What I (still) believe about design.
A post-Design Thinking-era reflection.*
- It is a force for good. It is a force for understanding how to make things work better for people.
This is still true, for me. It’s a good reminder to myself, because I tend to be cynical of people peddling empathy. Even if I believe that it is important. I’ve just been burned too many times, by people pitching it to sell, without really applying what it means.
I still feel that UX is, potentially, a force for good. It is based on wanting to make things more understandable, useful, and sound in a world of crap.
- The “good” depends on what it’s used on.
If you’re using it for something fluffy, then design can only go so far. For example, if you’re trying to find a way to “UX” a marketing campaign for canned pineapples in syrup, then. It would only have an impact limited to that.
- Not everyone is a (good) designer.
I would get so triggered by “Everyone is a designer”, and “Everything is design”.
Maybe it’s the qualitative researcher in me, but you can’t just make a sweeping statement that encompasses every person. Especially when 1) talking about a job with real deliverables and responsibilities and 2) potential consequences for decision-making and quality/approvals for output that can (and should) have objective parameters.
Or - to cut out the formal-ese -
a. Don’t say anyone can just organically do something that people literally have to train and practice a lot for
b. Don’t create problems for designers, by making stakeholders feel that they can solely or independently dictate what “good product design” is. That’s what you have usability tests for. And North Star metrics. Anyway.
*Originally written in April 2024.