User Experience Innovation

Invisible UX is coming 🔥 And it’s going to change how we design products, forever. For decades, UX design has been about guiding users through an experience. We’ve done that with visible interfaces: Menus. Buttons. Cards. Sliders. We’ve obsessed over layouts, states, and transitions. But with AI, a new kind of interface is emerging: One that’s invisible. One that’s driven by intent, not interaction. Think about it: You used to: → Open Spotify → Scroll through genres → Click into “Focus” → Pick a playlist Now you just say: “Play deep focus music.” No menus. No tapping. No UI. Just intent → output. You used to: → Search on Airbnb → Pick dates, guests, filters → Scroll through 50+ listings Now we’re entering a world where you guide with words: “Find me a cabin near Oslo with a sauna, available next weekend.” So the best UX becomes barely visible. Why does this matter? Because traditional UX gives users options. AI-native UX gives users outcomes. Old UX: “Here are 12 ways to get what you want.” New UX: “Just tell me what you want & we’ll handle the rest.” And this goes way beyond voice or chat. It’s about reducing friction. Designing systems that understand intent. Respond instantly. And get out of the way. The UI isn’t disappearing. It’s mainly dissolving into the background. So what should designers do? Rethink your role. Going forward you’ll not just lay out screens. You’ll design interactions without interfaces. That means: → Understanding how people express goals → Guiding model behavior through prompt architecture → Creating invisible guardrails for trust, speed, and clarity You are basically designing for understanding. The future of UX won’t be seen. It will be felt. Welcome to the age of invisible UX. Ready for it?

Ever notice the little cutouts at street corners, designed so wheelchairs can easily cross the street? That small change—often referred to as the “curb cut”—is a classic example of inclusive design. Initially created to assist people using wheelchairs, these curb cuts have ended up benefiting far more people, from parents pushing strollers to delivery workers with heavy carts and travellers rolling suitcases. This phenomenon is known as the “curb-cut effect.” But here’s why it matters on a bigger scale: over 1.3 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population) live with some form of disability, according to the World Health Organization. Why Inclusive Design Matters 🔻 1️⃣ Empathy Translates to Innovation When we put ourselves in the shoes of people with different abilities, we often stumble upon creative, universally helpful solutions. Curb cuts are just one example—voice recognition technology, originally developed for people with mobility or visual impairments, is now used daily by millions of people around the world. 2️⃣ Better Customer and Employee Experience Companies that prioritise accessibility foster a culture where everyone feels valued. According to a Harvard Business Review article, diverse and inclusive teams often make better decisions up to 87% of the time. Making environments usable for all can translate into stronger loyalty from both customers and employees. 3️⃣ Economic and Social Impact An environment that’s easier to navigate means more people are able to fully participate in the economy and society. Whether it’s allowing someone to shop independently or enabling them to access education and job opportunities, inclusive design has a real impact on quality of life and financial well-being. The curb-cut effect is a reminder that when we remove barriers for some, we often end up elevating the experience for all. This video really highlights how it feels to live in a world not designed for your sensory abilities.

👩🦰 Designing Accessibility Personas (https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd). How to embed accessibility and test for it early in the design process ↓ We often assume that digital products are merely that — products. They either work or don’t work. That they help people meet their needs or fail on their path to get there. But every product has its own embedded personality. It can be helpful or dull, fragile or reliable, supportive or misleading. When we design it, willingly or unwillingly, we embed our values, views and perspectives into it. Sometimes it’s meticulously shaped and refined. And sometimes it’s simply random. And when that happens, users assign their perception of the product’s personality to the product instead. Products are rarely accessible by accident. There must be an intent that captures and drives accessibility efforts in a product. And the best way to do that is by involving people with temporary, situational and permanent disabilities into the design process. One simple way of achieving that is by inviting people with disabilities in the design process. For that, we could recruit people via tools like Access Works or UserTesting, ask admins of groups and channels on accessibility to help, or drop an email to non-profits that work in accessibility space. Another way is establishing accessibility personas for user journeys. Consider them as user profiles that highlight common barriers faced by people with particular conditions and provide guidelines for designers and engineers on how to design and build for them. E.g. Simone, a dyslexic user, or Chris, a user with rheumatoid arthritis. For each, we document known challenges and notable considerations, designing training tasks for designers and developers and instructions to simulate experience through the lens of these personas. By no means does it replace proper accessibility testing, but it creates a shared understanding about what the experiences are like. You can build on top of Gov.uk’s profound research project (https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd) — it also explains how to set up devices and browsers, so that each persona has their own browser profile. Once you do, you can always switch between them and simulate an experience, without changing settings every single time. All Accessibility Personas (+ Tasks, Research, Setup) https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd Accessibility doesn’t have to be challenging if it’s considered early. No digital product is neutral. Accessibility is a deliberate decision, and a commitment. Not only does it help everyone; it also shows what a company believes in and values. And once you do have a commitment, and it will be much easier to retain accessibility, rather than adding it last minute as a crutch — because that’s where it’s way too late to do it right, and way too expensive to make it well. [Useful pointers in the comments ↓] #ux #accessibility

One of the most fascinating aspects of working as a senior marketer across five industries (mobile phones, e-commerce, FMCG, beauty, and telecommunications) is seeing how i𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆. Having worked with brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Flipkart, L'Oréal, airtel and Nokia, I've learned that 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀-𝗮𝗹𝗹. It's shaped by the needs of the industry, the expectations of its consumers, and the cultural context. Here are some examples. 𝟭. 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 For technology companies, innovation is about reimagining the future with groundbreaking products, services, or solutions. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 revolutionized wearables by merging health and tech. 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮 brought voice-activated convenience into our homes. 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘆 and other UPI payment solutions redefined how we transact with effortless digital payments. At 𝗟'𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹, launching a virtual try-on tool powered by AI to personalize beauty at scale was a game-changer. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 In industries where experience is key, service-led innovation takes centre stage: 𝟭𝟬-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 by Quick Commerce companies (think Blinkit) is an innovation driven by speed and convenience. 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀 deployed widely by many brands solve maximum customer queries with human-like efficiency. Even something we now take for granted, like 𝗜𝗩𝗥 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 we encounter when we call an airline, bank or telco, was once a radical innovation that streamlined customer service. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands often innovate in products, flavours, and packaging to capture consumer attention. 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗸𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿 – making chips resonate with the Indian and South Asian palettes. 𝗟'𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹'𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 repairs five years of damage in a single use – a breakthrough in product efficacy. 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘆'𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 adapt based on water temperature – a perfect blend of fun and utility. 𝟰. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗮'𝘀 𝗶𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝘀, which allow customers to try before they buy, add a layer of delight to shopping. In the fitness world, 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗻 innovated by combining digital technology and fitness equipment to transform home workouts with community-led, interactive experiences. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆? Enlighten me in the comments below. #innovation #business #marketing 

Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most compelling CX benchmarks. Consumers in the Kingdom now expect faster resolutions, highly personalized engagement, and seamless omnichannel journeys, often at levels surpassing global averages. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing digital experience markets. So, what can global organizations learn from this transformation? 1. Lead with ambition, not limitations. CX in Saudi Arabia starts with a Vision 2030 mindset: If customers deserve better, we build better. This simple shift reframes the entire operating model. Instead of asking, “What can we deliver with our current capabilities?” the question becomes, “What experience should our customers truly have?” That ambition accelerates innovation and establishes a culture where exceptional service is the norm. 2. Localize deeply. Relevance is a performance driver. Global playbooks don’t automatically translate to the Saudi context. Every touchpoint, from language, to culture, tone, service rituals, even design cues must reflect local expectations. That’s why solutions like HUMAIN, built natively in Arabic and shaped around regional behavior, are gaining momentum in experience-led organizations. 3. Balance digital scale with human-centered service. Saudi Arabia’s CX leaders blend AI, automation, and human-centered service to achieve both speed and meaning. Take Balady | بلدي+, the navigation and city services app in the Kingdom as an example. It combines advanced mapping with thoughtful, human-centered design to deliver accurate, hyper-local navigation, service requests, neighborhood insights, and real-world relevance. It’s a powerful example of how CX becomes transformative when technology is grounded in human behavior. 4. Co-create with the youth. With more than 60% of the population under 35, young Saudis are redefining what “great experience” means: simple, fast, intuitive, transparent, and mobile-first. Leading organizations don’t design for the youth, they design with them. When a generation this influential guides experience design, services evolve faster, get smarter, and stay relevant. Saudi Arabia’s CX transformation is more than a national success story. I see it as a blueprint. The world is beginning to take notice because the Kingdom shows what becomes possible when ambition, culture, and human-centered innovation move in the same direction. For global companies looking to elevate their own customer experiences, Saudi Arabia isn’t just an example to admire but also a place to learn from. And as this momentum continues, the Kingdom is well on its way to shaping the standards and we welcome the world to learn from us. #SaudiArabia #Leadership #Business #CX #Customer

I predict that the vast majority of brand-maintained static websites and apps will become entirely obsolete as primary user touchpoints, within 10 years at the very most. It is totally feasible, possible much sooner, to imagine being able to simply conjure up, with Gen AI, a completely bespoke experience for a particular objective. "I want to to organise a football themed birthday party for a 10yr old boy in York" would dynamically render the exact 'website' I want on the fly, including planning tools, shoppable products, bookable venues etc., drawing from various brand services. There would be no need whatsoever to go to any individual brand's own static website. What does this mean for brands? Far too much to include in a short post like this, but ultimately it means your brand exists as a suite of APIs, data feeds, and services, ready for AI to consume and reassemble – not a destination or an experience you fully control. It's a complete departure from what brand means in the digital space. Closer to the audience likely reading this, it means that traditional UX/UI focused on static pages, and definitely any notion of 'digital optimisation' in that context, becomes largely obsolete. The UX/design role shifts dramatically to working with generative systems and their components, not just static interfaces. BUT experimentation and innovation, in the broadest and truest sense of the word, will become even more important. How does AI effectively work with and feed from your backend data stores? How is your product and offering structured to be effectively discovered and utilised by AI on behalf of users? How does your brand perform when its presentation is orchestrated by an AI, not your marketing team? This will be the new playground. The future of digital growth isn't optimising a static experience; it's experimenting with how your brand thrives in this dynamically generated reality. #GenerativeAI #DigitalTransformation #Experimentation #CRO #ProductManagement #UserExperience #FutureOfDigital #Strategy #AI #Innovation

Every few years, it feels like the CX industry latches onto a new acronym (CX+BX=TX anyone?), yet most “next big things” are just incremental builds on what's already there. Innovation is lacking, but the notion of UX 3.0 feels different. A recent arXiv paper, “UX 3.0: Experience as Interface,” posits the customer journey is a living system rather than a set of screens, proposing products should read what people are doing, sense how they feel, and reshape themselves in real time. A companion study, “Multi-Layered Human-Centered AI,” explains how to wire three layers together: the model that does the work, an explanation layer that chooses how to talk about it, and a feedback loop that learns from every interaction. Why is this a big deal? Because most of today’s “personalization” is really a flowchart diguised as a personalized experience. Like a chatbot greeting you with the same menu at 11 p.m. that it shows at noon; it's a polite automation that shouldn't be considered personalization. With UX 3.0, the system recognizes intent and emotion, picks the next best step, and adjusts response tone and depth for whoever is on the other side. Picture a service app that senses rising frustration and surfaces a human back channel without being asked. Or a mortgage portal that notices a customer is on a slow mobile connection and removes heavyweight content until the signal improves. That is the sort of moment-to-moment orchestration the new research is pushing toward. The implications for CX teams are practical and, frankly, within reach. First, design reviews can no longer focus only on the screen. They must map the invisible flows: what data feeds the model, how explanations adapt to a new versus a power user, and what signals trigger a course correction. Second, explainability is a product feature. A customer should be able to ask, “Why did you recommend this?” and receive an answer specific to them. So plain language for most of us, but deeper logic for an auditor or a regulator. Third, iteration cycles need to tighten. A product that learns live can't wait for UX research; it needs in-context telemetry and a governance plan that keeps those changes and the teams that deliver them on a tight leash. For large platforms like Qualtrics, PG Forsta, Medallia, UserTesting, or even Genesys, Verint, and NiCE, I think this shift threatens the comfort of dashboards. A true experience-led layer belongs closer to the data plane, with fast feedback and version control. Interestingly, the research community is already open-sourcing prototypes (check out the paper). So UX 3.0 is less about a new coat of paint and more about teaching our products to listen, explain themselves, and grow alongside the people they serve. My friend and colleague, Mike Debnar, and I have been talking about products talking to each other for years. Perhaps we will finally see it come together. Mike, what do you think? #customerexperience #design #ux #ai #future #technology

The convergence of emerging technologies such as AI, immersive interfaces, and digital representations of people and customers will progressively redefine the dynamics of sales, shaping more adaptive, personalized, and emotionally aware interactions. In recent years we have seen strong signals of this transformation. Gartner has identified seven disruptions that are accelerating change: machine customers, multimodality, generative AI, augmented and virtual reality, emotion AI, digital humans, and the digital twin of the customer. Each of these elements carries a specific impact, but together they form an ecosystem that is starting to alter how companies design their customer experience strategies. Generative AI is already being used to create tailored content and recommendations. Emotion AI adds a new layer of sensitivity by interpreting sentiment and intention. Digital twins of customers allow organizations to simulate behaviors and predict preferences with growing accuracy. When combined with immersive tools such as AR and VR, these innovations create environments where engagement becomes more natural and interactive. The question is not only how to adopt these technologies, but how to shape them in ways that create value and trust in the relationship with customers. #AI #Sales #CustomerExperience #DigitalTransformation

Accessibility in development isn’t about adding extras, it’s about writing better code from the get-go. Simple habits that can help are: ✅ Use button elements for buttons → <button> works everywhere, while <div role="button"> needs extra work (and often breaks). A button being a better button if it's a button, wow can you imagine? ✅ Label form fields properly → <label for="email"> ensures everyone knows what they’re filling out, including screen readers and autofill. ✅ Make clickable areas big enough → Small touch targets frustrate everyone, especially on touch screens. ✅ Don’t remove focus styles → If you hide focus indicators, keyboard users get lost. Instead, make them your own: design them to fit your UI and brand design. Don't forget that they still need to pass 3:1 color contrast. ✅ Test with a keyboard → Speaking of focus indicators: Can you navigate your site without a mouse? Well, have you tried? This is where the custom focus indicator will either shine or embarrass you. Good code isn’t just functional, it’s usable. And that’s what sets great developers apart. Accessibility isn’t an add-on, it’s what makes you great at your job.

Here are the next 10 years of customer experience and why most brands aren’t ready: → Haptic and biometric interactions: AI-driven personalisation based on real-time mood detection (think websites that adjust content, products, promotions based on your emotional state). → Self-Optimising CX: AI systems that redesign workflows, products, and pricing in real time based on real time user behaviour → AI “Mood Managers”: Systems that detect and defuse customer frustration before it escalates (e.g., pre-emptively offering compensation if a delivery delay is detected). → AI-Driven Emotional Safeguards: Systems that detect and adapt to vulnerable customers (e.g., avoiding upselling during signs of financial stress). → Predictive fulfilment: e.g. Your insurance adjusts coverage based on life events—without you having to do anything → Neural commerce: Brain-computer interfaces allowing customers to shop, order services and navigate websites with their thoughts. Why most companies aren't ready: ⇤ AI is seen a cost-cutting tool rather than redesigning experiences and acting before customers even know what they need. ⇤ Data is fragmented and most companies struggle with siloed systems and legacy databases ⇤ Experiences are designed as a one-size-fits-all ⇤ Reacting to adapt to today’s version of trends, not preparing for tomorrow 👉🏼 Most companies will sleepwalk into the next decade of CX, tweaking what’s already broken instead of innovating. I am curious to know if you've seen any brand truly designing customer experiences for the future? #cx #customerexperience #innovation #ai #artificialintelligence