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💔 We Broke UX, Why Clean Design Fails & Grid vs Flex

April 2, 2025

unicornclub.dev

Hey 👋

This week’s newsletter is packed with fresh takes, smart advice, and a dash of inspiration to fuel your design and development journey. Whether you’re rethinking your CSS layout strategy, contemplating the psychology behind odd numbers in UI, or exploring how AI is shaping design workflows, there’s something here for everyone.

Dive in, get inspired, and maybe even challenge the way you think about your craft. Let’s make some everyday magic happen!

Enjoy 🦄 - Adam at Unicorn Club.

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🧠 UX

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We built UX. We broke UX. And now we have to fix it!

We didn’t just lose our influence. We gave it away. UX professionals need to stop accepting silence, reclaim our seat at the table, and design with strategic clarity, not just surface polish.

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The Psychology of Advertising: Why this ad made me stop scrolling

Ads are everywhere, so our brain blocks them... except a few. This case study uncovers why some ads work better than others using psychology.

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The real problem with research

After 22 years in design, I think that the power of research is overrated, while other important aspects are overlooked.

📋 CSS

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If it works, it’s right

I’m very much in the “layout should be a skeletal, flexible system” camp and have articulated it lot over the years.

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Layered Text Headers

Center aligned stroke sucks. And guess what the only option is for -webkit-text-stroke? Center-aligned.

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Grid First, Flex Third

You should reach for display:grid first, followed by display:block, followed by display:flex

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Carousels with CSS

From Chrome 135, you can use features from the CSS Overflow 5 specification that have been designed to create scroll and carousel experiences.

The Psychology of Odd Numbers in UI 🔢

Designers often unknowingly rely on the "Rule of Odds." This psychological principle suggests odd numbers (e.g., 3, 5, or 7 items in a menu) feel more "complete" and balanced than even numbers. It's why you’ll often see 3 or 5 design principles instead of 4 or 6!

Learn More →

📰 Classifieds

Share with 3,500+ readers, book a classified ad.

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The Noam Tribe Newsletter

Looking for travel tips? Check out The Noam Tribe today.

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Unify Your Development with Bit's Enterprise

Bit empowers teams to build seamless, high-performance distributed applications. By eliminating common integration challenges, it provides the scalability and security essential for enterprise-grade development.

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TLDR; Keep up with Tech in 5 minutes

Get the most important tech, science, & coding news in a free daily email. Read by +1,250,000 software engineers and tech workers.

👤 Leadership

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Off Kilter.

Leadership Over Measureship. tl;dr: How to beat the status quo.

🗓️ Upcoming Events

Exclusive deal with GitNation to bring you the best deals. Get 10% off with code "UNICORN".

As an extra bonus get a free remote ticket with 50% access to JSNation. Get your ticket.

💡 Beyond Aesthetics: UX as a Business Driver

April 14, 2025 - Online Event

Discover how design decisions impact growth, revenue, and retention in a one-hour virtual session. Learn actionable frameworks, explore case studies, and unlock tools to showcase the ROI of UX efforts!

See Event →

🤖 The State of AI in Design

April 16, 2025 - Virtual Panel

Join Designlab for an exclusive panel discussion about AI in UX & product design. Discover insights from 100+ designers on AI adoption, challenges, and predictions for the future. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the evolving role of AI in design workflows.

See Event →

🟨 JSNation: The JavaScript Event of 2025 (Save 10%)

June 12-16, 2025 - Hybrid & Remote

Join JSNation 2025, the ultimate JavaScript conference, for a celebration of innovation and collaboration in web development. Connect with 50+ experts, network with 1500 attendees in Amsterdam, and join 10K devs online.

See Event → (Code: UNICORN)

🎨 Design

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The Disinfecting of Design

Design, at its best, thrives on exploration. It’s capable of discovering the unexpected, taking risks, and sometimes, yes, failing.

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Do we really need icon bounding boxes?

They make sense because “consistency”, but in practice can introduce complications to consistent systems-oriented design.

Support the newsletter

If you find Unicorn Club useful and want to support our work, here are a few ways to do that:

📨  Recommend friends to subscribe

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☕️  Buy me a coffee

Other ways I can help...

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💡 Hire Me – Let’s work together to launch your vision, get expert guidance and make an impact.

Adam Marsden at Unicorn Club

Thanks for reading ❤️

Adam from Unicorn Club

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