AI (Goodies) in 2025: a survival kit for designers

The first two months of 2025 felt like a whole year. The geopolitical situation alongside the technological seemingly-out-of-control advancements have pushed me into taking a brave decision: I'm redesigning this newsletter! šŸ˜±

Author

Ioana from AI Goodies
February 25, 2025

You heard that right, Iā€™m (well, slightly) repurposing AI Goodies! šŸ’œ After recently having crossed 3000 subscribers (I appreciate each and everyone of you, thanks for being here šŸ™) I realised that the tactical support I personally need is the help most of you need as well - a tangible plan for staying up-to-date with the crazy speed of advancements in tools and technologies by experimenting them, while navigating the noise, sea of irrelevant, and hype.

šŸ„ So the redesigned mission of AI Goodies is this: provide you with a bite-sized actionable plan for keeping up-to-date with AI x Design.

This plan essentially translates into a new structure that you will consistently receive in your inbox month by month (sometimes twice per month if Iā€™m feeling productive šŸ˜Ž):

šŸ’” Key articles to read

āš’ļø Tools to experiment with (along with scenarios and use case recommendations)

šŸŽ™ļø Podcasts and talks that matter

šŸ“° Relevant news

šŸ§  Notable ideas to reflect on (monthly key takeaways)

šŸ“š AI Dictionary: Word of the Month - explanations of essential AI concepts

So, letā€™s get this AI x Design party started with the new ethos! šŸŽ‰

šŸ’” Key articles to read

Why AI (desperately) needs designers

Artificial Intelligence (AI), despite its benefits, presents designers with unprecedented challenges that demand our action

uxdesign.cc/why-ai-desperately-needs-designers-06c30e2601b8

AI transparency framework

Deciding when and how to disclose our use of AI-based tools

uxdesign.cc/ai-transparency-framework-cf89fa61dc1b

The New AI-Inclusive UX Process

AI is like nothing weā€™ve ever done before. It demands a new level of rapid, flexible, user-centered thinking and rapid adjustment, neatly expressed in this new process diagram.

www.uxforai.com/p/the-new-ai-inclusive-ux-process?utm_source=www.uxforai.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=top-5-ux-for-ai-posts-for-2024&_bhlid=0eb168e5970f0c1f933b8df1adc69cdca68c1955

The Shape of Sentient Design | Big Medium

Use this diagram to think through and explore AI-mediated experiences in your product design.

bigmedium.com/ideas/shape-of-sentient-design.html

āš’ļø Tools to experiment with

Build. What we need to do now is move from design to building, or at least experiment with that. This article is a great starting + inspiration point.

AI Coding Tools and The Rise of Personal Software

I made an app that shouldnā€™t exist.

medium.com/@ericsnowden/ai-coding-tools-and-the-rise-of-personal-software-34c247d463fc

Experiment yourself with going from an idea to an app using Google AI Studio and Replit. 

Also relevant for building with AI:

Cursor - The AI Code Editor

Built to make you extraordinarily productive, Cursor is the best way to code with AI.

www.cursor.com

Framer: The website builder loved by designers

Design, scale, and publish your websiteā€”no code needed. Start for free today.

www.framer.com

šŸŽ™ļø Podcasts and talks that matter

162 - Beyond UI: Designing User Experiences for LLM and GenAI-Based Products

Experiencing Data w/ Brian T. Oā€™Neill (UX for AI Data Products, SAAS Analytics, Data Product Management) Ā· Episode

open.spotify.com/episode/3K3Ww689WxnKcbtGybTlbw?si=FVkWLOrJSwGm_FKvNEU8cA

šŸ“° Relevant news

Perplexity is about to launch a new browser powered by Agentic (more on that below) search.

Perplexity teases a web browser called Comet | TechCrunch

AI-powered search engine Perplexity says it's building its own web browser. It'll be called Comet, and it's set to arrive 'soon.'

techcrunch.com/2025/02/24/perplexity-teases-a-web-browser-called-comet

Anthropic announced their new model Claude 3.7 Sonnet with hybrid reasoning, state-of-the-art coding skills, computer use, and 200K context window.

Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.

www.anthropic.com/claude/sonnet

šŸ§  Notable ideas to reflect on

Nothing from me, but hereā€™s an interesting opinion piece:

The design game has changed and I donā€™t know where I fit anymoreThAfter two decades in designā€Šā€”ā€Šleading teams, managing million-dollar portfolios, and launching products used by millionsā€Šā€”ā€ŠIā€™m nowā€¦e uxdesign.cc/the-design-game-has-changed-and-i-dont-know-where-i-fit-anymore-d1e414c2ea9cdesign game has changed and I donā€™t know where I fit anymoreThAfter two decades in designā€Šā€”ā€Šleading teams, managing million-dollar portfolios, and launching products used by millionsā€Šā€”ā€ŠIā€™m nowā€¦e uxdesign.cc/the-design-game-has-changed-and-i-dont-know-where-i-fit-anymore-d1e414c2ea9cdesign game has changed and I donā€™t know where I fit anymore

After two decades in designā€Šā€”ā€Šleading teams, managing million-dollar portfolios, and launching products used by millionsā€Šā€”ā€ŠIā€™m nowā€¦

uxdesign.cc/the-design-game-has-changed-and-i-dont-know-where-i-fit-anymore-d1e414c2ea9c

šŸ“š AI Dictionary: Word of the Month

šŸƒ Agentic AI = the practice of employing AI agents to perform tasks. Agentic AI is a flexible, probabilistic technology capable of adapting to dynamic environments and evolving circumstances. Unlike deterministic systems like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which operate based on fixed rules and predefined outcomes, Agentic AI makes decisions and takes actions by analyzing patterns and assessing probabilities.

Agentic AI systems ingest vast amounts of data from multiple data sources and third-party applications to independently analyze challenges, develop strategies and execute tasks.

Read more here šŸ‘‡

AI Agents vs Agentic AI: Whatā€™s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?

If youā€™ve been keeping an eye on artificial intelligence (AI) lately, youā€™ve probably heard the terms AI Agents and Agentic AI thrownā€¦

medium.com/@elisowski/ai-agents-vs-agentic-ai-whats-the-difference-and-why-does-it-matter-03159ee8c2b4

So, it looks like weā€™re acceleratingā€¦

acceleratingā€¦
and acceleratingā€¦

but, like, do we need more acceleration though? šŸ¤Æ

Let me know what you think in the poll below šŸ‘‡šŸ¼

How affected are you by the speed of AI?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

and if you really want to prepare for the future of AI x Design take my course on Interaction Design Foundation šŸ’‹

AI for Designers Course

Discover the future of design with AI. Seamlessly integrate AI tools in your design process, master AI-driven design, and lead innovation. Join us!

www.interaction-design.org/courses/ai-for-designers?ep=ux-goodies

We have the coolest audience that you can get yourself in front of, but you can check our sponsor deck it you want to learn more šŸ‘‡

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