OPINION

The world is full of change, and alteration is happening drastically.

Similar to a frog that lives in a lake. There is a kind of lotus leaf that could be double its size over a night. That means giving the frog only one day to act before the surface is fully covered.

The frog will be dead the next day.

Sounds familiar? It’s a metaphors story of Moore’s law.

Application design is currently on that lake as well. Over five years ago, whenever users encountered an error on an app, they would blame themselves. This behavior can be seen in common phrases such as “Excuse me for I am technology illiterate.”

However, it has been changing these days. Large groups and technology corporations are providing exceptional service daily, and those providers are constantly updating the quality of the user experience of their products by deeply understanding the customers.

When people are accustomed to these experiences, they will have higher expectations for the other products. They will no longer blame themselves; they blame the product. As UX designers, we bear primary responsibility for this.

When is the death of UX Designers?

It will not be like natural or biological death, which a fatal wound can cause. A career death begins with numerous mild injuries yet smoldering. How many wounds can kill a design career?

“Intentional” wound

Design is the process of figuring out the issue, selecting a suitable solution. And when the solution doesn’t work, the designer must realize the flaw and choose the next proper solution.

In recent years, the emergence of AI-based prototyping tools for UI/UX has painted a bleak future for designers.

Imagine just with one command:

“Hey Siri! Build me a Drone Renting application, all platforms.”

Swiftly, Miss. Flamboyant Apple’s Secretary will combine the popular, open-source design patterns and connect APIs with third-party services such as Payment, Location, etc. You will obtain a drone rental app for all platforms: IOS, Android, Web Responsive in the blink of an eye.

It is a horrendous nightmare for UX/UI Designers.

It presses on the designer’s “intentional” wound. AI is only capable of solving the existing problem. It would not be able to figure out the reason why the design solution could not work.

Therefore, remind yourself to enhance the skills that help-seeking out the right problem and then select the proper solution based on your insight. Do not present an inconsiderate way of solving the issue, and instead list the pros and cons of each.

I call it “Intentional Design Thinking.”

“Uneducated” wound

There are two ways to gain experience about something:

• Work on it a lot, hone it to gain experience
• Acquire knowledge, put it to practice to gain experience.

People mostly give design feedback based on their senses, but once you reach a certain level in your career, you will realize that it is beneficial to arm yourself with a solid foundation of knowledge. A solid foundation combined with intentional design would be easier to persuade people of your solution.

Understanding the user is not enough; a designer must also understand business operations and keep up with technological advancements. An impactful product must meet three factors:

• Achieve business goals.
• Bring value to users.
• Technologically feasible.

And that product is only coming from someone who is constantly seeking new knowledge.

“Designaholic” wound

Each of the designs presented has gone through a period in which their designers struggled with a lack of ideas or having too many of them. These are the passionate brainchild of creative, problem-solving enthusiasts.

At this moment, their ego will sway a designer to these situations:

• They are overly focused on their aesthetics rather than the needs of customers and product users. Keep in mind the fundamental lesson that the designer is not the artist. And beauty is not the criterion to evaluate a good design.
• They blindly defend the design instead of listening to others’ perspectives. While a good solution, it should come from an objective view.

We should design with a fiery heart while seeing things with a cool head.

“Criticism” wound

Unable to distinguish between “criticism” and “feedback” can cost you opportunities to grow and your surrounding relationships.

• Criticism is rarely beneficial to you. It is an activity that focuses on the negative aspect with an unhealthy purpose. It does not provide a solution or identify the root cause of the problem.
• Feedback is accompanied by information that aids in development. Making a suggestion does not imply attacking a specific person, but rather notifying the designer of necessary points to improve the product, or even the designer themselves.

Thoroughly understand the points raised above, you will develop an appropriate attitude to accept the feedback and be more open in your mind.

“Careless” wound

Everybody wants to finish early then rest.

The fact that we enjoy our jobs does not make the preceding statement an exception. As a result, we are often careless with minor flaws in our products. Continuing to do so only makes our image in others’ eyes crumble.

We make silly mistakes like spelling mistakes in a four-word sentence, misplaced pixels when switching screens, and forgetting to edit the agreed-upon parts in the previous discussion. And since the client does not think highly of your professionalism, they will gradually lose faith in your designing expertise.

Avoiding all mistakes is impossible. But, you can keep it to a minimum by concentrating on the details before presenting or sending your design.

“Complacent” wound

Being confident is fantastic. However, when confidence gives way to complacency, your career begins to wither.

Two complacency tendencies are:

• Think highly of your expertise, as if our design will determine the success or failure of the product. This level of complacency will impair our ability to hear what others have to say.
• When we accomplished a remarkable achievement, making us overconfident and stop learning.

Now, sit down and look into the mirror truthfully.

How many wounds do you have now?

Let’s heal them to live this life wholeheartedly since work is a part of your wonderful life as well.