UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
January//24//2025
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the past week!
1.
Employees and Leaders Not Aligning on AI. Very interesting article from Qualtrics on how AI can be embedded in organizations with a sensical approach that marries management and employees expectations. The article highlights initiatives such as Alignment on the purpose and goals of AI, Supporting Employees with Guidance, and using the Right AI tools for the Jobs to be Done, to name but a few the article mentions. Worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“Just 53% of employees of managers and individual contributors trust leaders to implement AI effectively — a figure nearly 20 points lower than senior leaders. Added to this, only half of employees at manager level and below (52%) believe their boss will prioritize their wellbeing over profits when making decisions regarding new technologies — 17% lower than senior leaders; and 47% say new technology is being deployed with clear principles, ethics, and guidelines — compared to 69% of senior leaders.”
2.
Skills to Learn in 2025. Amanda Kavanagh’s article for The Next Web synthesizes some of the key findings from the Future of Jobs Report of 2025 (you can check it here). The article does emphasize AI, as is expected, but in parallel, it focuses on Technological proficiency roles, Robotics and Automation, and to a lesser extent, Space Technologies (yes, that’s the term used). Cybersecurity remains a field of great importance, but there’s also a quote from the article worth mentioning: “Relevance has significantly increased for leadership and social impact, AI and big data, talent management, as well as customer service and service orientation.” Worth reading through and reflecting as we ponder our continuous education journeys. Highlight of the article includes:
“The report also highlights the increased demand for both technology-related skills and broader workplace skills. In terms of tech skills, big data and AI (yes, again), networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy are all predicted to be the top fastest-growing skills. Despite all this, AI and big data only placed 11th in the list of core skills for 2025. In top billing is analytical thinking (69% of employers agree). Resilience, flexibility, and agility come next, followed by leadership and social influence, highlighting the vital role that flexibility and teamwork play in modern workplaces.”
3.
Dropbox’s Brand Guidelines Revisited. Dropbox recently released their new home for their Brand Guidelines. The impeccable looking digital product is a testament to how the brand has evolved, and how they do their storytelling. This article explains the journey to its release, the process behind its edification, and features great insights from three of its core contributors, namely Otis Rubottom (Writing Director), Mike Chiu (Staff Brand Designer), and Theresa Ma (Associate Creative Director). It’s a great testament to how teams think about collaboration, but also communicating their Design Language. Highlight of the article includes:
“Collaboration drives craft. The more connected you are to your team, the higher the bar for the work can be. Daybreak came into this work looking to push us in the best possible way, and in turn, I think we did the same. Every idea was met with, “Yes, and…what about…?”. We tried some experiments that failed, and we had to start over, but we kept learning, and laughing, together. It was a good vibes fest.”
