Picking the right moment to inject AI insights and capabilities can be a deal breaker or maker. Its a pivotal inflection point that demands designers and product teams to have the right frameworks, thought processes and knowledge to make the most appropriate decision while implementing AI capabilities. The March recap is a foray into the things I learned and experiments and frameworks I pursued, and why.

It's been a wild few weeks in AI land! Between Musk and Altman firing shots at each other, Gemini's "woke" troubles, and Sora dominating creator AI, the landscape shifted drastically, as have the possibilities.

Its a good way to start a new year- new tech, new job, new things to learn, and pure serendipity. This month's recap is about terminology and concepts I found essential in building up towards a UX Designer for AI, along with commentary on AI from tech experts.

I ended 2023 by revamping portfolio. My main motivation behind this overhaul was simple- push the real worth of design, and as an extension, of me as a designer.

One of my goals for 2023 was to be a better reader and writer. While I slacked off on the writing, I did try to make good on the reading front.

I’m ready for the new year! I love learning and true to form, began planning for what I’ll be gaining chops in. Because #SharingIsCaring, here are my top five picks for my fellow designers!

This episode reminded me of a forgotten application of design skills- predicting the future. And it felt good to be reminded of that again. It’s also forcing me to think harder about how I can safely share active project work without jeopardizing the IP of my workplaces. More so, how can we, as a team of designers, share more often?

The requirements doc is ubiquitous and omnipresent in product teams across the world. The document has confounded me repeatedly. It records details with the combined confidence of a researcher, designer, and developer having done their due diligence when in reality, it is the brain dump of a single person- the product manager.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve listened to folks far more intelligent than me, talk about the value of design and the many ways in which this value is poorly ascertained at organizations.

In this episode, Holley touches upon the differences and similarities in the jobs designers and network weavers do, and how designers have the foundation to become skilled network weavers.

Though a short episode, this one was packed with parallels between leadership skills, and how one learns and acknowledges, and acts on their racial privileges.

Though a short episode, this one was packed with parallels between leadership skills, and how one learns and acknowledges, and acts on their racial privileges.

Listening to this episode reminded me of one of the most foundational principles in physics- “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Somehow, this omnipresent principle has escaped how we function as companies, who we see as an expert, and even how decisions are made. For every success, there is a trail of failures. Why do we downplay the role of failures? And are you really an expert in your field if you only talk about your successes?

This one felt very on-trend for me- I am currently in the throws of rehashing a design system at work. As much as I’d like to admit that the tactical portions take up most of my time, I can’t. I’ve listened to multiple podcasts on the topic, and each of the guests has been surprised by how much time one has to invest in the people. From educating on what a design system is, to how to use it when there is one, constant iteration of the process, quality control, and all the other human things are the most time and effort-consuming aspects of a design system.

Reminder: Your idea isn’t right because it came from the designer. Its right only when the user does what you need them to do :)

Is it an anthropologist? Is it a designer? Is it an executive coach? It’s all of them. Dr. John Curran’s mind is a fascinating place. Why? Because I always find the concept of applying knowledge/methodologies/etc to fields and situations beyond those of our academic training an intriguing and creative process.

Designers entering the realm of business was inevitable. Yet I found it difficult to make any meaningful contributions to that side of the company. So, here’s what I did.

The last couple of decades have seen smartphone ownership and performance increase rapidly. How has this impacted information consumption habits, and what can we as user experience designers do in this information era?