The 10th (and final?) edition of The State of UX report by the UX Collective is here: a critical look at our industry based on more than 1k articles published and shared with our 500k+ subscribers in 2024.
Things have been feeling differently for a while. That UX buzz, that peak we hit in the late 2010s, has faded. Historically, designers have always aimed to exert vast influence within their organizations, guiding the creative vision and making critical decisions that shape the product. That reality simply doesn’t feel palpable anymore when you look at the state of UX more broadly. UX is increasingly a byproduct of business objectives, not the driving force.
This is what we’re calling “The Great Design Handoff”—a fundamental shift in responsibilities and a transfer of design control from designers to a complex network of algorithms, automated tools, and business stakeholders.
We’re handing our designs to Figma while it trains its AI.
We’re handing our design systems to growth teams so they can squeeze every last penny out of customers.
We’re shipping new products before they’re even ready.
We’re shifting our focus from good design to organizational politics.
We’re choosing not to hire a photographer / voice actor / illustrator artist rand to use generative AI instead.
“Just this one time because the budget is short.”
“Just to try it out.”
“Just because our competitor is doing it.”
You get the point.
For this year’s report, we’ve had the privilege to work with Manoel do Amaral — a designer living in Los Angeles who explores ways of connecting the dots between branding and product design.
Read the report:
Written by: Fabricio Teixeira, Caio Braga
Illustrations by: Manoel do Amaral
Narrated by: Laura Vandiver
Published by: The UX Collective (ISSN: 2766–5267) is an independent publication built to help designers think more critically about their work. You can follow our content via our Newsletter. For more in-depth pieces, check our publication DOC.
The State of UX in 2025: a love letter about change was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
