the multitude of ways we work with design teams, share past successes and case studies, and answer any questions you may have.
Register here to secure your spot, and attend live or receive a recording.
👋 Meet a UX Academy Alum
On Tuesday, November 12th at 2pm ET, UX Academy alum Kevin Shertz will join our informational webinar session. This is a great opportunity to hear from a recent graduate: Kevin will speak about his experience in both UX Academy and successfully finding a UX role in today’s market.
Previously an architect, Kevin now works in Product Design for the software company Vectorworks. Kevin will share what it’s been like in his new role, as well as take questions from participants who’d like to hear more about his journey. A member of our Admissions team will host the session, and also speak about the UX Academy curriculum, mentorship, student community, and more.
Register here—even if you can’t attend, we’ll send you a recording.
