The Harsh Reality of Being a UX Designer

Summary

In this candid video, Andres the designer addresses the realities of working in UX design, cautioning against the pitfalls of 'design by committee' and the necessity for user research. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and the ability to articulate design decisions to various stakeholders. The video also highlights the need to translate complex UX terms for different team members and the significant role of presentations in the job. Andres encourages aspiring designers to consider these aspects to determine if UX design aligns with their passions and skills.

Takeaways

• 😀 Passion for UX Design: The speaker loves UX design and encourages those who are passionate about it to pursue it, despite the challenges.
• 🚫 Honesty about the Industry: It's important to be honest about the pros and cons of the UX design industry to make informed decisions about career paths.
• 🔍 Exploring Options: The speaker tried various roles before settling on UX design, suggesting that it's okay to explore different avenues before finding the right fit.
• 🤔 Design by Committee: UX designers often face the challenge of balancing multiple stakeholders' opinions, which can lead to design compromises.
• 🎨 Pixel Pusher Syndrome: In some projects, UX designers might be reduced to executing others' ideas rather than being strategic digital architects.
• 💡 Importance of User Research: The speaker emphasizes the need for user research to guide design decisions and avoid 'Frankenstein' designs.
• 🗣️ Articulating Design Decisions: Communicating the rationale behind design choices is a crucial skill for UX designers to gain team trust and avoid debates.
• 📚 Learning from Books: The speaker is investing in a book to improve the ability to articulate design decisions, highlighting the importance of continuous learning.
• 🗣️ Communication Challenges: There's a lot of jargon in UX design, and designers must be able to translate and simplify concepts for different team members.
• 📈 Presentation Skills: Presentations are a significant part of a UX designer's job, from portfolio pitches to design handoffs.
• 🤝 Team Alignment: Aligning the entire team on a shared strategy is key to overcoming the 'design by committee' issue and ensuring successful project outcomes.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video script?

The main purpose of the video script is to provide an honest and balanced view of the UX design industry, discussing both the pros and cons, to help viewers make an informed decision about pursuing a career in UX design.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of being honest about the industry?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being honest about the industry to ensure that those considering investing time and money into UX design are aware of the realities, challenges, and potential downsides they may face.

What is 'design by committee' and why is it a negative aspect of UX design?

'Design by committee' refers to a situation where many people, including clients, developers, project managers, and others, have strong opinions about the design, making it difficult to create a cohesive product. It is a negative aspect because it can lead to designs that don't meet everyone's needs or opinions and often undervalues user research.

Why does the speaker mention the book 'articulating design decisions'?

The speaker mentions the book 'articulating design decisions' because it is a skill that every UX designer needs. Being able to communicate the reasoning behind design decisions is crucial for gaining trust and understanding from the team and stakeholders.

What is the issue with treating UX designers as 'pixel pushers'?

Treating UX designers as 'pixel pushers' is problematic because it undervalues their role as digital architects who should be involved in the strategic development of a product, rather than just executing on design changes without considering user needs and research.

What does the speaker suggest doing to save a project that lacks organization or user research?

The speaker suggests conducting user research, figuring out the target user, performing a UX audit, and doing a competitive analysis, even if not explicitly asked for, to try to save the project and align the team on a clear strategy.

Why is debating a necessary skill for UX designers?

Debating is a necessary skill for UX designers because they often have to fight against bad ideas or convince team members and clients about the importance of user research and design decisions that are based on research and strategy.

What is the role of user research in the UX design process?

User research plays a critical role in the UX design process as it helps designers understand the target user's needs, pain points, and preferences, ensuring that the design solutions address real user problems and improve their experience.

Why does the speaker mention the confusion with terminology in the UX design field?

The speaker mentions the confusion with terminology to highlight the challenge of having to translate between different team members who may use different terms for the same concepts, emphasizing the need for clear communication and understanding of industry jargon.

What is the significance of presentations in the UX designer's job?

Presentations are significant in the UX designer's job as they are a means to communicate design ideas, get feedback, and collaborate with clients and development teams. Being able to present effectively is crucial for a successful design process and outcome.

What advice does the speaker give to aspiring UX designers in the video script?

The speaker advises aspiring UX designers to be aware of the negative aspects of the job, such as 'design by committee,' the need for debating skills, and the importance of clear communication. They also encourage them to share their experiences and insights to help others get a full picture of the industry.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Reality of UX Design: Challenges and Considerations

This paragraph discusses the author's passion for UX design and the importance of being honest about the industry's pros and cons. It emphasizes the need for potential designers to understand what they are getting into, including the challenges of 'design by committee,' where various stakeholders have strong opinions that can compromise the design process. The author also highlights the lack of value placed on user research in such projects and the resulting negative impact on the final design, which may not reflect the designer's vision and could be detrimental to their portfolio. Strategies to overcome these issues, such as conducting user research and aligning the team on a clear strategy, are suggested.

05:01

🗣️ Navigating Debates and Misunderstandings in UX Design

The second paragraph delves into the common occurrence of debates in UX design, where designers must argue against bad ideas and advocate for user research and clear strategies. The author mentions the need for designers to be skilled in articulating their design decisions, which is crucial for gaining trust and understanding from the team. Additionally, the paragraph touches on the confusion caused by the use of different terminologies in the industry, such as 'end user,' 'target user,' and 'persona,' and the varying names for common UI elements across different companies. The author acknowledges their own contribution to this issue and the necessity for designers to understand and simplify these concepts for their colleagues.

Keywords

💡UX Design

UX Design, short for User Experience Design, is the process of designing software with a focus on the user's experience and interaction. It is central to the video's theme as the speaker discusses the realities of working in this field. The term is mentioned as one of the speaker's passions and the main subject of the channel 'Andres the designer'.

💡Design by Committee

Design by Committee refers to a situation where too many people are involved in making decisions about a design, leading to a lack of clear direction and potentially subpar results. In the video, this concept is used to illustrate one of the negative aspects of UX design, where the speaker describes a scenario where many stakeholders have input, often resulting in a 'Frank Stein design'.

💡User Research

User Research is the process of gathering information about users to inform design decisions. It is highlighted in the script as an essential part of the UX design process that is sometimes overlooked in 'design by committee' scenarios. The speaker suggests that conducting user research can help save projects from poor design decisions.

💡Pixel Pusher

The term 'Pixel Pusher' is used in the video to describe a derogatory view of a designer, someone who is only concerned with the visual aspects without considering the strategic importance of their work. The speaker argues that UX designers should be seen as 'digital architects' rather than just 'pixel pushers'.

💡Debate

Debate, in the context of the video, refers to the discussions and disagreements that a UX designer may have with clients or team members over design decisions. The speaker notes that being able to articulate and defend design choices is a crucial skill, which is why they are interested in the book 'articulating design decisions'.

💡Articulating Design Decisions

This refers to the ability to effectively communicate the reasoning behind design choices. The video emphasizes the importance of this skill in UX design, as it helps in gaining trust and understanding from the team and stakeholders. The speaker mentions a book with the same title, indicating its relevance to their profession.

💡Setup

Setup is mentioned in the video as a platform offering various apps to assist in the creative process. It is the sponsor of the video, and the speaker lists some of their favorite apps from Setup, such as Hustle for time-lapse recording and Sip for color palette selection, demonstrating how such tools can be integrated into a UX designer's workflow.

💡Ambiguous Language

Ambiguous Language in the video refers to the confusion that can arise from the use of different terms to describe the same concepts or UI elements in UX design. The speaker points out the difficulty of translating between various team members who may use different terminologies, which is a challenge UX designers need to overcome.

💡Presentations

Presentations are a significant part of the UX design process, as they are used to communicate design ideas, gather feedback, and facilitate the handoff to development teams. The video describes the frequency and importance of presentations in the job, noting that some individuals may find this aspect of UX design challenging.

💡Target User

The 'Target User' is a term used to describe the specific group of people for whom a product or service is designed. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of understanding the target user in order to create effective designs, and notes the confusion that can arise from similar terms like 'end user' and 'persona'.

💡Tele or Loom

Tele and Loom are tools mentioned in the video for creating video presentations. The speaker uses these tools to record themselves and their screen, allowing them to send video recordings of their designs to teams for review and discussion, streamlining the presentation process in UX design.

Highlights

The speaker expresses passion for UX design but emphasizes the importance of being honest about the industry's realities.

A candid discussion about the pros and cons of UX design is presented to inform those considering investing time and money into the field.

The speaker's personal journey includes various roles before settling into UX design, encouraging others to explore different paths.

Design by committee is identified as a challenge where multiple stakeholders have strong opinions on design projects.

The issue of committees not valuing user research and lacking clear product development strategies is highlighted.

Designers are often treated as pixel pushers rather than digital architects in such committee-driven projects.

The speaker suggests ways to save projects, such as conducting user research and UX audits, even if not explicitly asked for.

Aligning the entire team on an overall strategy is recommended to solve design by committee problems.

Debate skills are crucial for UX designers to fight against bad ideas and advocate for user-centered design.

The necessity for UX designers to articulate design decisions effectively is underscored.

The speaker introduces a book 'articulating design decisions' as a valuable resource for UX designers.

Confusion around UX terminology and the need to translate between different team members is discussed.

The importance of understanding and simplifying UX concepts for better communication with the team is emphasized.

Presentations are a significant part of a UX designer's job, including portfolio presentations and design handoffs.

The use of tools like Tele and Loom for presentations, as well as live discussions on platforms like Zoom, is mentioned.

A call to action for UX designers to share their negative experiences to provide a comprehensive view of the industry.

Encouragement for those still interested in UX design, wishing them the best of luck on their journey.

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

look don't get me wrong I love ux design

it's one of my passions I mean the name

of the channel is Andres the designer

and it's a big part of who I am so I

don't want this video to discourage you

from pursuing you with ux design and

that's something that you truly want to

do but it's important that I'm honest

about this industry and this job because

if you're considering making an

investment of your time and your money

into the industry you need to know the

facts the pros the cons the positives

the negatives it's important for you to

know exactly what you're getting into

because ux design may not be right for

you and that's completely okay I've

actually tried tons of things before I

lend it to uxsi and I thought I was

going to be a business analyst and then

I was a compensation analyst and then I

thought I was going to run a Shopify

store and then I thought I was going to

start a mark marketing agency so there

was a whole bunch of different things

that I tried before getting into ux

design and so don't be discouraged if

this video pushes you into another

direction or maybe it does the opposite

maybe it reinforces that you know some

of these negative qualities aren't

really deal breakers for you and you

still want to move forward with you

exercise so what are those negative

aspects about ux design that you need to

know

foreign

for starters let's talk about design by

committee see you might work on a design

project where everyone from the client

the developer the project manager the

product manager their moms their Grandma

their sister all have strong opinions

about the designs that you're working on

and sure you know great designs really

do come from anywhere and I'm not here

to debate that but it's impossible to

design something that meets everyone's

opinions or needs and so as a designer

you're constantly faced with the

opinions of others while you're working

in a ux design project and I often find

that projects that are run by design by

committee often never value user

research they don't have a clear

strategy of how the product needs to get

developed they don't know who their

target user is and overall just have a

lack of organization on how this product

should be built and ultimately they

treat you as a pixel Pusher rather than

the digital architect that you're meant

to be and at the end of these sort of

projects sometimes you can get into this

Frank Stein design that looks nothing

like you would have imagined and now

what makes it worse is now you don't

even want to put it on your portfolio

it's terrible

and you know there are things you can do

to save projects like these like doing

the user research figuring out who the

target user is doing a ux audit doing a

competitive analysis even if they don't

ask for it you can do it to try to save

the project and the only way to really

solve this committee by Design problem

is to align the entire team on an

overall strategy which leads me to my

second point debates

you have to be able to fight bad ideas

you might have a client that wants to

make their logo really really big or

maybe you have to have a debate with

your product manager that the neon color

makes a terrible color for a button

because it lacks contrast and makes it

difficult to read or maybe you're

debating an entire team to make room for

user research because it's an important

part of the ux design process you can't

just start designing without

figuring out who you're designing for in

doing some level of user research you

need to figure out what their pain

points are what similar products they

might use and what pain points you're

actually addressing with this product

that you're working on so at least in my

experience I've noticed that Bates and

convincing are a huge part of the job

which is why I'm buying this book called

articulating design decisions because

this is a skill that every ux designer

needs having the ability to communicate

why you made certain design decisions is

absolutely important to them entire

process it's absolutely important to the

teams that you're working on because the

team needs to be able to First

understand why you're making certain

design decisions and then eventually you

get to a place of trust so if you hate

debates this might be a deal breaker for

you and before I talk about my next

point I want to tell you about our

sponsor for today's video setup setup is

a place where you can find tons of apps

to help you in your creative process

some of my personal favorites are hustle

where you can record long time lapses of

your screen so you can share it on your

portfolio or social media or sip where

you can get the exact color palette you

need and check contrast for

accessibility or even pixel snap where

you can measure the exact pixels between

any design you come across and these are

just a couple apps that I found they

have tons of apps that might help you

that are productivity related help speed

up your Mac and you can try set app

completely for free for seven days and

as always Link in the description

so the next thing you need to know is

that there is a whole bunch of confusing

words and listen this is a big one the

amount of time that I spent translating

between product managers clients

developers and other sort of team

members is absolutely insane most people

don't even know what ux design means and

when I tell people I am a product

designer they often think of the

physical products like a mouse instead

of a digital product like Airbnb or Uber

there's things like end user Target user

and Persona which all kind of mean the

same thing and everyone has slightly

different words to describe very common

UI elements for example Apple calls this

a tab bar Google calls this a bottom

navigation bar and yes I've also

contributed to the problem I think I've

called it a short navigation bar a short

nav bar a menu like a whole bunch of

different things so I'm also at fault

here but this sort of ambiguous language

is something that you'll have to deal

with as a ux designer you'll first have

to understand what all these words mean

and then describe these Concepts simply

to everyone you work with which brings

me to my third Point presentations

[Music]

a few presentations I'm not sure this

job might be right for you because

presentations is a huge part of my job

I've had to present my portfolio to

potential clients as a way to earn their

business then if they became clients I

had to present their work back to them

to get their feedback than if the client

approves the designs then I have to

present it to the development team

during the design handoff phase I'm

trying to do a lot of presentations On

Tools like tele or Loom where I can kind

of just record myself and my screen and

then send that video recording to the

team but sometimes you do just have to

get on you know a zoom or Google meet

meeting and just have a discussion about

whatever your designs are I've talked to

some other ux designers as well and I've

heard that this is a very common thing

so if you don't like presentations again

ux design might not be right for you

if you're a ux designer and you have

some negative qualities that you want to

share too to help all these other

aspiring ux designers get a full picture

of what this industry and what this job

entails go ahead and comment them down

below and if ux design is still

something that you want to do then

congratulations this is a step in the

right direction to finding your purpose

to finding the thing that you want to

dedicate your life to to that I can only

wish you the best of luck godspeed and

to watch this next video to help you on

your ux design Journey

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