As a class we brainstormed what we think are currently some big trends within the UX industry. I believe I had noted 5 trends I thought were quite big at the moment. A lot of my suggestions seemed to focus on our role as designers and how that might be changing. I think this is due to this class being employability/career focused and also due to placement roles being of such importance at this time.
Overall there was a pretty unanimous agreement that AI is probably the biggest trend at the moment spanning various areas. This was followed by accessibility and minimalism. Some other areas to note were emerging technologies and like I had mentioned our roles as designers.
Upon doing this exercise I felt as though I had some kind of tunnel vision in regards to viewing trends as directly applicable to myself as a designer and not in regards to design as a medium. This was a much needed reminder to broaden my scope and has led me to approach this project a little differently.
I decided to then take some of the most popular findings from our class whiteboard exercise and see what I could pull out of these areas. I ended up surprising myself a little and had noted something that we’ve never discussed in class before. I had noted within accessibility the opportunity for greater market reach and in regards to roles I had noted an emphasis on KPI’s. Although under different areas they felt related to one another. The idea for greater market reach within accessibility came from a talk we had recently by David Fairbrother from Big Motive, a local design studio who place a great emphasis on accessibility. He noted a crazy statistic detailing the possible revenue loss and market share held by people with disabilities and how this is an easy missed opportunity for those businesses whose products may not be accessible.
It wasn’t the accessibility part that grabbed me but more so the focus on potential revenue loss. In my own exploration of our changing roles as designers I noticed a growing emphasis on the ability to pitch well to shareholders. This meaning that we must justify our decisions using metrics. The whole concept kind of blew my mind in some sense, seeing the real implications of design on a business beyond the aesthetics.
I felt this space was something that could definitely be explored and could certainly make for an interesting report.
This article gave me a good overview of the bigger shifts happening across the UX industry right now. The main point that stood out was how design teams are being pushed to think more strategically. Instead of focusing only on screens and aesthetics, designers are expected to understand business models, product strategy and measurable outcomes. One line that hit me was how design is being shaped by “a greater need for designers to understand research, strategy and business thinking.” That pretty much sums up the whole direction my own research was pointing towards. It shows that this isn’t a niche idea but something being recognised at an industry level. Something else worth noting is how this article frames the trend positively. It’s not saying design is losing anything. Instead, design is gaining influence by working closer to product and business objectives.
The Biggest UX Design Trends Shaping the Industry in 2025
This article was more practical and focused on the idea of matching UX metrics to the wider goals of a company. One of the key things it spoke about was how UX teams have to stop choosing metrics in isolation. A “good” UX metric only matters if it actually supports what the organisation wants to achieve. It explained the differences between “UX success metrics” and “business success metrics” and pushed the idea that the two should overlap much more than they do. This directly reinforces the whole business-alignment trend. It also mentioned how picking the wrong metrics can mean a design team looks productive on paper even if it isn't helping the company in any meaningful way. This article helped me see why so many designers are being asked to speak in terms of KPIs, outcomes and measurable improvements. It isn’t random. It’s a sign of UX maturing within organisations.
Aligning UX Metrics with Organizational Goals: A Workshop Guide
This one focused heavily on design strategy and the long-term implications of design decisions. The biggest takeaway for me was how strategy acts as the bridge between user needs and business needs. The article argued that without a strategy, UX becomes guesswork and risks drifting into aesthetics or personal preferences rather than purposeful outcomes. I found this helpful because it tied directly to the idea of “intuition-driven design” that kept appearing in other articles. This article makes it clear why that approach falls apart in modern teams. Businesses want consistency, logic and evidence, not just taste or instinct. It also reinforced the idea that good UX isn’t just about satisfying users. It’s about doing so in a way that supports the company’s goals. That feels like a big part of the shift I’m exploring.