#98 Yearly Recap 2024: Growth, Innovation, and Planning for 2025
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Hello friends and welcome back to the final episode of 2024 here on the Future of UX podcast. My name is Patricia Reiners and as we close out this year, I want to take you on a journey through reflection and a little bit of intention setting.

2024 was a year of transformation for me personally and professionally, but also for the UX industry as a whole. And as we look ahead, I want to use this episode to share a five-step framework for reflecting on your year and planning for an even better year 2025.

So this isn't just about setting resolutions. It's really about creating clarity and focus on what truly matters for you. Maybe you had a wonderful year, maybe you had a horrible year, maybe you got laid off. Next year will be better and we are going to plan together now. So grab your favorite drink, maybe a coffee or a tea and a pen and a paper and then we will do a little bit of reflection. It will be super fun, I can promise you that. So let's dive in.

But before we are jumping into those five steps and reflecting, I want to have a super brief look at the UX industry and about some trends.

So I think the first really big thing to mention is although that the awareness for UX and for design is growing, this year hasn't been the best for the UX industry. We have seen a lot of layoffs, a lot of people really losing their job, unfortunately, and also a lot of discussions around AI replacing certain positions. And isn't it cheaper to do it with AI? I'm also, we're part of those discussions or I'm also having those discussions with my clients who are,

randomly thinking let's replace research with AI. Do we still need to do research? Do we still need designers? Can JGPT or other tools do this for us? And I think for me, this is a very common, this is something that just makes sense that people are asking that, they're challenging, they want to save money a little bit.

This also shows how important it is for us as designers to be educated, to understand what's out there and then also to consult and explain why you can't replace UX research with an AI tool, why you can't do that. And you also need to explain what options do we actually have.

So we don't need to replace the research, but maybe we start with assumptions first if we don't have the budget for research when we are beginning the project. So we start with assumptions and we're using AI for that. And later on in the project or as soon as possible, we are validating our hypothesis that we did in the beginning or assumptions with real user research with real testers, real people.

This is something that we can offer and that we can talk about. So I'm definitely seeing some important discussions that need to be made with clients, with other departments. And yeah, the UX industry has definitely been shaken a little bit. The second really big trend that I was seeing this year was the integration of AI tools. JGPT, Galileo AI, or even Figma AI integrations have changed.

started to change the way we work. I can also talk a little bit about my own personal experience. I am using JGPT not for just content generation, but also to brainstorm ideas for workshops, for planning. I created

a lot of GPTs who helped me with basically anything, which helped me so much to really speed up everything. And I'm not the only one there, a lot of designers or people out there are really starting to integrate AI tools very strategically where it makes sense. Not everywhere, not for every step of the process, but understand where it really makes sense.

And the third important topic that I'm also seeing is that AI is not just about the tools, but it's also about basically designing those tools. And it's about transforming the or how we approach design.

This year, I or a lot of designers explored predictive UX methodologies that anticipate user needs. And it's fascinating for me to think about how AI can help us create experiences that feel almost magical, like the interface already knows what you want. So it's not about tools just, it's also about how do we design AI experiences, which is a super big topic and more and more tools will have integrated AI features.

Okay, so this is what was going on this year. And now let's take some time to reflect a little bit and start with our five steps to reflect and to plan.

All those five steps, they are not just theory. I really like to use them myself and it's helped me so much to really plan and to grow and share my experiences with you step by step and tell you a little bit how it works. So the first thing that we are going to do is take time to ask yourself what went well and what didn't. So reflect on the past.

This is also what you can write down, make a list with what went well and what didn't go so well. So for me this year I made a really big life change. I moved to Zurich with my partner and for years we were constantly traveling between Berlin and Zurich. I was always on the move and although it really felt exciting,

Deep down, I craved stability and I wanted a base, a place where I could breathe and recharge, especially because my work life is very busy. I decided to move to Zurich, to Switzerland, leave Germany behind, close my business in Germany and then also start a company in Switzerland, in Zurich. And settling into our home in Zurich has been absolutely amazing. I feel grounded in a way I haven't in years, to be honest.

But as everyone who has moved to another country, Switzerland is a different country than Germany, you know that there are challenges too. Not only the whole bureaucracy, but also moving into a new city means starting over socially. And I realized how hard it can be to make meaningful connections.

Now, I definitely was lonely at times and I'm still searching for a nice co-working space where I can work like an office space that really feels like a creative fit. So I'm also doing a little bit of reflection about my life. The first task for you is write down your highlights and your lowlights from the year. Celebrate what went well and look for lessons in the tough moments.

You can either pause the podcast now or do it a little bit later. I'm also going to share a little description in the show notes so you can also go through the little task after you listen to this episode. And then number two is identify what gave you energy and what drained it. So look back and ask, what fueled you? What left you feeling depleted? So usually for me, I... Yeah.

I usually take the summer off. So in July and August, I usually don't work with clients. I focus on reading and doing courses and learning and really recharging. This year was a little bit different for me because I got or I was working with an amazing client. It was super fun. We worked the whole summer through until even like now or next year.

And I couldn't really say no to the project and it was absolutely amazing. For me, I don't feel drained because the project was so nice. But I also know that this is not the case all the time. I also had a project where I felt completely drained after a few months because of the people I was working with or because of the energy and some things were not right.

And another thing that was really energizing for me was running the AI for Designers booth. Seeing over 70 participants grow and learn and apply their AI knowledge, for me, was just incredible. Some landed new jobs, AI jobs, others revamped their services, and it really was a reminder of why I love teaching and connecting with people.

And on the flip side, I also had to learn how to protect my energy. Really saying no to projects that didn't really align with my values. This was hard at first, but it made all the difference. For me, for example, I said that I don't want to do collaborations this year. I only did one at the end of the year where I felt this is really a good fit. So I declined all collaborations for social media. I also declined all speaking engagements. I think I didn't do a one...

one speaking engagement at a conference, I only did workshops because this is something that gives me more energy and that I love more. So for you, take some time to reflect and create a list. One of the things that really energized you and one for the things that drained you. And use this guide as your focus for next year. And then in step number three, we are going to define your key themes for 2025.

I can only talk about my personal experience but instead of setting a hundred goals choose rather two to three themes that will anchor your year. For me 2025 is all about balance, about finding the right priorities. I want to create a space for both my personal joy and professional joy

And at the same time, I'm focusing on building a meaningful program like AI for Designers, which is something that I want to continue and keep growing. But I'm also working on a self-paced version, like a compact version of AI for Designers that you can go through in your own time when you are a little bit more busy, for example. This is coming in January or February. Very excited for it. By the way, if you're...

If that sounds interesting to you, like a self-paced version of AI for Designers, feel free to sign up for the waiting list and you will get informed. And yeah, I will send you an email once the door is open. I'm also going to have an amazing launch offer, an amazing price, which is definitely worth it. So here comes your task. Write down your themes for the year.

or your big three goals can be two can be three they can be as simple as growth and wellness and connection then be very specific and define like what does wellness what does connection really mean so be very specific and these themes will guide your decision and keep you aligned and also help you to say no to things that you don't want to do okay so step number four is

Creating a vision board or really writing the goals down depends on if you're more like a visual person I can highly recommend to do a vision board but maybe you're more like a writer so you really like to write things down. I think visualization is a very powerful tool for turning intentions into reality.

I'm personally a big fan of vision boards. They help me to stay clear on what I want to create and this year my board includes images of different workspaces, of course my happy clients and also some more personal milestones

that I'm going to share more about soon. So it's amazing to see how these streams become reality. And I really like to write maybe on a post-it a little bit of how the goal looks like and then add a little bit of photos. So take your time to create either a vision board or write down three to five very specific goals for 2025. They can be detailed as possible. Here, clarity is king.

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That's quickstudio.com. And then step number five is plan small, actionable steps. Big dreams can be overwhelming, but breaking them down into smaller steps make them manageable.

When I launched the AF4 Designers Bootcamp last year, I tackled it face by face. First I started with the curriculum, then the marketing, the onboarding, the delivery. And it was less daunting and more rewarding to approach it this way. So I made one of my goals for this year was to focus on AF4 Designers. I basically had goals for each month. What I do, what I prepare, what kind of add-ons do I prepare? When do I launch?

and made a little bit of a plan which helped me to not feel overwhelmed with such a big task. So for each goal, write down two to three actions that you can take in the next month to move closer. Schedule these into your calendar to stay accountable. And something that I also really like is to have those goals somewhere at your workspace, for example.

If you chose one around like wellness, one around maybe family, one around business, then it's super important to have them somewhere written down so you can write this either on a post-it or print out something and place it somewhere where you can see it all the time that you really focus on those topics. So when I'm looking ahead into 2025,

Here's what I'm most excited about: First of all, AI for Designers, where there will be a self-paced version launching in January. This program will make AI skills accessible to even more designers.

The second really big change for me next year will be, and I haven't announced it anywhere yet, is that I will be becoming a mom next year. My little girl is due at the end of March and currently I'm preparing for her arrival here.

It has been very joyful and very transformative so far and I'm so much looking forward to this new experience next year. So one of my really big personal goals will be also becoming a mom, starting a family and one of my biggest focus of course will be family and I'm super super excited for it.

And I, yeah, I am definitely going to look for some harmony between personal and professional life. This will be a super big focus for me. And number three is that I will be, of course, keep on doing the podcast, interviews, meeting people, connecting with people and sharing content about the future, diving even deeper into everything that's going on there.

So to conclude: 2024 was a year of growth, of learning, of new beginnings. I assume not only for me but probably also for you.

And I really want to thank you for being part of this journey with me. It means so much to me to share these moments with you. It means so much to me that you are listening to this podcast episode, that you are supporting the podcast, that you learn things that actually help you, that you support me and the podcast and keep us growing all together as a community. I really appreciate that.

So take time to reflect, maybe use the five step framework and let me know what are your key themes for 2025. You can either share that here on Spotify or send me a message on Instagram at ux.patricia. I love to connect. I love to hear your thoughts. And I can only thank you for this wonderful year where you also have been a wonderful part of.

So I wish you now a wonderful holiday season and a bright and successful start to 2025. As always, let's keep designing for the future and let's make 2025 amazing together. Thank you so much for your support.