User Experience

Where does it belong?

User Experience has been a hot topic in the industry as of late. Everyone is hiring UX Designers, but where do they belong? Are they inherently creative or strategic?

After researching the topic and speaking with industry professionals on the topic, I came to a very interesting conclusion. It may be my bias (I am a Strategist), but, for me, User Experience is understanding human behavior and creating a system that works with a user’s natural instincts. It’s about human connection and eliciting a positive emotional response. UX is about the consumer journey, so more than creative thinking, it is important to take an understanding of human behavior and create a process that works alongside their lifestyle.

After a long discussion with a UX Director, I realized UX is a way of strategic thinking rather than radical creative execution. Unlike traditional advertising work where strategists create a brief and creatives ignore the insights, planners/strategists work alongside UXer’s to develop end to end solutions that involve strategy throughout the process.

It may be important to place UX designers in a space where they can collaborate with strategists. They think about creation from a user’s experience and their process, not from an inherently “attention seeking” perspective.

I leave you with this. Digital is changing the advertising landscape and UX is changing the thought process behind effective advertising—something Planners have been fighting for since the 1970’s.