Vibe coding, hype-driven CEOs, should you copy a competitor?
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
“Are you wondering WTF all this vibe coding stuff is that’s been sweeping your social feeds? You probably get the gist that it’s about having a vision of an app or software you want to build and vibing your way into it with the help of an AI tool.
If you’re an old-school coder like me, you might be laughing a bit at the idea that you can just blink software into reality — especially when you think about all the blood, sweat, and tears it traditionally takes to build excellent products. It’s like a joke that it can suddenly be so easy.”
Editor picks
- Hype-driven CEOs →
When innovation misses the point.
By Raphael Dias - A bright future for strategic thinkers →
The ability to identify and frame problems is your most valuable asset.
By Ed Orozco - LinkedIn is an example of a bad product we just got used to →
Hell is empty — all my colleagues are here.
By Rita Kind-Envy
The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.
Make me think
- Why it’s so hard to align our work with our values →
“People often, for example, oppose the actions and belief systems of billionaires, but take jobs at companies that increase the power and influence of those same billionaires. It’s not because these job-seekers are bad people, but because we are all operating in a system that makes aligning our values and our everyday lives seem impossible.” - Our interfaces have lost their senses →
“We’ve been successfully removing all friction from our apps — think about how effortless it is to scroll through a social feed. But is that what we want? Compare the feeling of doomscrolling to kneading dough, playing an instrument, sketching… these take effort, but they’re also deeply satisfying. When you strip away too much friction, meaning and satisfaction go with it.” - Past and present futures of user interface design →
“For almost half a century now, we haven’t really managed to come up with something better, and that’s not for lack of trying. This fact seems to annoy a lot of people looking for a problem to solve — which every so often leads to something rather silly.”
Little gems this week
Don’t become the butthead →
By Trip Carroll
Type, between two languages →
By Peter Cho
How these massive games keep players locked in →
By Daley Wilhelm
Tools and resources
- How can NotebookLM help us spread good design thinking? →
Making AI work for us.
By Ben Davies-Romano - Should you copy a competitor? →
Here’s when it works (and when it doesn’t).
By Rosie Hoggmascall - Web accessibility requirements in the EU →
In effect by mid-2025.
By Marcus Fleckner
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