UX

Several people have asked what I do for work. Saying "UX design" earns a snarky glance and a 360-degree rotation of both eyes (sometimes in opposing directions, but rarely).

Here's a better description. Say you're using some software--an e-mail client, for example. Problem is, you can't figure out how to write a new e-mail. There are buttons on the screen, but none of them are labeled "New", "Write" or "Compose", and all the icons are characteristically foreign.

At this point, you probably feel stupid and reaffirmed of your belief in your computational naïvety. But it's not your fault. You're not a Neanderthal; you're a card-carrying Homo sapien--made in the image of God, no less.

No computer software is beyond your capabilities, even if you think it is. The truth of the matter is, your software is to blame, or--more precisely--the UX designers behind that software.

Yes, boys and girls. People like me are responsible for your daily humiliation with computers. I apologize for myself and those of my ilk.

A day on the job consists of lots of research, talking to users, drawing on whiteboards (and inhaling sharpie fumes), and communicating with the people who build, market, and sell your software. It's almost enough to make a body an extrovert.

Which isn't a bad thing. You just feel sorry for the poor people who have to deal with an introvert before that introvert undergoes metamorphosis and turns into a beautiful extroverted butterfly.

I'll stop.

The point is, people shouldn't have to hate their computers. Here's a solution. Talk to us instead (or yell, scream, throttle... whichever suits you). We love to hear about pain--firsthand, if possible. Why? Because of superpowers.

Superpowers?

Yes. Superpowers.

Because every UX designer is responsible for shipping quality software, if we discover a problem, it's our responsibility to see it fixed. If you can't write an e-mail, it's our mission/quest/life-purpose to see that can't turned into a can. If that means saying 'no' to the CEO, and letting that ship date slip a couple months to get the user experience our users need, that's exactly what we'll do.

Wireframes, workflows, and user stories. It's all very process-oriented and scientific. Conferences, UX books, and design websites. It's 24/7 education.

...not surprisingly, the result is strange off-hour prose. On blogs... and the like...

Heh.

Until next time,
- Daniel