Is the UX designer a dying breed? (user experience)

Do we need more UX professionals with highly specialised UX skills? It is a lively topic of conversation among design professionals. Recent UX trends suggest that the time of resourceful thinkers may have arrived, rather than that of specialised UX practitioners. As a generalist UX designer, I strongly relate to this myself. (user experience)

When I decided to become a UX designer, I was overwhelmed by the range of roles out there: UX/UI Designer, Product Designer, UX Researcher, Production Designer. It was clear that I could not land a product design role without experience. But why exactly not? (user experience) (user experience and user interface)

I was a skilled consultant and business analyst, working with clients throughout my career on IT and business projects, so problem-solving was practically in my DNA. All the UX courses I took built on this: how to conduct interviews, why to put users first, and how to create prototypes. (user experience)

I have always explained my role to people unfamiliar with the term UX designer by saying that it is a form of consultancy (as I was a consultant for nearly a decade, this was something my family understood 🙂). Finally, it was a role where I could use all the skills I had learnt as a consultant. I could say I was lucky, but I honestly think that a generalist mindset like mine is what differentiates us from other agencies. (user experience)

Most of us experience designers at Works. are generalists. There is a skill set that is essential to this role: being able to talk to clients, conduct user interviews, synthesise problems and come up with possible solutions.

1. UX: it is essential to be familiar with typical user behaviour, UX principles, design processes, and creating low-fidelity prototypes from simple to more complex. The skills mentioned above are closely linked: UX research and design go hand in hand to create products that users love and use. It is also essential to present these ideas to stakeholders in client workshops, and to articulate our findings and solutions. (user experience)
2. On the other hand, the role of a business analyst or project manager may seem unusual in an experience designer’s guidebook. A business analyst ensures that the design meets the client’s expectations and that the requirements align with the design. We map processes, create state diagrams and produce all the documentation needed to understand the design, so clients can follow it and developers can build the product.
3. As for project management: well, this is the thing everyone hates from the bottom of their heart, myself included. For me, project management consists of communication, task management, problem-solving and project documentation, such as meeting minutes and retrospectives. It is hard to imagine working on a design project without these things if you want to deliver it on time.

But this does not mean that we are all equally skilled at writing lengthy business specifications, building prototypes or analysing data from quantitative research. And that is perfectly fine, because we are a team of people with different knowledge and interests.

The role of the business analyst is often described as a bridge between business and IT. As an experience designer, I believe I bridge the gap between users and clients, while keeping in mind that the design must always be feasible to develop.

Therefore, we ensure that at least two experience designers always work on a project, so they can learn from one another and strengthen each other’s skill sets. One thing is certain: everyone in the design team needs a basic understanding of our users, the business, and design processes and methods, while managing their own projects.

What about UI design? In the agency model, where we work on different client projects in parallel, it is difficult to be both a UX and UI designer at the same time. UI design requires creative work, such as mock-ups and moodboards, as well as the creation of many screens and design systems, while a UX designer needs to focus on the bigger picture: the concept, information architecture, journeys and so on. (user interface) (user experience)

Someone who only does UX may be a dying breed, as more and more skills are needed to succeed in the field. In the coming years, these roles may disappear altogether as companies begin to realise the benefits of a generalist experience designer. But how can courses and training prepare newcomers for such a challenge? In the next article, we will explore this further. (user experience)