Weekly curated resources for designersthinkers andmakers.You are Jean-Claude Van Damme. Youre straddling two 18-wheelers careening through space while doing the splits. Its very difficult, your groin hurts, and you could really use a strawberry Pop-tartHeres the question that has brought on all the pain and Pop-tart cravings: Do I continue the path of individual contributor or turn towards management?As designers, this is a decision that we all need to face eventually. As soon as we become competent in our craft, we start to realize that we cant straddle the gap forever.The split decision: IC or manager? By TripCarrollStreamline feedback and slash revisions for faster, flawless website delivery [Sponsored] Say hello to the deadline-friendly web builder that keeps you focused on creativity, not legwork. The no-nonsense copilot handles the heavy lifting, making it smooth to go from idea to publish. Ideal for small teams and agencies building sites on tight timelines.Editor picksLaid off twice in a year Riding the tech rollercoaster as a product manager.By JeanHuangCustomer as competitive advantage Are we doing the same as our competitors expecting different results?By HelgeTennGreat products transcend the Usability vs. Utility debate Your users want results, not compromises.By AviSiegelThe UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about theirwork.New book celebrates UKs influential modernist graphic designers Make methinkWe did all this discovery now how do we decide? The more discovery they do, the more ideas they get. The ideas, the interviews, the stories, the pain pointsthey all start to pile up. Thats where the problem comes in. Now the PM has a giant portfolio of ideas. But the team can only build one thing at a time. How do they decide on the one thing to donext?Are AI assistants making us worse programmers? In programming, high-level languages many times abstract the complexity away from yousomething developers working with JavaScript, Python, Java, etc, know well. It seems clear that AI assistants introduce a new human-machine interfacenatural language. Is thatbad?Dont forget to localize your icons Localizing your app, web app, or website is more than just running all your text through Google Translate and hoping for the best. Creating effective, trustworthy communication with language communities means doing the work to make sure your content meets them where theyare.Little gems thisweekWhy is the Mac mini power button on the bottom? By ElvisHsiaoHow Insight Timer monetizes 25M users By MaryBorysovaHow I used AI to design brand-aligned illustrations By MotyWeissTools and resourcesText formatting experiences can be a trap Improve a keyboard users experience with indentation.By Nik JeleniauskasReimagining prototyping with AI Bringing creativity, speed, and efficiency to design validation.By VamsiBatchuTest smart Which automation strategy to choose for peace of mind?By JuliaKocbekSupport the newsletterIf you find our content helpful, heres how you can supportus:Check out this weeks sponsor to support their worktooForward this email to a friend and invite them to subscribeSponsor aneditionIC or Manager, laid off twice, prototyping with AI was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.