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The Feed & The Thread - January 31, 2026 · The Feed & The Thread

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  Today we're covering how the increasing reliance on AI in UX
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  design is shifting organizational priorities, often
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  at the cost of deeper user research. And we'll also hear
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  what the community is saying about the essence of UI-UX
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  design. The essence? Is that like the scent? Who writes this
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  stuff? This could go anywhere - could we be more vague?
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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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  Let's see what the industry folks have to say today. In a
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  new piece titled "When design stops asking why and starts
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  asking 'can AI do it?'", Dolphia at UX Design.cc argues that the
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  increasing reliance on AI in UX design is shifting
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  organizational priorities away from deeper user research
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  towards quick solutions. This trend, Dolphia notes, can erode
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  designers' strategic influence by reducing them to bottlenecks
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  rather than guides. Over at Nielsen Norman Group, Kate
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  Moran's latest "Demand Accuracy in Your AI Tools: Lessons from
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  Baymard Institute" takes on the reliability and transparency of
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  AI-powered UX tools. The article highlights that many such tools
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  often fail to disclose their limitations or accuracy, urging
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  for higher standards before adoption. Also publishing
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  recently: Dan Brown, Luke Wroblewski, and Codrops. Be sure
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  to check them out in your feeds!
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  Let's check in with the practitioners today for their
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  hot topics. Over at the UX Design subreddit, people are
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  sharing what it’s really like to be part of r/uxdesign. It's both
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  realistic and sarcastic and folks out there are definitely
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  interested in hearing about real experiences. And speaking of
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  sharing, another post over there is gaining traction with a
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  favorite description of UI-UX design – it's the kind of thing
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  that makes you go "aha, that’s what they mean by design!" It
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  might also make you want to rush right out and buy a t-shirt that
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  says, "it depends." Meanwhile, in the Design subreddit, someone
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  turned scrap into art, and folks are really impressed. It shows
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  how creativity can thrive even from unexpected materials. But
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  wait till you hear this: over at UX Design again, they’re asking
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  whether people still use decks to showcase their portfolio
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  pieces. There sure are a lot of designers who are curious about
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  this on-going trend analysis. I mean, can't argue with wanting
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  to know what the current best practices are. Best practices
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  seem to change a lot; makes them seem a little more like best
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  guesses. That's what folks are buzzing about today! Lots to
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  chew on if you're into design and UX.
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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 the growing reliance on AI in UX
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  design and how it's changing organizational priorities. The
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  community discussions also highlighted real experiences in
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  UX design and the creative use of unexpected materials in art.
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  Thanks for 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!