The hidden structure of digital products
Bridging the gap between atomic design and conceptual modelsContinue reading on UX Collective »
Interactivity
Are we designing for brain rot?
The consequences of making habit-forming apps.Continue reading on UX Collective »
How to nail onboarding — a case study of Runna
How to nail onboarding — a case study of RunnaLessons in clarity, confidence and communityNearly 1 billion runs were recorded on Strava in 2024.Targeting runners is a big market.And it’s a market that’s growing — according to Strava, running was the ‘fastest growing sport globally’ with ‘Gen Z turning to running to create community and connection’.Which is the winning strategy for coaching app Runna.If you run, you’ve probably heard of Runna. The consumer app is all over Instagram, TikTok, and S
Evergreen Web Design Is a Lie (But Maybe That’s Okay)
“Evergreen” web design sounds noble, but in reality, it’s just safe, bland, and creatively bankrupt. Designers chasing timelessness are often just afraid to take risks—and that fear is killing originality on the web.
Fading Light And Falling Leaves (November 2025 Wallpapers Edition)
November can feel a bit gray in many parts of the world, so what better way to brighten the days than with a splash of colorful inspiration? For this month’s wallpapers edition, artists and designers from around the globe once again tickled their creativity and designed unique and inspiring wallpapers that are sure to bring some good vibes to your desktops and home screens.As always, the wallpapers in this post come in a variety of screen resolutions and can be downloaded for free — just as it h
Designing for emotional dependence
How tech companies like OpenAI are addressing emotional safety to make technology more humane.Continue reading on UX Collective »
Hoping for the long-term
An interview with Alexander Rose.Image by Dave Hoffer. Inset is the little baby redwood tree I planted in my backyard.Time is money. Move fast and break things. Crunch time. We hear these idioms repeated, and to many, they become true. You can live your life by these sayings if you like.I prefer:“Time is a fluid condition which has no existence except in the momentary avatars of individual people. — Virginia Woolf”Woolf seemed to recognize the spectrum on which time exists — its fluidity. Import
The horrors of designing for omniscience
What happens when systems decide the human is ‘all-knowing’Ever click a button and have a system misbehave with no warning, feedback, or a way to undo, only to feel the repercussions minutes or a few days later?This is what I’ve coined “Designing for Omniscience” (and the horrors thereof). It’s what happens when a system assumes the human on the other end is ‘all-knowing’ and proceeds in silence. This arrogance of finality can scar (or scare) and have real world consequences beyond the screen, a
The paradox of tolerance
Karl Popper and the extinction of the rational mindKarl PopperDisagreement feels like a loyalty test.Even the way we ask questions has changed. We phrase them like traps and treat the answers as evidence. That hasn’t stopped us from talking about sensitive topics, but it’s made talking things out feel very performative.For me, it’s raised a harder question: What does tolerance actually mean? Because those most eager to claim it might be showing us its limits.I’m Nate Sowder, and this is unquoted
Sora app icon: a visual breakdown
How the new Sora app icon gives away more than meets the eye.The New Sora App Icon is Giving Away More Than Meets the Eye.Two weeks ago we saw the release of the new Sora app by OpenAI. Unfortunately the app is only available in the US and Canada, and I’m in neither. Since I can’t use the app itself, I thought I’ll do a breakdown of what I can actually see — the app icon, it looks simple at first glance but it packs a lot if we can deconstruct it. I’m doing this breakdown as a fun exercise in de
After the AWS outage
Can we trust Big Tech monopolies in essential infrastructure?Continue reading on UX Collective »
Can technology fix voting?
What impact does digitization of electoral process actually have?Image of a hand dropping a ballot inside of a computerThe mayoral election is around the corner in my hometown of Montreal, so I wanted to confirm whether I was registered to vote at my current address. What I naively assumed would be a simple task turned out to require a trip to a local community centre. I gave my name, they flipped through a binder, and gave me the thumbs up within 3 seconds of arriving. It felt like the ultimate
How Games UXR Actually Works | Mark Cox (Lloyd's Banking Group)
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.—Mark Cox is a lead researcher and the Design Research and Service Design Agency Spotless in London. He’s been in research for about 7 years, and because he’s operated in an agency, he’s been lucky enough to work on all kinds of projects in different industries. The hat he currently wears is as a Games User Researcher. In our conversation, we discuss:The early origins of games UXR and how it still leans on its Atari-era roots.Why
Building AI-driven workflows powered by Claude Code and other tools
How agentic CLI tools extend Figma MCP and turn wireframes into production-ready prototypesI set out to explore how designers can use agentic CLI tools like Claude Code and Codex CLIto build AI-driven workflows that turn rough wireframes into production-ready prototypes reflecting a real codebase, not generic mockups. After testing both tools, the results revealed that a product designer can truly prototype with real code and the help of Figma MCP.With a solid design system in place, design and
The Coming War of AI Browsers: Why the Web Will Never Be the Same Again
AI browsers aren’t just changing how we surf the web—they’re rewriting the rules of the internet itself. Instead of visiting websites, we’ll soon consume summaries of them, filtered through someone else’s algorithm.
Micro-Interactions That Don’t Annoy: The 3-Second Rule for UI Animation
You land on a website. The logo bounces in. Then the heading fades up. Then each word types itself out letter by letter. Then the buttons…
The spark of micro-thrills: how micro-interactions trigger emotion (and memory)
Create that micro-spark. That’s the one they’ll remember.
Bring Your SwiftUI Apps to Life: 7 Playful Micro-Interactions Every iOS Developer should know
As We all know, SwiftUI makes building iOS apps easier than ever, but what really separates forgettable apps from memorable ones? The tiny…
Micro-Interactions and Micro-Animations That Actually Boost Engagement (Not Just Eye Candy)
We are far past the point where animations were just shiny wrappers for static screens. In today’s web interfaces, micro-interactions and…
Micro-Interactions That Actually Matter (And 5 That Don’t)
Your loading spinner is gorgeous, but users hate waiting 3 seconds to see it.