Welcome back. As we close out 2024, everyone's asking the same questions:
But only one of those questions is actually within our control—how we choose to educate ourselves. Today, we're talking about something that matters more than ever: continuous learning in a new era of rapid change. —Tommy (@DesignerTom) The Wireframe:
How to Train Your Designer 🐉Remember when Flash developers ruled the web? Or when knowing Photoshop was enough to land you a design job? The design field has always evolved—and it's about to evolve again. As Dann Petty points out, back in 2005, designers were split into two camps: web designers and multimedia designers. The distinction: whether you knew Flash. Before that, it was product designers versus industrial designers arguing about CAD software. Now companies like ElevenLabs are dropping titles altogether—you're either Design @ Company or Engineering @ Company. Adaptability always wins. And 2025 will belong to those who master the art of learning itself. Let's dive in. The Just-in-Time Learning FrameworkHere's the truth about learning in design: It's less about what you know and more about how quickly you can learn when you need to. I call this "Just-in-Time Learning," and it's transformed how I approach skill development. Think about it like this: Remember cramming for exams in school? How much of that knowledge stuck? Now think about a time you learned something to solve an immediate problem. Big difference, right? Here's how to implement Just-in-Time Learning:
The Stigma Around Paid LearningLet's address the elephant in the room: the skepticism around paid courses. I see comments like "why pay when you can learn for free?" constantly on places like Reddit. Here's my spicy take: Why should your employer invest in upskilling you if you won't even invest in yourself? There are three types of courses out there:
My criteria for evaluating courses:
Together with FramerDesigning a Website 🤝🏻 Building a Website If you’re a designer tasked to create and publish visually stunning websites, there’s a tool for that. If you want to boost creativity while speeding up the overall web development process, you need Framer—no coding required. The next best no-code website builder for designers, Framer:
Plus, you can even import designs from Figma using our Figma-to-Framer plugin so you don’t have to start from scratch. Are you ready to learn how Framer can streamline your web development process? Learn more now. Course Recommendations for 2025Let's talk about the courses that are actually worth your time and money. Here's what I'm recommending for 2025: Coding for Designers
Tool Mastery
Visual Design
Design Strategy
Getting More Work
A note on formats: I LOVE self-paced courses—it's how my brain works. But be warned: self-paced completion rates are abysmal. Cohort-based learning has exploded for two reasons:
This is why I'm such a big fan of what Maven has enabled for design education. No one has a more vested interest in your success than you do. Start acting like it, stop bargain-binning your livelihood. With 14 years of experience, I'm still diving into a handful of these courses early next year. Join those of us choosing to level up. See you next week, Tommy Thanks for reading! What's your favorite design course? Hit reply and let me know. Enjoying this newsletter? Let us know here. |
UX Tools is a weekly deep dive into the tools and trends shaping how we build products. Each week, Tommy (@DesignerTom) breaks down emerging tools, analyzes industry shifts, and shares practical insights drawn from 15+ years shipping products. Join 80k+ builders, makers and designers getting deep analysis and tool discoveries that help you build better products, faster.
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