A look back at 2022

Headlines, themes, accomplishments, and what to look forward to

Six themes from 2022 to take into the new year.

It's the end of the year, and what better thing to do than reflect on the lessons and experiences from the last twelve months? Here's a short list of some stand-out things for me:

• Managing people is a responsibility and privilege; leading with curiosity and humility is essential. Don't shy away from taking risks and having hard conversations.

• Excellence is a team sport. This process cannot be spoken into existence but embodied by everyone (product, eng, design). It will take many different approaches. Apply, learn, pivot, and, most importantly, socialize what it looks like.

• Invest in yourself accordingly. Double down on your ideas, dreams, and strengths, and delegate the rest.

• Being selfish is OK. Your energy is essential. 

• Perfection doesn't exist. Focus on the bare essentials of what drives value to your users. To prove product fit as soon as possible.

• Failure is usually a series of primarily avoidable missteps. Always keep an ear to the ground. See Southwest Airlines.

Top headlines of the year across design and technology

• Adobe buys Figma. In September 2022, it was announced that Adobe was acquiring Figma for $20 billion. The acquisition was seen as a strategic move for Adobe, as Figma's cloud-based design platform complements Adobe's creative software products, such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Figma will continue to operate as a standalone product.

• Framer pivots from prototype app to web builder. Once a code based to no-code prototyping tool Framer may have found its niche as a website builder with a focus on creating web-based animation and micro-interactions with ease. 

• Tech layoffs hit the tech industry hard. According to Crunchbase, more than 91,000 workers in the U.S. tech sector have been laid off in mass job cuts. Notable companies include Meta, Twitter, Netflix, and Shopify.

• AI-generated content takes the world by storm. Lensa, ChatGPT has grown in popularity over the past few months to much excitement, but questions still linger around the ethics of the content that feeds it.

• Apple launches Freeform, a whiteboard experience for gathering inspiration and ideas across tablets, phones, and desktop devices. Another tool in the space of Miro, Freehand, and FigJam. Could this set the standard for collaborative whiteboard tools for the enterprise?

• Material You starts rolling out to Google's core apps. Material 3 is the latest iteration of Google's design language. It provides an extensive amount of custom comments to allow for more expression. When announced, the goal not just follow function but also follow feeling.

Will AI replace designers?

Generative AI tools for product design/UX work will be top of mind heading into 2023. There are a few natural fits for tools like these. At the outset, one can imagine creating biz/marketing pitches with ChatGPT, collateral with a natural language processing/Canva-like integration.

What about UX? Creating basic UX flows similar to these generative art apps like DALL-E can help new ideas go to market quicker and drive experimentation at a larger scale in a matter of hours. It will be interesting to see who can capture this opportunity in the new year.

What were you proud of accomplishing? 

We asked the community what they were proud of accomplishing this year, and here's what they had to say:

• "Weathering the storm."

• "Survinnn'"

• "Graduating college and starting a full-time job as a product designer."

• "Building and shipping dope sh*t"

• "How I've been able to become confident in my own design decisions."

• "Proud to have everything set and prepped for 2023!"

You all have so much to be proud of, and it's great to see you all carry that momentum into the new year. 

For me, there were several stand-out things.

• I was able to present at three largely attended conferences online, hybrid, and in-person. 

• Launched the Patreon page for Technically Speaking, where listeners can support the podcast and gain access to exclusive BTS content. 

• Have almost two seasons of guests booked and recorded for the podcast

• Launched an updated visual brand for the pod that's bold, expressive, and welcoming.

• Engaged with the community by hosting two meet-ups in Oakland and Brooklyn.

• Start to feel more confident leaning into tough conversations as a manager. 

Looking forward to 2023

Moving into 2023, we're going straight to business by releasing our first episode of season six featuring Vivianne Castillo.

She is the Founder of HmntyCntrd, an award-winning organization committed to transforming the status quo of what it means to be human-centered in our professional and personal lives through community, courses, and consulting.

This episode releases on Tuesday, January 3, at 5 am PST.

Here is a list of the upcoming episodes:

• Vivianne Castillo (Jan 3)

• Steven Wakabayashi (Jan 15)

• Mindy Duong (Jan 29)

• Keith Rich (February 10)

• Cana Itchuaqiyaq (Feb 24)

• Stephen Green (March 3)

• Leslie Miley (March 17)

• Kristy Tillman (March 31)

• Melvin Hale (April 7)

• Natalie Nixon (April 21)

You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or whatever platform you prefer and as always you can support this project for as low as $3 a month on Patreon

That's it for now; I wish you a happy new year!