Interactivity
Show HN: KickstartFX – The most advanced JavaFX template for your app with JDK25
Hello there, I am proud to present KickstartFX, a ready-to-use JavaFX desktop application template. You can clone it and get started instantly or try out the pre-built releases on GitHub. If you have an interest in the Java desktop application landscape, this might be for you.Relating to the times JavaFX is mentioned in HN discussions, you can also see this as a showcase about what is possible with modern Java + JavaFX if used correctly. While JavaFX might not be the most trendy desktop framewor
The writing is the design
AI can generate text, but only a designer can generate strategy, empathy, and safety.Imagine a neighborhood with no sidewalks or ramps. Someone using a wheelchair or a parent pushing a stroller is immediately forced to drive or rely on others just to run simple errands.This planning was intentional: it was designed for cars and against people who need help getting around. Every single choice, from storm drain placement to road approval, was a decision that left people out. Just as poor infrastru
The AI concept that changed our company’s way of working
We changed our design mindset. We transitioned from building all the interfaces and prototypes to allowing others to develop their ideas in a safe place, following our design and product rules.Since we started embracing the “production acceleration stage” in the company, we see product design with fresh perspectives.Fully immersed in AI dynamicsLike almost all technology companies today, we are influenced and affected by AI at our core. Part of this technology adoption has brought new company ch
Pixels of the Week – October 19, 2025
👉🏻 Curated weekly UX Research, Design & Tech resources: why Tim Berners-Lee gave the web for free, can AI generate good alt texts, the actual work we do, the oatmeal's opinion on AI art, cozy multiplayer game messenger, stone drip coffee machine, CSS alignment fundamentals, accessible form validation, FigJam from ChatGPT brainstorming
The carbon score: Environmental stewardship or selling virtue as a commodity?
How carbon scores, daily allowances, and eco labels reveal the fine line between genuine sustainability and virtue signalling.Continue reading on UX Collective »
AI Is Revolutionizing User Testing in 2025 — and Honestly, It’s About Time
In 2025, AI isn't just helping with user testing—it's completely replacing the old, clunky process. Synthetic users, real-time feedback, and automated UX insights mean designers no longer have to wait weeks for answers.
AI In UX: Achieve More With Less
I have made a lot of mistakes with AI over the past couple of years. I have wasted hours trying to get it to do things it simply cannot do. I have fed it terrible prompts and received terrible output. And I have definitely spent more time fighting with it than I care to admit.But I have also discovered that when you stop treating AI like magic and start treating it like what it actually is (a very enthusiastic intern with zero life experience), things start to make more sense.Let me share what I
The ecology of a merger
Gregory Bateson and the art of staying in conversation with yourself.This week, someone asked me a question that deserves more than a quick answer:How can a company get bigger without making the experience worse for the people who already trust it?I’m Nate Sowder, and this is unquoted, installment 10. Today, we’re talking mergers and acquisitions.At first, it sounds like a design problem. Or maybe a customer service one. Add new markets, new systems, new customers, and suddenly the challenge is
How To Make Your UX Research Hard To Ignore
In the early days of my career, I believed that nothing wins an argument more effectively than strong and unbiased research. Surely facts speak for themselves, I thought.If I just get enough data, just enough evidence, just enough clarity on where users struggle — well, once I have it all and I present it all, it alone will surely change people’s minds, hearts, and beliefs. And, most importantly, it will help everyone see, understand, and perhaps even appreciate and commit to what needs to be do
The New Reality of UX Careers | Mindaugas Petrutis (Lovable)
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.—In our conversation, we discuss:Why traditional org charts and career ladders are breaking down and what that means for researchers and designers.How AI and startup culture are reshaping roles, shrinking teams, and pushing senior-level decisions onto mid-level professionals.Why most people feel unprepared for their new responsibilities and how to close the gap without waiting for formal mentorship.How to build your own “board of directors
[1/10] How to create micro-interactions in business website #uianimation #uxdesign #framermotion
I create an example of micro interaction, UI animation in the website. I build websites for businesses. #FramerMotion ...
The illusion of alignment
How designers create true alignment with visual thinkingI want to tell you about my favorite apple. It’s incredible. It’s hands down the most delicious apple of all time! When you see it hanging on a tree, its color invites you to come closer and take a bite. When it’s ripe, the flavor is amazing, complemented with a delightfully pleasing texture. It’s a fantastic fruit that fills you with delight.What kind of apple are you imagining?Now, what kind of apple did you imagine? Was it red, green, or
The economics of AI in UX
Reasons to be optimisticAdvancements in AI continue to generate excitement for those in tech and product-focused fields. Coming along for the ride with that excitement is proportionate anxiety for many, especially those in UX. New AI advancements and employer expectations raise various concerns that tend to fall under the larger banner of something like “will AI reduce the need for UX designers and researchers?”. Thomas Stokes at Drill Bit Labs reports a year-over-year increase of almost 7% in U
Design for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna
Today’s web is not always an amiable place. Sites greet you with a popover that demands assent to their cookie policy, and leave you with Taboola ads promising “One Weird Trick!” to cure your ailments. Social media sites are tuned for engagement, and few things are more engaging than a fight. Today it seems that people want to quarrel; I have seen flame wars among birders. These tensions are often at odds with a site’s goals. If we are providing support and advice to customers, we don’t wa
Against images as accessories
Today, too many images are little more than filler and bait.It feels like almost all text published online today needs an image with it. White paper, blog post, social post, news article: these things must have an image with them to survive — how do you expect your writing to reach people by throwing away all the engagement that images give you?But, obviously it wasn’t always like this. See below an image of the cover of the New York Times on armistice day 1918:And a screenshot from CNN from tod
Feedback Fatigue: Why AI Will Stop Asking for Your Opinion
You still think you’re in control when you click that thumbs-up? Think again. In the near future, AI won’t ask for your opinion — it’ll steal it from your behavior, without you even knowing. The age of consent is over; welcome to the era of invisible feedback.
Beyond random: why systems behave in predictable ways
Hidden patterns of system behaviorUnderstanding the feedback loops and recurring designs that govern our livesA Frank Lloyd Wright Stained Glass Window | source: https://www.artic.edu/Systems don’t behave randomly. They behave based on their design. As a result, many systems, even those found in nature, exhibit frequent, common behaviors. Moreover, these behaviors will typically manifest the same problems and issues, so much so that we may even name and categorize them. These are sometimes calle
Trust isn’t a feature — it’s the interface
The hardest thing to automate is confidence.Continue reading on UX Collective »
The importance of taste, and other lies we tell ourselves
It’s not taste that will set designers apart from AI. It’s judgment.Composite AI-created image by authorThere’s that word again. Taste.Listen to a few podcasts with designer A talking to designer B in echo chamber C, and you’ll likely hear it a few more times.We’re talking about taste like it’s the thing that will keep the cyber robots from stealing away our jobs.It’s not that I disagree. But I think once again we’ve rushed out of our way to promote exactly the wrong word to convey what we reall
How to keep design strategic when you’re suddenly in a startup environment
When your company shrinks back to startup size, how can you adapt?Continue reading on UX Collective »