Issue #025: AI, Mixed Reality, and Game-Changing Design Tools + Upcoming Events
Discover AI breakthroughs, top design tools, and how mixed reality is redefining user experiences. Plus, free events and a podcast preview!
Welcome to the Cristian Talks Product Design Newsletter — where designers come to learn and stay updated on the latest in AI, Technology, and UX/UI.
What we’re covering today
Weekly Message
Must-see AI tools for UX/Product Designers
Must-Reads for Product Designers in the AI space
Free Events to Elevate Your Design Skills/Career
My Weekly Message
This week brought some big news with DeepSeek’s breakthrough. While I won’t go into details here, it’s clear this development will make adopting and advancing AI tools much smoother—and that’s exciting for all of us in design!
I’m also thrilled to share that my next podcast guest is Kim Alban! Our conversation sparked a curiosity in me which led me to deep dive into how AI-powered mixed reality could completely transform the way we interact with technology. You’ll see some of those ideas reflected in today’s content, in the meantime stay tuned for for the upcoming episode!
Finally, this marks 25 consecutive weeks of this newsletter. It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m so grateful for all of you—whether you’re new here or have been reading since day one. Your engagement and support mean the world to me. Thank you all for being here!
With that, I hope you find value in todays weekly digest.
Let’s dive in!
Innovative Tools That Caught My Eye This Week
This week, I've come across three remarkable tools that blend design and technology in exciting ways. Here's a brief overview of each, along with why I find them intriguing and who might benefit from them.
Jitter: Simplifying Motion Design
A user-friendly motion design tool that enables creators to craft stunning animations effortlessly. With features like one-click animation presets and seamless Figma integration, it streamlines the animation process. I appreciate how Jitter allows for quick exploration of ideas without the complexity of traditional animation software. It's ideal for designers seeking to add dynamic visuals to their projects without a steep learning curve.
Khroma: AI-Powered Color Inspiration
Khroma leverages AI to learn your color preferences and generates limitless personalized palettes. By selecting a set of colors, you train its neural network to produce combinations tailored to your taste. I find Khroma's ability to create infinite color combos and its intuitive search functionality particularly useful. This tool is perfect for designers looking to discover and save unique color schemes efficiently.
VisualEyes: Predictive Design Analytics
A Figma plugin that uses AI to predict user attention on your designs, providing heatmaps and insights to inform design decisions. Its seamless integration makes it easy to validate and refine interfaces. I think this tool is an asset for gaining a better understanding of how users might react to a design without the costly expense of conducting a traditional UXR study. It's perfect for UX/UI designers looking to enhance user engagement through data-driven design.
Must-Reads for Designers Exploring AI & Emerging Tech
This week I’ve handpicked some insightful reads for those of you interested in the intersection of UX design, AI, and emerging technologies like Extended Reality! These reads offer practical tips, forward-looking ideas, and fresh perspectives on the future of user experience design and technology.
Unmoderated User Testing for Conversational Designs
Voiceflow’s guide to unmoderated testing is packed with actionable advice. The key takeaway? Define clear objectives upfront to get the most meaningful insights. Steps like crafting screener questions and post-session surveys stood out as essential for refining conversational designs. If you’re building conversation interfaces, this method is worth trying.
The Future of Mixed Reality in UX Design
This piece on mixed reality (MR) and AI highlights how they’re transforming UX design. What struck me most is the potential for MR to deliver deeply personalized, immersive experiences in fields like retail and education. It’s a reminder that as MR evolves, designers have new tools to create smarter, more engaging interactions.
Agentic AI in Customer Experience
Agentic AI is a shift from reactive to proactive systems, and it’s poised to reshape customer experiences. The article emphasizes how it solves problems, personalizes interactions, and makes real-time decisions for users. This evolution toward seamless, efficient AI-driven experiences is something every designer should keep an eye on.
Curated Free Events to Elevate Your Skills
As January ends, I’ve handpicked these events based on key design trends. Conversational design is growing as organizations adopt AI assistants, making it a must-master skill. Rupa Chaturvedi’s session complements this by encouraging designers to think beyond chatbots and explore the full potential of AI interfaces. Finally, presenting ideas effectively remains essential for designers, and Ian Wharton’s session provides powerful strategies to secure buy-in with confidence. These free sessions are packed with insights to help you stand in 2025.
Conversational AI in 2025: What Every Team Needs to Know
📅 When: January 30th, 2025
⏰ Time: 10 AM EST / 4 PM CET (60 minutes)
📍 Where: Live on Zoom
🎟️ Sign Up for Free
Join Hans van Dam, Jurgen Gravestein, Michelle Parayil, and special guest Yam Marcovitz for a deep dive into what CX and Conversational AI teams need to know in 2025. You’ll learn about emerging concepts, spot outdated practices, and understand key trends in tech, design, risk, ethics, and skills. Bring your questions for this engaging one-hour session designed to prepare you for what’s ahead.
The Evolution of AI Interfaces: Beyond Chatbots
📅 When: February 4th, 2025
⏰ Time: 12 PM EST (45 minutes)
📍 Where: Live on Zoom
🎟️ Sign Up for Free
Join Rupa Chaturvedi, Founder of the Human-Centered AI Institute and Stanford lecturer, to explore how AI interfaces have evolved from simple chatbots to complex multimodal systems. You’ll discover key trends shaping AI, learn practical strategies to integrate them into your designs, and get the tools you need to stay ahead in creating intuitive, innovative products.
Why Great Ideas Fail to Get Buy-In
📅 When: February 6th, 2025
⏰ Time: 2 PM EST (30 minutes)
📍 Where: Live on Zoom
🎟️ Sign Up for Free
Learn how to sell your ideas with confidence in this session with Ian Wharton, Apple Design Award winner and author. You’ll uncover why pitches fail, get tools to navigate tough moments like interruptions or doubts, and master the ‘Surgeon’ technique for delivering your ideas with clarity and precision—helping you secure buy-in from executives, clients, or teams.
Wrapping Up This Week’s Newsletter
That’s it for this week! I hope you found these tools, reads, and events as inspiring and thought-provoking as I did. Whether you're diving into motion design with Jitter, exploring predictive analytics with VisualEyes, or rethinking how AI can transform user experiences, there’s plenty here to spark new ideas.
As always, my goal is to bring you value and keep you ahead of the curve in this ever-evolving design space. If something in this newsletter stood out to you, or if you’ve come across tools, articles, or events worth sharing, I’d love to hear from you—just hit reply!
Until next time, keep experimenting, learning, and designing for the future.
– Cristian