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Transcript

The Feed & The Thread - February 15, 2026 · The Feed & The Thread

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  Today we're diving into what UX consulting clients expect in the
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  age of AI, where companies are looking for consultants with
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  strong judgment over flashy tech demos. And speaking of
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  surprising findings, we'll also look at how one company stopped
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  adding onboarding to their SaaS and saw activation rates go up –
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  yeah, you heard that right.
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  Welcome to The Feed and The Thread, brought to you by
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  Chicago Camps. Our next UX Camp event is coming up on February
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  twenty first. Tickets are very affordable & free options
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  available. Don't miss out! Hey! Did you know that we also
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  launched The Feed & The Thread in the App Store? Get your
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  updates in the app, with summaries and links to articles
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  and conversations. See you there!
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  Some notable pieces crossed our desk for today's episode. Let's
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  check them out! In a new piece titled "What UX Consulting
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  Clients Expect in the Age of AI," Anna Kaley at Nielsen
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  Norman Group argues that despite advancements in AI, clients
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  still prioritize strong judgment and critical thinking from
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  consultants over flashy demos or speculative concepts. The key
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  takeaway is that while organizations use AI tools, they
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  lack confidence in their responsible application and
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  understanding of problem suitability for these tools.
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  Staying on the theme of looking deeper than surface-level
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  signals, Mitoware's latest, "Every Product Tells a Story.
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  Most Teams Just Don't Read It," makes the case that every
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  product follows a narrative arc — from onboarding as exposition,
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  through the tension of daily use, to the resolution of real
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  mastery. The argument is that teams tend to optimize
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  individual metrics without seeing the emotional story those
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  numbers are trying to tell. One standout example: a team reduced
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  drop-off by forty percent on a single step, but activation
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  actually stalled because users lost their sense of investment
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  in the process. It's a strong reminder that sometimes the
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  friction you're tempted to remove is doing important
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  narrative work. Over at UX Design.cc, Dora Czerna's latest
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  "Can you run out of creativity?" explores the common fear among
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  designers of running dry on ideas. The article explores
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  strategies to overcome creative blocks, emphasizing stepping
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  away from problems temporarily and seeking inspiration from
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  diverse sources. The practical takeaway is adopting a more
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  flexible approach to ideation. At UX Planet, Nick Babich's
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  "Claude Skills for Product Designers" outlines how product
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  designers can leverage Claude to enhance their research and
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  design processes. It emphasizes the importance of balancing AI-
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  driven insights with human judgment to ensure empathetic
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  interpretations of user needs. Key points include understanding
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  how to set up Claude for optimal performance in various stages of
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  product development. Also publishing recently: Smashing
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  Magazine, Intercom Blog, and Codrops. Be sure to check them
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  out in your feeds!
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  Now let's hear from the community. Over in the UX
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  Design subreddit, folks are buzzing about something that
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  sounds almost too good to be true: ditching onboarding flows
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  and seeing activation rates go up. One hundred and ten upvotes
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  on this one. And a commenter nailed it: "Honestly I’m not
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  even surprised. Most onboarding flows feel like someone reading
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  the manual out loud to you before you’re allowed to touch
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  the thing. People don’t learn that way." And speaking of
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  learning and growing, there’s a thread over in UX Design about
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  getting comfortable designing for dev-tool or API-heavy
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  products. A lot of us are feeling this one – it’s not just
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  about aesthetics; it’s making sure those APIs talk to each
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  other without breaking our brains. Meanwhile, the
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  UI_Design subreddit is all abuzz about a new authorization login
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  UI project. Design feedback is always welcome in these spaces,
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  and it's great seeing folks share their work and get
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  constructive critiques. It’s like that one time we spent
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  hours tweaking a button color – you know what I mean? And
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  finally, over in the Design subreddit, there was an
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  interesting post from someone who created the Korean Air
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  project and came to the National Aviation Museum of Korea for
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  deeper inspiration. Thirty-nine upvotes on this one. It’s always
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  cool seeing where our inspirations come from – it
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  reminds us that design is about more than just pixels. That's
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  what folks are buzzing about today! Lots to chew on, right?
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  Chicago Camps is hosting UX Camp Winter on Saturday, February
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  21st. There will be plenty of great presentations, all online,
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  so you can join from anywhere in the world! Tickets are free,
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  thanks to the generosity of the community! If it's within your
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  budget, you can purchase a general admission ticket for
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  only thirteen dollars and fifty cents. Get tickets now at
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  Chicago Camps dot org. This is a great value!
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  Today, we talked about how UX clients still value strong
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  judgment over flashy AI demos. And in the community buzz, it's
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  interesting to see the conversation around ditching
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  onboarding flows for better activation rates. Thanks for
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  tuning in — we'll catch you next time.
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  That's The Feed and The Thread for today. Keep designing with
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  intention!