UXmas 2013: New design, new faces, same festive goodness

December is the month of advent, and the experience design and research community has its very own digital advent calendar UXmas.

Last year’s UXmas calendar was a hit and for 2013, UXmas is sporting a brand new design and a motley crew of new and familiar contributors.

“We were blown away with the traffic the site received last year,” UX Mastery co-founder Luke Chambers says. “We launched UXmas partly as a way of giving back to the UX community during the festive season. But mostly we just thought the pun was too good to pass up.”

UXmas is a joint effort from the teams at UX Mastery and Thirst Studios. Each day, a new “gift” to the UX community is unwrapped.

An excerpt from Everyday UX, showing Ruth Ellison’s workspace.

To date, an infographic about the history of usability, career tips for UX Designers, a comic about personas, and more—including an article from Alison Lawrence of Didus (UX Mag’s niche UX recruiting partner) giving pracitioners insight into selling their skills.

There are also a handful of discounts on training courses and books littered throughout the site, for those looking to up-skill in the new year. Additionally, the site has had a complete redesign, to improve navigation and accommodate for future editions.

“The animated baubles were a neat effect last year, but we soon realized the design didn’t scale very well.” Thirst Studios’ UX Director Benjamin Tollady explains. “This year we’ve gone with a timeline-style layout, with the article of the day appearing at the top.”

The UXmas redesign shows each unwrapped “gift” as a moment along a timeline.

As with UXmas 2012, some of the best gifts are being unwrapped during the final stretch, so be sure to check under the tree in the lead-up to Christmas Day.