10 Must-Read UX Design Resources to Kickstart 2025
UX is always evolving.
Each year brings new challenges, trends, and opportunities. ✨
We need to keep learning, experimenting, and staying curious to stay ahead.
But let’s face it—finding the right resources can be overwhelming.
So, I’ve done the heavy lifting for you. ✨
Here’s a curated list of articles, videos, and guides from this year, to spark fresh ideas and level up your designs in 2025. ⬇️
No matter where you are in your UX journey, the following resources are worth bookmarking.
1️⃣ Nielsen Norman Group: Testing Visual Design: A Comprehensive Guide
This article covers how to test your visual design to understand how users perceive it.
With practical tips like 5-second testing, first-click testing, and preference testing, this article is super useful for making sure your designs are both stylish and functional.
Great for polishing up your visual design skills.
2️⃣ Interaction Design Foundation: UI Color Palette 2024: Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks for Designers
This one dives into the role of colour in design, covering the basics of colour theory, different colour schemes, and how to pick the right palette.
It also emphasises how to use colour to guide user behaviour and enhance brand identity.
It’s packed with tips and practical examples to help you choose the best colours for your projects.
3️⃣ UX Collective: What does it really mean to have an “experience”?
This thought-provoking article explores what it truly means to have an “experience” in UX.
It challenges the common view of UX as just user-product interaction, proposing instead that experience is a deeper, ongoing relationship shaped by personal context.
The author suggests UX should be seen as a continuous impact on a user’s life, not just a one-off interaction.
It’s a call for designers to think beyond the immediate experience and consider the long-term effects of UX.
4️⃣ NN/g’s YouTube Channel: Check Error-Message Quality With a Scoring Rubric
This quick, practical video shows how to use a scoring rubric to assess error messages based on their visibility, clarity, and effectiveness.
Like all NNG videos, it’s packed with useful tips and insights, making it perfect for when you’re short on time and want to learn on the go.
5️⃣ Interaction Design Foundation: How to Build Components for UI Design (YouTube)
In this video, Henry Daggett from the Interaction Design Foundation explains how to build UI components effectively.
He discusses creating a component inventory, covering elements like buttons, cards, and badges, and how they fit into a cohesive UI.
There are lots of tips on how to name components and how to prioritise them based on business value and frequency of use.
It’s a practical guide to developing a sustainable design system.
Perfect for when you want to learn something new but don’t have much time.
6️⃣ NN/g: Tools for Unmoderated Usability Testing
This article explores various tools that streamline the unmoderated testing process, covering the key features to look for.
NNG’s experts offer useful advice on choosing the right tool based on your research needs.
Give it a read if you’d like to learn how to pick a tool that offers the right features for your research.
7️⃣ CSS Author: Top Figma AI Plugins to Revolutionize Design 2024
Who doesn’t love a good Figma plugin?
This practical article highlights the top Figma AI plugins to enhance your designs.
It’s short, straightforward, and features a list of useful plugins that can streamline your design process.
8️⃣ Interaction Design Foundation: 4 Tips to Amplify the Potential of Your UX/UI Design Portfolio
Your UX/UI design portfolio may be the most important project you’ll ever work on.
So, how do you make sure it stands out?
This article offers four practical tips to help you showcase your work effectively and amplify the impact of your portfolio.
9️⃣ UX Design Institute: The top 5 AI-powered tools for user research (and how to use them)
Want to take your user research to the next level with AI?
This article covers the 5 best AI tools for user research and how to use them to get the most out of your data.
From analyzing user behaviour to streamlining data collection, these tools will help you make smarter, more informed design decisions.
🔟 NN/g: Psychology for UX: Study Guide
I’ve saved the best for last, and here’s why.
This article curates a collection of links to resources that dive into key principles of human psychology and their impact on UX design.
It covers topics like perception, memory, decision-making, and attention, giving us valuable insights into how users think and behave.
A super helpful resource for diving deeper into UX and designing with user psychology in mind.
If you want to design with empathy and intention, start here.
New Year’s Eve is about reflection and setting intentions.
It’s a great time to think about how we can grow—whether that’s learning new skills, experimenting with fresh ideas, or building more thoughtful experiences.
Bookmark these resources, share them with your team, and set a goal to tackle at least a few. Let’s make 2025 the year of better, more meaningful design.
What’s on your UX resolution list? 🤔
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