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The Feed & The Thread - February 6, 2026 · The Feed & The Thread

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  Today we're diving into how the rise of Large Language Models is
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  shaking up design careers, prompting a rethink on whether
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  to specialize or generalize. And speaking of which, recent
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  conversations highlight that personas are more for
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  stakeholders than designers, amidst a brutal market that
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  feels pretty abnormal compared to what used to be standard.
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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!
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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 "Design careers in the Age of AI: specialize or
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  generalize?", Matheus Cervo at UX Design.cc argues that while
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  Large Language Models are enabling designers to take on
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  more generalized roles, this trend could lead to
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  superficiality over time. The article explores ethical
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  considerations and historical context, suggesting that the
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  versatility of LLMs might cause an identity crisis among
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  designers. Over at Intercom Blog, Declan Ivory's latest
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  "Transformation in action: Why AI deployment depth makes the
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  difference" takes on how organizations are adopting AI
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  for customer service. Despite eighty-two percent of senior
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  leaders investing in AI, only ten percent have reached a
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  'mature' level where it’s fully integrated into operations.
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  Teams that go deeper report better support quality and
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  consistency. A recent piece from Jared M. Spool at Center
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  Centre introduces "Experience Strategy" as an emerging branch
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  within UX. Experience strategists integrate critical
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  business objectives with user experience improvements,
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  focusing on significant enhancements rather than
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  incremental changes to attract senior stakeholders and drive
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  organizational success. So apparently, designers should
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  code and strategize - got that? Also publishing recently:
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  Nielsen Norman Group, Silicon Valley Product Group, and
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  Codrops. Be sure to check them out in your feeds!
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  Okay, what's the community buzzing about? Over in the UX
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  Design subreddit, folks are feeling nostalgic and a bit
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  reflective about how brutal the design & tech market has
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  always been. One commenter, u/TopRamenisha, put it well:
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  "Design jobs have always been extremely hard to get... The
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  short moment during Covid when interest rates were low was the
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  exception to this." It's tough when the work starts to feel
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  like everything but design. And speaking of challenges, there’s
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  a debate brewing about personas. u/slightlymedicated chimed in:
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  "Been doing this 18 years and I’ve almost never designed from
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  a persona... Things like jobs- to-be-done and usability testing
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  have done way more for me." It's fair to say that the community
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  is divided on whether personas are really as useful as they’re
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  made out to be. If there's one thing for certain, it's that
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  people either have strong feelings about personas, or,
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  well, they don't. Meanwhile, over in another thread, there’s
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  some concern about dark patterns creeping into modern app design.
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  This one's worth checking out if you're curious how far things
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  have come since the days of Flash. And that's what folks
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  are buzzing about today! Lots to chew on, and it feels like we’re
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  all in this together, 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. This is a
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  great value!
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  Today, we talked about the evolving role of designers in
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  the age of AI, how Jared now wants designers to code and
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  strategize, and the community's thoughts on personas and dark
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  patterns. It’s clear that while technology opens new doors, it
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  also raises questions about design ethics and effectiveness.
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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!