2025: Year in Review
It has been a productive year at The BYU Design Review. We published 68 articles, the second-most in our history (with so many of us online, 2020 was a fluke). We have had the most page views ever since our founding in September 2019, and we are just weeks away from reaching 500,000 all-time page views. With such great progress this year, there are numerous articles to look back on that helped make 2025 a record year.
Figure 1: Decorative pinatas [1].
Piñata Design for Celebrations
Not only did this article include first-hand advice for the creation of this beloved and centuries-old party tradition, this was also the first article that we have published available to read in another language - Spanish. Since then, we have published two more translations of other articles (One in Portuguese and one in Farsi). We hope to continue publishing translations, because 2025 was also the first year that the majority of our readership came outside the United States.
Figure 2: Generative AI-designed chair [2].
A Plausible Future: The AI / Designer Partnership
Imagine a world where designers and AI work hand in hand, pushing creative boundaries and optimizing workflows. That future is already here. AI is not a replacement for human ingenuity—it’s a tool that amplifies it, and those who master it will shape the next era of design. This article, one of five published this year that discussed AI, continues to add depth to our repository of insightful work into this now-ubiquitous technology. Check out our first article on the matter written two years ago.
Figure 3: A beautiful boardwalk [3].
Good Design from the Summer of 2025
Summer is a time for relaxing but it doesn't mean it's a time to stop exploring innovation. Learn about some good designs that we discovered over the summer of 2025, from beautiful lotus boardwalks and excellent french toast to heatless curls and 3D printing. This article encompasses several months of fascinating design we saw over the Summer.
Figure 4: A mobile phone from the 1980s [4].
Skeuomorphs: Relics of the Past
Discover the hidden meaning behind common designs! Learn how skeuomorphs—like 10:10 clock settings and 'ancient' phone icons—use old forms to add familiarity, connection, and aesthetic value to modern products. This article is an example of the niche topics we explored this year.
BYU Design Review Statistics 2025
The BDR has continued to grow. Thanks for reading our articles, coming back, and being part of our community. Here’s a few stats that describe 2025:
Articles published: 68 (second-most in our history)
Unique contributors (25):
Dylan Conover - 14
Blake Ipsen - 6
Joselyn Cortes - 3
Chris Mabey - 1
Ken Hardman - 1
Andrew Cousins - 2
Adam Rose - 1
Amber Glorius - 3
Emelia Sunday - 5
Chris Mattson - 7
Dillon Strange - 1
John Salmon - 6
Taylor Heiner - 3
Nicholas Hardman - 3
Scott Cutler - 1
Hunter Scullin - 1
Mark McDonald - 1
Hunter Byington - 1
Tony Jewkes - 1
Dalton White - 2
Eli Smith - 2
Josh Engle - 1
Elena Arana - 1
Page views: 143,000
Page visitors: 103,000
Readership by Top Countries:
United States of America - 49%
United Kingdom - 5%
India - 4%
Australia - 4%
Canada - 3%
We are excited that more than half of our audience in 2025 was out of our home country! Explore these articles and more on our Collections page, and take time to reflect on what you have learned in 2025.
References
[1] Photo by santiago filio on Unsplash
[2] Image from PNY.
[3] "Ninh Binh Lotus Season, a visit to bloom your soul." Asia King Travel, 10 Sept. 2025, https://www.asiakingtravel.com/blog/ninh-binh-lotus-season.html.
[4] "Mobile phones have shaped cinema for half a century." The Economist, 28 Apr. 2023, https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/04/28/mobile-phones-have-shaped-cinema-for-half-a-century.
To cite this article:
The BYU Design Review Editorial Board. “2025: Year in Review.” The BYU Design Review, 31 Dec. 2025, https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/2025-year-in-review.
