The Feed & The Thread - January 12, 2026

Welcome to The Feed & The Thread, brought to you by Chicago Camps. Our next UX Camp event is coming up in February. We'll have additional details later in the episode. Don't miss out!

Today we're covering a fresh perspective on product evaluation, suggesting your product might be more like a theme park than you think - focusing on access, navigation, and experience over just adding new features. And we'll hear what the community is saying about comparing notification design patterns across Slack, Notion, and Linear, and where Outside-In UX breaks down in real-world constraints.

Alright, let's get into what the thought leaders are thinking.

In a new piece titled "Your product is a theme park," Wira Indra Kusuma at UX Design dot CC argues that products should be evaluated much like a theme park - focusing on access, navigation, and overall experience, rather than just adding more features. The article emphasizes the importance of renovation planning over simply expanding feature sets, advocating for improvements in areas such as UX enhancements and accessibility upgrades to drive user satisfaction and revenue growth.

Writing for UX Design dot CC, Sean J. Savage's latest article "From playwright to stage manager" explores how Google’s experimental 'Neural OS' shifts the design paradigm from deterministic systems to probabilistic ones, making interfaces adaptable based on user inter-actions but often leading to usability issues. The piece suggests that designers should embrace principles from improvisational theater, like accepting offers and playing status, to create more flexible AI products.

Nick Babich just dropped a piece called "UI Design with Nano Banana Pro" over at UX Planet. The article highlights the use of an AI tool named Nano Banana Pro, to streamline UI design processes by automating repetitive tasks and suggesting improvements based on user-behavior data. Nick stresses the importance of balancing these automated suggestions with human creativity to maintain a unique design aesthetic, ensuring designers retain control over their creative direction while integrating AI tools into their workflows.

Alright, what's the community saying? Over in the UX Design subreddit, people are digging into notification designs across Slack, Notion, and Linear - trying to figure out what really drives engagement. It’s a bit of a nerd fest, but it’s got everyone thinking about how design impacts user behavior.

And speaking of UX, there's this one post where someone asks, "For designers who’ve actually tried OOUX, where does it break down in real-world constraints?" No big scores here yet, but it feels like a question that will spark some serious debate. You know, the kind where everyone’s chiming in with their own experiences and frustrations.

Let's swing over to the web_design subreddit - folks are buzzing about how spatial design and AI voice interfaces are weaving magic into storytelling on modern web projects. It sounds like 2026 is really going to be a game-changer for those who can blend these technologies seamlessly.

But wait, there’s more. Over in another part of the Design subreddit, there's a thread on designers who code - and it’s got two upvotes so far. It feels like this topic hits close to home because many folks are weighing in on both sides - some think coding is an essential skill for every designer, while others argue that specialization has its own merits.

I mean, that's fair. Each approach has its pros and cons, right? And lastly, there’s a thread about product and industrial design popping up - though it hasn’t gathered much attention yet. But hey, with time, who knows what kind of insights we’ll see there.

Alright, that covers the buzz from our community this round. Stay tuned for more updates.

Chicago Camps is hosting UX Camp Winter on Saturday, February 21st. The entire event is online, so you can join from anywhere in the world. It will be a great day of presentations coming from people delivering UX work - out in the field - where it matters most.

Tickets are only thirteen dollars and fifty cents. They also have Pay-What-You-Can tickets, and free passes available to anyone with a need.

Get tickets now at chicago camps dot org. And there's still room for additional speakers - submit your idea today!

Don’t miss this great opportunity for low-cost, high-value continuing education.

So, whether you're thinking about your product like a theme park or diving into how notifications can drive engagement in apps like Slack, Notion, and Linear, today's episode highlights that it's often the user experience - how accessible, navigable, and enjoyable something is - that truly makes all the difference. Something to mull over as you refine your next project. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the flip side.

That's The Feed and The Thread for today. Until next time, keep designing with intention!