Missed a few newsletters last year? Start here.

By Hannah Baker

Dear Reader,

Before we jump into new ideas for the year ahead, we wanted to pause for a moment.

If your inbox was anything like ours last year, there’s a good chance you missed a few newsletters.

So instead of sending another new idea right away, we put together a curated catch-up, a handful of pieces from 2025 that capture the questions we kept returning to.

If you only read a few things from us last year, these are a good place to start.

🧠 Judgment, Ambiguity & Decision-Making

For the moments when frameworks help… until they don’t.

• ​What Can’t AI Do in Design in 2026​
• ​When Frameworks Fail and Gut Feelings Take Over​
• ​Leadership Isn’t a Ladder, It’s a Leap
• ​Does the Double Diamond make sense for AI-enabled teams?​

These pieces all circle the same tension:
What happens when clarity is missing, the stakes are real, and someone still has to make a decision?

🗣 Influence, Buy-In & Holding the Room

For when your work makes sense… but doesn’t land.

• ​Not All “No’s” Are the Same​
• ​When your strategy slides hit silence​
• ​Are you stuck in reactive mode?​
• ​Chasing Competitors Instead of User Needs​

Less about persuasion tactics, more about understanding why people resist, and how to respond without simply pushing harder.

🛠 Practice, Tools & How Work Actually Gets Done

For cutting through hype and focusing on leverage.

• ​10 Design Diagrams to Study Instead of Staring Into the Void​
• ​Designing an AI-Powered Automation System​
• ​Let’s talk about Liquid Glass​
• ​A leadership skill every designer needs (but no one teaches)​

Practical explorations of how design practice is shifting, and where old mental models still hold (or quietly break).

✍️ Craft, Critique & Everyday Design Work

For the unglamorous moments that shape real outcomes.

• ​Level-up your critiques in 3 questions​
• ​Why Your Portfolio Isn’t Working (and How to Fix It)​
• ​Ready beats perfect (+ four habits from Hatch Conference)​
• ​When hype comes before user insight…

Small shifts in how we show work, give feedback, and move forward, especially when time and attention are limited.

If one of these caught your eye, you can find all newsletters here →​

And if you feel like replying:
​What kinds of questions are you wrestling with right now?

That signal quietly shapes what we write next.

It's almost time for the 9th cohort of Defining UX Strategy (Live) happening from Feb. 16 to Mar. 20th, 2026! Get an overview of UX strategy in this 45-minute talk.

Until next week!

Hannah Baker ​Facilitator & Co-Founder ​The Fountain Institute

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