Our Head of UX/UI sharing his knowledge through meetups
Interview with Juan Madrigal
ABOUT THE EVENT
What was the meetup about?
JM: The event “The State of the UX in Colombia” was based on the article I wrote “The State of UX in Colombia 2018”, the purpose was for the panelists to talk about the article and their point of view regarding UX, the panelists work in these sectors: private, educational and governmental, some of them spoke from their experience of what is currently happening in Colombia.
LET’S TALK ABOUT UX
Now, what’s UX?
JM: It’s user experience design, it’s how a user interacts with a website, an application and even a business and its points of contact. UX is not necessarily digital, but most of the times is addressed as if it was only digital.
How new is UX?
JM: UX has been around for many years, but it was not called like this before. The term UX began to have a lot of relevance when software companies like Apple and Microsoft saw the importance of User Interface in addition to having a good functionality, plus it had to look good. It’s a combination of functionality and communication.
Why do you think the terms UX / UI are still so confusing?
JM: Because in Colombia we are a bit in behind, but is not as bad as some years ago. We are always looking at the United States as a reference, and there are things that arrive very quickly to Colombia, but when it comes to concepts, methodologies, new marketing technologies, design, etc., these don’t arrive so quickly because of our culture, it’s often difficult for us to assimilate these type of novelties either because of costs, or the difficulty of convincing the whole company to use or run the new concept because people just don’t know what it is. In conclusion: if you are the CEO of a company at least you have to start reading, researching, preparing, knowing the concepts and sharing them with the employees in the company, so everyone can understand the importance of being able to execute it as soon as possible.
Could we say that this “backwardness” is due to a lack of talent?
JM: Yes, and we talked about this in the meetup. To look for UX talent even when we have a clear description and requirements for that position, a UX talent is not easily found because some people don’t know what they are applying for. There’s very great talent in Colombia but not many specialized in UX.
If someone wants to study UX in Colombia, can he/she do it?
JM: Not really, if you want to study UX you have to study online, however, universities are realizing that UX has a lot of relevance today and its demand is growing; this is why they are trying to include UX in certain programs with a multimedia or design curriculum, but if today someone wants to specialize or study a bachelor a master’s degree in UX, it’s not available. Universities are facing the same problems that companies have, they know what UX is, but not the real importance it has.
So companies are doing trial and error to execute UX?
JM: Yes, they are expecting for methods to work but they are not sure if they will work. And on the other hand, there are companies where this topic is already part of the structure and its importance is not questioned, they even have anthropologists and psychologists, but they have specialized in physical and digital interactions, and this is a great advantage over other companies, giving a qualified experience to the users. Unfortunately, in Colombia we still question its importance.
And how does someone know that a company, brand or service has a good UX?
With the pain points that a company’s service has, these can be a phone call, a visit to the store or the website’s navigation; if those details lack attention on a word or message, these can become a real problem. Even a bad button on your website can become a pain point.
AT THE PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
Do you feel responsible for the field of UX in Colombia?
JM: I consider myself, at this moment as an enabler of knowledge, and the best thing is that this started with curiosity, because when I arrived in Colombia — after having spent a lot of time in Canada — , I saw what was happening with UX here, so I started looking for communities, for active associations, and I started wondering why we were so in behind. In fact, I started asking about 25 people related or not with UX in Colombia and everyone said yes, that we were 20 years in behind. But more than a criticizing, it was about asking why are we so in behind, and I started to investigate. I have started many conversations with other leaders and we are all sharing the same mission: to transfer our knowledge and motivate others to take action and elevate UX in Colombia.
And what should be done for the knowledge of UX to increase?
JM: With actions like meetups. I feel responsible at this moment, because someone is being in charge of the community once again. The design community is changing, those who are moving from a traditional graphic design to an interactive design or UX are leaving aside a lot of bad habits. Those who are not making this transition are stalling. It’s seen in salaries, because jobs in graphic design are not as well paid as interactive design or UX design jobs.
NEXT STEP WITH MEETUP’S
What’s Next?
JM: Organizing monthly meetups.
How much should we wait to reach the level of the others in UX?
JM: The next 5 years will be decisive, however, the next two years we will see an improvement in this area.
What are you expecting from these meetups?
JM: I was a little surprised of how well received this meetup was, I have already been contacted by several people who want to learn more, and when these things start happening is gratifying and you know you are on the right track. We can teach people and by sharing my knowledge I get to learn more, and this pushes me forward and I know I still have a lot to learn: when someone gives selflessly, he receives much more in the long term. The truth is I want to talk about UX because each time brings a new challenge: to master the subject, to investigate and to talk with authority about a topic.
Conclusion of the MeetUp “The State of UX in Colombia”
JM: Among the panelists and attendees we concluded that we are in behind but we are on the right track, there is a lot of work to be done and these initiatives are very important. There are expectations, that education will change, and that companies already know the urgency of the digital transformation that goes hand in hand with UX.
