An
article I read recently by David Gillis on "Humble Experience Design" resonated with me quite a bit, and I wanted to share some thoughts on this subject. David talks about the the "dysfunctional norms and biases" that are evident in the design field, including tendencies towards egocentricity, entitlement, and the obsession many designers have about their own "personal brands." He writes about the importance of humility in design - and the value in "working cooperatively with others in ways that challenge singular authorship." Interestingly, right after I read this article, my former design lead Jane Pyle
posted a tweet where she wrote: "Unique or clever design patterns are great if, and only if, they benefit the user. Otherwise, you are designing for your own ego."
As a designer (and former developer) that has worked in a variety of settings (start-up, academic, corporate, etc), I have struggled with this issue for myself and when working with others around me. The temptation (and sometimes pressure) to "create something cool" that's "completely unique and innovative" and blows other designers out of the water is often lurking in the background, even though ostensibly the focus of our designs as UX designers are the user needs, and addressing these needs in the best way possible. Note that often addressing users' needs does not necessarily coincide with creating something completely unique and innovative. Managing to do both these things, however, is something of the "holy grail" of design.
One advantage I think the field of UX design has (over more traditional design fields) is the variety of backgrounds among UX designers. For example, many UX designers I've worked with have had backgrounds in cognitive science, sociology, education, and even english - they don't come solely from computer science or art backgrounds. I think focusing on this multi-disciplinary team environment is one way which we can combat the ego that can hover around the field of design. Art & Technology are two fields which often breed a kind of "ego-centric" approach. But mixing designers with these backgrounds with people of other backgrounds, with everyone recognizing the value of each others' training, can be one way to hold this ego in check. My master's degree at
the School of Information at UC Berkeley was designed around this very principal - the focus of much of our work was around solving real-world problems using a human-centered design process in a multi-disciplinary team. This program was completely different from my undergraduate computer science degree, I would even go so far as to say it was a much more "humble" program, in that people were committed to working together to solve problems and less focused on their individual "rewards." Obviously the two degrees were different in many other ways, but I would say the variety of backgrounds and the concrete real-world problems present in my master's but not my undergraduate program contributed to a more "humble," less "ego-centric" environment.
In his article, David Gillis suggests some ideas for moving toward more humble design. Other, more specific, ways to deal with this in oneself or in your design team could include:
- Make sure the "ideation" process is as all-inclusive and extensive as possible. For example, have everyone on the team bring in 10-15 ideas so they aren't so invested in one, and collaborate from there
- Have regular peer-to-peer collaboration sessions so one person doesn't do days of work only to get negative feedback later
- Try to give feedback to others in a user-centered instead of innovation-based or personal kind of way, for example, instead of saying "I don't think your design is innovative enough," say, "do we feel like this design addresses the user need of X in the best way possible? Let's think of some alternative ideas."
- For an individual designer, periodically check in with yourself to see how much ego you have wrapped up in the design. When people question the design, how annoyed do you feel? How vehemently do you defend your design, and for what reasons?
If you have any ideas to add to this list, please add them as a comment.
Obviously, this issue is one I'm passionate about, not just because of struggles I've had in the field, but also because I recognize some of these tendencies in myself, and I would like all of us to move toward the ideals of a more humble designer. I think this shift will not only make for a more pleasant, cohesive working environment, but will ultimately result in better designs.
