I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 2022!
2022 Design Trends, questions junior UX designers can’t answer, a viral Michelin-starred restaurant review, and more!
Want updates? Sign up for the UX newsletter here.
Welcome to the new year! We all hope that 2022 is not 2020, too (say that 3 times fast). Here’s our first UX nuggets to ring in hopefully what is the best to come :)
[ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS]
2022 Design Trends
The beginning of the year is always my favorite time of the year. Not only is it the time for goal-setting and developing the plan to be your better self this year, but it is the time for predictions — what this year’s hottest trends will be. Here are the predictions:
What will not happen:
- Dark mode will not be a trend
- 3D illustrations is not a thing
- Design Systems won’t be this year innovation
Predictions:
- Virtual Reality
- No Code will become a standard
- Web solution that feels more native
- Interactive prototypes
- Glassmorphism is a new standard (not a trend anymore) — we can thank Apple for this one
- 90s style — new trend?
Virtual reality is a niche but I feel like augmented reality might be where it’s at right now… Have you seen Microsoft’s Ignite Conferences for the past couple of years?! I’m excited about these predicted trends and will be adding them to my list of “things to learn” this year!
[DESIGN PODCAST]
Tristan Eaton | What’s Next?
Adventures in Design’s 2022 episode by Mark Brickley is about planning during the most critical time of the year to be successful. This very much is in line with industry where companies budget out their finances and plan out their hiring processes for a new project. This is also the time when managers will have one-on-one meetings with their team members to talk about goals for the year. So as an individual, planning ahead is a good way to set yourself up for success in the new year.
[ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS]
The Three Questions Junior UX Designers Can’t Answer
- What is your favorite product right now?
- What product did you recently stop using because of the experience?
- Walk me through your design process.
As a current junior UX designer, I’m a little surprised that these are the three questions that junior UX designers can’t answer because they’re easy to prepare for. And you can bet that I have written out responses for all of them so that I can sound eloquent to the hiring manager in an interview.
The point being made in the article? UX is about the experience, process, research, and design but unfortunately, there are many newbies running around out there saturating the market with their so-called beautiful work. Your beautiful work that isn’t functionally sound is not what the hiring manager is looking for. If you can’t articulate the how and why of the work you do, it’s time to shape up or ship out.
[SOMETHING FUN]
The UX on this small child is terrible
“Overall, the Small Child is under-designed, unintuitive, and frequently fails to meet even the most relaxed ease-of-use standards.”
In McSweeney’s Internet Tendency list of most-read articles of 2021, we’re giving a funny storytelling piece of a UX of a small child where we learn that the user experience is underwhelming but we laugh because sometimes, not all “designed products” will function as expected.
[UX QUOTE]
“Good design is all about making other designers feel like idiots because that idea wasn’t theirs.”
- Frank Chimero, designer, illustrator, and author
[WATCH THIS]
Scathing Restaurant Review Goes Viral
This story has been floating around of a woman’s review of a 1-star Michelin restaurant in Italy where she was served 27-courses that were barely edible.
“What is art? What is good taste? What is a man on a horse?” Well, in this case, it could be that the restaurant is serving up the finest “dishes” but the beauty is still in the eye of the beholder.
[BOOK RECO]
White Space Is Not Your Enemy: A Beginner’s Guide to Communicating Visually Through Graphic, Web & Multimedia Design
If you’re looking for a resource for basic principles of graphic design — this is it! White space within a design is a bit like a pause in a conversation — it need not be a bad thing, yet it is just one element in a larger being that is often overlooked or misunderstood. By reading this book you’ll learn about how you can better communicate visually through Gestalt theory, color theory, and WET (works-every-time) layout.
[DESIGN TOOL]
Cleanup.pictures
Sometimes you find the “perfect” image minus a couple of small details that you’d want to quickly remove — enter Cleanup.pictures. Simply upload your image and use their adjustable brush to highlight the detail you want to remove. The program does all the work for you and lets you download the file after. Pretty sweet!
📚 UX Learning Recommendations ✨
UXBeginner.com is an educational partner with outstanding design bootcamps and resources. You can support our free site and newsletter by using our referral links, which often get you a discount off of UX courses and bootcamps. Check them out:
🧪 Design Lab
Design Lab’s UX bootcamps are the most popular — and well-rated — amongst UX Beginners. Their flagship program is polished and strikes a good balance between practice and modern design theory.
✊🏾 Interaction Design Foundation
IDF has in-depth courses on various UX skills. Get 3 months off your first year of design membership or $200 off a UX BootCamp!
💸 Rakuten for Cash Back on Courses
Did you know you can get free cash back when shopping for UX design courses? Use our Rakuten referral link to get $40 for free after first purchase, and even more when you activate Rakuten when shopping at places like Udemy and Skillshare. Read our guide on getting course cash back here
Other reviews from UXB:
