User Experience Design Trends

It’s prediction season, and as a VC, it’s practically my moral obligation (nay, divine right) to toss my two cents into the mix. Here’s my take: 2025 will be the year we stop bragging about size. Foundation models with trillions of parameters have taught us an important lesson: scaling laws plateau, and architectural innovation beats raw size. Bigger isn’t always better. The next frontier in AI won’t be about scaling up; it’ll be about scaling out across 3 transformative dimensions: 🎙️ Voice as the Interface. We will move beyond prompt engineering into ambient intelligence. Your AI won't wait for you to type – it'll be in tune with the natural cadence of your speech, picking up on nuance, emotion, and context that text could never capture. Instead of typing prompts like a peasant, you can just talk. 🧠 Memory as the Context. We’ll see AI systems that don't just process – they persist. Systems that build genuine context over time, understanding not just what you're saying, but why you're saying it based on months of interaction. We're talking petabyte-scale personal knowledge bases that remember that crazy idea you had last summer about disrupting the moisturizer industry. ⚙️ Actions as the Output. The winners of 2025 won't be the models that generate the prettiest words – they'll be the ones that actually get things done. Less ChatGPT, more ExecGPT: systems that autonomously navigate APIs, manage workflows, and execute real-world tasks. Think less "write me a blog post" and more "restructure my entire GTD system while I'm at hot yoga.” In 2025, showing off your parameter count will be like bragging about your processor's clock speed in 2005. Sure, it matters – but it's table stakes, not the game changer. The real race will be in building AI systems with creativity, personality, and genuine utility. Systems that don't just scale in size, but scale in humanity.

In AWE ...🥽 Just returned from AWE Europe, more convinced than ever that we are on the cusp of a reality-shifting moment in AI and XR. Here’s what I see coming—and why we need to start preparing now! 1️⃣ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀, 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹: XR is evolving from a novelty to a part of our daily lives. Imagine a world where AI-driven augmented reality (AR) layers respond to your unique needs and preferences, reshaping retail, education, and social interactions in real-time. This personalized layer of reality is both exhilarating and unnerving - especially as our privacy and data become intertwined with these experiences. 2️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: XR offers more than immersive visuals. It can become a tool for empathy and understanding across cultures. As virtual worlds blend with our own, we will be able to see from others’ perspectives, strengthening our connections in unprecedented ways. But, let’s proceed with caution: there is a fine line between authentic connection and manipulation in curated XR experiences. 3️⃣ 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲: We are already seeing demand for skills in digital storytelling, ethics, and human-centered design to make these experiences sustainable and inclusive. For professionals: now is the time to upskill and embrace these emerging technologies - XR will touch every industry, from healthcare to manufacturing. 4️⃣ 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: We are entering an era where companies will have access to our emotional data, preferences, and even our unconscious responses in XR environments. Ethical governance is not optional -it’s essential. We must prioritize transparency and consent to keep these digital layers equitable and safe for all. 5️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱" 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Imagine a city overlay that optimizes itself in real-time, improving traffic flow, resource allocation, and even environmental conservation based on live data. XR will allow us to create a “mirror world” that adapts to our collective needs. But we need to be cautious of bias. Data-driven realities are only as fair as the algorithms behind them. 👥 It’s time to start the conversation on responsible, ethical XR. The future of immersive reality is beyond cool - it’s game-changing. Let’s make sure it’s a future we can all trust and be proud of. #AWE2024 #XR #AR #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork

The landscape of digital marketing is rapidly changing, with 2025 poised to be a significant year. Staying ahead means not just keeping up with trends but anticipating them and adapting your strategies. Over a decade of experience navigating the intricacies of this industry has taught me one thing: brands that innovate, embrace change, and keep their audience at the center of it all thrive. Trends in digital marketing for 2025 👇 👉 AI-Driven Personalization AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore—it’s the foundation of hyper-personalized experiences. From dynamic email content to tailored ad campaigns, leveraging AI tools will be the key to creating deeper customer connections. 👉 Voice Search Optimization With the continued rise of smart assistants, voice search is becoming integral to how people find information. Optimizing for natural language queries and local intent will separate the good marketers from the great ones. 👉 Interactive & Immersive Content Think AR filters, VR experiences, and shoppable live streams. Consumers crave interactivity, and brands that offer immersive experiences will build stronger engagement and loyalty. 👉 Sustainability Messaging Gen Z and Millennials demand transparency and purpose from brands. Marketing campaigns emphasizing sustainable practices and ethical choices will resonate deeply. 👉 Creator-Led Campaigns The creator economy isn’t slowing down. Brands that partner with micro and nano-influencers will see more authentic engagement and higher ROI than traditional ads. 👉 Zero-Party Data Strategies As privacy regulations tighten, collecting zero-party data directly from customers through interactive polls, surveys, and quizzes will be critical for building trust and personalizing marketing. 👉 The Rise of Niche Communities Large platforms are fragmenting into niche communities. From Reddit forums to private Discord servers, marketers must learn to engage in these micro-ecosystems authentically. 👉 Programmatic Advertising Evolution Automation in ad buying is getting smarter. With AI-enhanced programmatic platforms, advertisers can optimize campaigns in real-time, ensuring higher precision and better ROI. 👉 Social Commerce Boom Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are intensifying their e-commerce features, leading to a blurring of the boundaries between social media and shopping. Shoppable posts and live shopping will become even more impactful. 👉 Video SEO & Searchable Video Content As search engines get better at indexing video content, optimizing video for search (keywords, transcripts, thumbnails) will become a game-changer for discoverability. 2025 is the year of smarter, more human-centric marketing. Success lies in staying agile, embracing innovation, and keeping the customer at the heart of everything you do. Which of these trends do you think will have the biggest impact? Follow #socialJJ for more marketing posts. #digitalmarketing

Just Released: Slides from Our IEEE VR 2025 *Tutorial on Interaction Design for XR!* At this year’s IEEE VR, we presented the "Interaction Design for Extended Reality" tutorial — a session packed with practical tools, methods, and case studies to help researchers, designers, and developers build engaging and inclusive XR experiences. Good news! The full slide deck is now available for everyone who missed it or wants to revisit the content: Access the slides here https://bit.ly/ID4XRSlides Covered Topics: • Interaction Design principles for XR • Cognitive and perceptual design factors • Prototyping methods (low and high fidelity) • Immersion, presence, accessibility • Tools for rapid design and development Presented by: Mark Billinghurst – University of South Australia Joaquim Jorge – INESC-ID / Técnico Lisboa, University of Lisbon Whether you are new to XR or a seasoned expert, these slides offer a practical, research-driven foundation for crafting the next generation of XR interfaces. Let us know your thoughts, and feel free to share with your teams! #IEEEVR #XRDesign #InteractionDesign #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality #HCI #Prototyping #UXForXR #MarkBillinghurst #JoaquimJorge #XR

I've tested hundreds of AI tools in 2024. Here are the 3 big AI trends for 2025: 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 #1: 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐀𝐏𝐀) Agents able to do anything humans can do on a browser are coming. How it works: 1. Write down instructions 2. Agent browses the web, clicks, logs in, etc. 3. Job done ✅ I've seen recent demos that blew my mind (e.g. Airtop 👋) and we can't wait to get our hands on solutions in this space. Bye bye RPA. Hello APA. -- 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 #2: 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐈 AI voice technology is now ready for mass adoption: ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode is unreal. ElevenLabs latest models have crazy low latency. My guess is we will see a first B2C app tap into this opportunity and drive adoption among millions of users. Only a matter of time until the majority realize they don't need to sit in front of a screen all day anymore. Everyone will have at least one conversation with a voice agent. -- 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 #3 𝐍𝐨-𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐈 Aka custom AI for cheap, that can be operated by your business teams. No need to build your own Jarvis, just use no-code platforms with AI capabilities: Need help with... ...lead gen? Clay ...internal processes? Airtable ...automated workflows? Make ...sales processes? Attio ...knowledge base? Notion ...AI agents? Relevance AI --- I'm here for it! What are your thoughts on these? What other trends do you see?

Chatbots were just the warm-up. Here's how we'll really interact with AI in 2025. I talked to all the smartest people I know - from startup founders to Fortune500 execs. 'Tis the season to make bold predictions for 2025 anyhow. So here's what's coming: 1️⃣ Please welcome Bob, your new AI coworker AI Agents will start getting real jobs, or as Michael Marchuk, VP at Blue Prism, describes it: “people will get used to the idea that they have an AI co-worker.” Rob Bailey, COO of CrewAI, takes it one step further: “Most companies will move from experimentation to large numbers of AI agents in production.” Full replacement isn’t likely…yet. But this will have impacts on the job market as fewer people will be required to get the job(s) done. 2️⃣ AI Voice will be EVERYWHERE AI voice will become increasingly indistinguishable from human voice. Even the dreaded “press 3 for customer support” systems from your bank and insurance company will now be pleasant conversations with an AI. Jay Singh, CEO of Casper Studios, says: “We’re building entirely voice-driven products. We’ve taken the principle of removing typing altogether. No dropdowns, no text fields, no options.” Personally I think AI voice will become huge for onboarding (bye, bye forms!) Bill Shea, Managing Director at Accenture, predicts that Siri, Alexa and its ilk will no longer be dumb. He hopes his 9 Alexas, Meta glasses, and Astro will communicate with one another - but that may be a stretch for 2025. 3️⃣ Chatbots will go out of style Many-a-startup has realized the nuance between their chatbot and ChatGPT is too hard a sell - this will lead to an explosion of new UX approaches for AI products. Anthropic’s Computer Use Feature and Gemini's Project Mariner, which allows AI to use your computer for you, is just scratching of the surface (it’s still constrained by the old-fashioned browser). Amelia Wattenberger, Principal Research Engineer at Github, has hopes for the future: “Let's build tools that offer suggestions to help us gain clarity in our thinking, let us sculpt prose like clay by manipulating geometry in the latent space, and chain models under the hood to let us move objects (instead of pixels) in a video.” 4️⃣ The emergence of AI of Things (AIOT) Hardware used to be hard. But now with RaspberryPi, cloud AI, NFC tags, customGPTs, and cheap sensors we’re going to see more physical AI products out and about in the world. Like AI teddy bears to DIY smart fridges where you can scan a QR code and get custom recipes (credit to Allie K. Miller who has NFC-tagged her whole house). -- What do you think? How else will our interactions with AI change in 2025? Stay tuned for Part 2: how we'll build with AI in 2025.

Excited to share research from our lab at Georgia Tech, in collaboration with researchers at Google and the University of Toronto! As we get closer to monocular AR or HUD glasses that actually look like everyday eyewear, a key HCI question is where to position a monocular HUD so it’s comfortable to consume content—without being distracting or interruptive, especially with proactive AI. This review paper brings together decades of research, including recent work from our lab post-Google Glass—especially by my team over the past four years. We synthesize findings across performance, comfort, interruptions, and social perception, including design recommendations in Section 10. Read the preprint: https://lnkd.in/emjNqYqU Please share with any teams building in this space! Big thanks to all my co-authors: Ethan Kimmel, Katherine Huang, Tyler Kwok, Yukun Song, Sofia Vempala, Blue (Georgianna) Lin, Ozan Cakmakci, and Thad Starner #AR #HUD #AugmentedReality #Wearables #HCI #UX #ARglasses #HumanFactors #Hypernova Meta Google Snap Inc. Samsung Electronics Qualcomm Vuzix Corporation Even Realities XREAL Lumus Ltd. Applied Materials Dispelix DigiLens Inc. Avegant JBD

🌟 What’s Next for AI Design: Themes for 2025 🌟 As we enter 2025, the landscape of AI design is evolving rapidly, with emerging trends reshaping how we build and interact with technology. Here are some key trends I’m particularly excited about: 🔹 1. Interfaces That Adapt to User Needs We’re moving from static UIs to interfaces that dynamically adapt to context, personalization, and real-time inputs. This means simpler, cleaner, and more intuitive UX that delivers exactly what users need when they need it. 🛠️ Examples: Jordan Singer's work at Mainframe and Beam by @Toby Bream (https://beem.computer/) showcase the future of adaptive design. 🔹 2. Reimagining Data Organization Traditional data structuring feels ancient today. AI is helping us rethink how unstructured data is reorganized and delivered intuitively, in formats tailored to our needs. 💡 Check out @MatthewWsiu's explorations on this (https://lnkd.in/gFADJkXS) 🔹 3. Fluid Media AI is democratizing media creation - transforming text into videos, sketches into 3D models, and more. These capabilities open up a world of immersive, creative possibilities. 🎨 There are many advanced models out there, but here is a classic example I worked on a while back that transforms sketches into animated characters (https://lnkd.in/gPYA7xfP) 🔹 4. Multimodal Interactions Gone are the days of singular inputs. Multimodal AI systems combine voice, visuals, text, and beyond to create richer, more engaging user experiences. Claude artefacts are a good example! 🔹 5. Human-AI Connections AI isn’t just a tool - it’s becoming a partner for advice, journaling, task management, and more. Designing safe, meaningful interactions is key to ensuring this shift feels natural and intuitive. 🤖 e.g. I’ve been using apps like Rosebud (https://www.rosebud.app/) that probably know me better than some of my friends! 🔹 6. Immersive Experiences Adaptive interfaces, fluid media, and multimodal capabilities make immersive experiences more accessible than ever. 🌐 Rooms by Things, Inc. has recently launched some fun examples of this (https://lnkd.in/grcnyRcy) 🔹 7. Empowering Anyone to Build Anything The lines between designer, PM, and engineer are blurring. Tools like Cursor are empowering everyone to create AI apps, breaking down traditional silos. 🚀 Dreamcut.ai by Meng To is a great example of the creative potential unlocked by AI. 🔹 8. AI-First Interaction Patterns As AI capabilities grow, we must develop new design patterns to handle these challenges. For those interested in diving deeper, check out my course (https://lnkd.in/gcVgP3My). The next cohort starts in February, and we’ll explore these trends and more! As a reminder, these are just some themes I'm personally excited about and I'm sure I've missed many. Are there other themes you're excited about? Please share them in the comments!

Thinking about 2025... (no commentary on OpenAI's roadmap, but rather a personal pov) It's not a new idea that AI voice is going to be a real thing in 2025 (https://lnkd.in/eiijsz4z) Customer Service is going to lead the way in showing us how the models can best be used - and used at scale. We will just be getting started. I think a big "accessibility" unlock is going to be via things like 1-800-CHATGPT -- just a voice call (speed dial) away. It's likely the first AI that some older or less technology-enabled family members will knowingly use. Done right, it'll be a legitimate "helpful assistant" to them. ChatGPT being available via WhatsApp is a huge unlock for expanding its global reach - shoutout India and Brazil (https://lnkd.in/emsWrnNg). In hindsight, it's so obvious that -of course- ChatGPT needs to be on WhatsApp. Next, we will start seeing voice in more cars (https://lnkd.in/eiijsz4z). But this is not Siri 2.0, rather it'll be nicely tuned & the UX will likely be engaging and of value. I expect CarPlay and Android Auto (along with Tesla and Rivian) will play a huge role here too. This broad availability of speech-powered AI will further accelerate the virtuous cycle of getting more people to be more access to and comfortable with speaking and interacting with AIs. Together with good function calling, structured outputs and video we will see scaled examples of the fusion of the physical, digital and the AI worlds -- all in 2025. The pieces are there. Now it's execution time. Oh, and this is the worst these models will ever be. What a time to be alive.

Everyone loves talking about AR hardware. Mobile vs glasses. Phones vs headsets. Quest vs Vision Pro. But hardware alone isn't what drives adoption – user behavior is. After nearly a decade working in the space, I see three distinct categories in XR: 1. At-home AR: Your desktop & TV replacement. Will likely be dominated by productivity tools, shopping, and entertainment experiences, all in controlled environments. 2. Venue-based AR: Think theme parks, sports arenas, entertainment destinations. Places where people already expect magic to happen and where they're already primed for immersive experiences. 3. "Everywhere in between" AR: Digital layers over everyday life. AR-powered navigation. Virtual notes and relevant information presented to us as it is contextually relevant. At Illumix, we're focused on venue-based AR. Not because it's easy, but because it aligns with how people actually behave today and what they want. This matters more than ever as younger generations of “digital natives” reshape expectations around physical experiences. They don't want to be passive observers. They want to interact, influence, create. We built our technology to be hardware-agnostic for a reason. The winning factor isn't solely better glasses or sharper displays. It's understanding human behavior and building for it. Hardware will evolve. Consumer behavior will lead the way.