The path fixation trap, nihilism in design, Labubu obsession, filter UX

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.

3 min readOct 6, 2025

--

“Could BlackBerry have remained the best-selling mobile phone brand if its leaders, including cofounder Mike Lazaridis, had rethought their strategy to adapt to the smartphone revolution? Can we design another breakthrough moment — like the first iPod click wheel or the simplicity of Google’s search box — by rethinking what meaningful interaction really means?”

When innovation gets stuck: Apple, Tesla, and the path fixation trap →
By

Ian Batterbee

Editor picks

Behavior is our medium →
The focus should remain on human.
By
Beyond individual productivity →
Rethinking AI strategy in product teams.
By
Nihilism in design →
Contemporary design doesn’t just reflect nihilism, it creates it.
By

The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.

SwimClub: helping men take ownership of their role in the reproductive journey →

Make me think

Why designers abandoned their dreams of changing the world →
“Now Earth is a mess, its climate warming rapidly, its seas full of waste. There are microplastics in the glaciers, the air is polluted and forests are being destroyed to make more stuff. If everything is design, then design is responsible for all of it.”
Should designers be paid the same as engineers? →
“People aren’t usually remunerated based on the knowledge they have or the effort they put in, but on how much they can help generate, protect, or multiply value for a business, and how much accountability sits on their shoulders.”
How to be a leader when the vibes are off →
“It feels different in tech right now. We’re coming off a long era where optimism carried the industry. Something has curdled. AI hype, return-to-office mandates, and continued layoffs have shifted the mood. Managers are quicker to fire, existential dread has replaced the confidence that a tight job market for developers provided for decades. The vibes are for sure off.”