Moving beyond the identity crisis, clarifying the role change and harnessing that newfound power.

Opening Note: Thank you for all the support! Especially Don Norman, taking the time to engage (on the LinkedIn post of this same article) offer truly encouraging constructive feedback & kind words of support. Super grateful.

In their article, The Definition of User Experience (UX), Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen define “the user experience to encompass all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”[i] I know what you’re thinking — that’s not how UX is being utilized in today’s big business.

Currently, the enterprise working model has shoved all things user experience into a supporting role to the designed output. This has always concerned, even haunts, the seasoned digitally-minded designer working in today’s user experience design space. Why is UX stuck in the pixels?! The designer knows user experience belongs at the top of it all, as the larger overarching umbrella. But then where does that leave the designer? That’s the catch. It’s been causing designers to tailspin into somewhat of an identity crisis for the past few years. …