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The Feed & The Thread - January 30, 2026 · The Feed & The Thread

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  Today we're covering a study on designing avatars for VR
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  simulations used with young patients, where the giraffe
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  avatar surprisingly came out as the favorite over human or
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  Muppet options. Yeah, I bet you didn't expect to hear that
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  sentence - and you're oddly interested in it, too, aren't
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  you? And speaking of which, we'll also dive into recent
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  conversations about why Amazon’s user interface might not be
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  getting the best reviews from its users, which also probably
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  isn't a surprise, and you're definitely interested in that
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  one!
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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. We're still accepting presentations, so
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  submit your talk today!
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  The industry's been busy over the past day. Here's what's
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  catching our attention and worthy of yours. In a new piece
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  titled, "Giraffe, muppet, or human?", Catherine Chu at UX
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  Design.cc shares findings from research comparing avatars for
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  VR simulations used with young patients. The study found that
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  children preferred a giraffe avatar over both human and
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  Muppet options due to its moderate level of social
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  realism. This insight highlights the importance of balancing
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  believability and excitement in avatar design. Over at
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  MeasuringU, Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro's latest piece, "UX-Lite
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  Sample for Comparison to a Benchmark" reveals that most
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  teams drastically underestimate samples needed. Their key
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  insight: use your historical standard deviation, not
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  guesswork, to detect the differences that actually
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  matter. Also worth noting – new pieces recently from
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  Codrops, CSS-Tricks, Intercom Blog, and I Love Typography. Be
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  sure to check them out in your feeds!
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  Okay, what's the community buzzing about? So over in the
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  UX Design subreddit, folks are having quite a debate about
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  Amazon’s user interface. The consensus seems to be that while
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  it works for its primary function—getting your stuff
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  fast—it doesn't look great or feel intuitive. One commenter
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  summed it up nicely: "You redesign it and lose 1-3% of
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  your sales (if not more), how do you justify that?" It's tough
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  when the practical trumps the pretty, right? I miss the
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  stacked-tab navigation from back in the 90s. Those were the days!
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  And speaking of feeling overwhelmed, there’s a thread
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  where AI is making UX designers feel small. And one comment
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  really stood out: "Next time, start with AI to get through the
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  API stuff faster." Can't argue with that—AI can be a huge asset
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  if you use it as a tool, not your boss. Be the boss,
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  designers. Meanwhile, there’s a bit of frustration brewing over
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  in UX Design again. Some designers are feeling burnt out
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  from absurd requirements and job instability. It's tough when the
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  work starts to feel like more than just design—it's project
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  management, visual design, everything. One designer
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  lamented about how the industry has changed since 2007, with
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  more demands and less respect for the craft. Ah yes, 2007,
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  Macromedia Flash was still a thing then, right? And finally,
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  there’s a bit of concern over Apple’s commitment to excellence
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  in design. Some think it’s fading because of new hires from
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  Microsoft who prioritize business over aesthetics. It
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  could be perceived as a big shift when you've been known for
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  your design-first approach. That's what folks are buzzing
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  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 only
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  thirteen dollars and fifty cents and there are plenty of
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  complimentary passes available thanks to the generosity of the
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  community. Get tickets now at Chicago Camps dot org. They've
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  also got a Proposal Counselor to help you create your
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  presentation proposal and get on stage! Submit your idea today!
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  Today, we talked about how children prefer a giraffe avatar
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  over human or Muppet options in VR simulations. And speaking of
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  design preferences, the community's debate on Amazon’s
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  user interface shows that sometimes functionality can be
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  more important than aesthetics. Thanks for tuning in — we'll
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  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!