The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
Missed a few newsletters last year? Start here
Title of Newsletter in TitlecaseBy 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-MakingFor the moments when frameworks help… until they don’t.
These pieces all circle the same tension: 🗣 Influence, Buy-In & Holding the RoomFor when your work makes sense… but doesn’t land.
Less about persuasion tactics, more about understanding why people resist, and how to respond without simply pushing harder. 🛠 Practice, Tools & How Work Actually Gets DoneFor cutting through hype and focusing on leverage.
Practical explorations of how design practice is shifting, and where old mental models still hold (or quietly break). ✍️ Craft, Critique & Everyday Design WorkFor the unglamorous moments that shape real outcomes.
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: 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!
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The Fountain Institute
The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
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