Reframing the audience

The UX field is quite new. Companies are trying to figure it out, and to some extent, even UX’ers are still trying to figure it out, we all have different ideas on what the job entails, what deliverables we do or don’t do, etc.

But what I think is unifying about us all — is that we deeply care about our users. Hopefully, we are also all convinced that we shouldn’t be the only ones caring.

I’m exploring different ways (potentially in a series of articles) to reframe my thoughts so that I care better and more deeply about my users, and that you, whether you are a UX’er or not, will too.

#1 Who is our audience?

Typically when agencies or any organization is talking about audience, it is framed in demographics. “20 something females that tends toward conservative values” or “40 year old man looking to feel healthy”. Those demographics are necessary, vital even, to gain some understanding of our users. But I propose something slightly different.

Who am I serving?

Hint: The answer is rarely you.

It requires you to think outside of yourself, to put your desires and needs second. Time and time again, I find myself thinking and even saying, “Well, I would want it this way….”

Sometimes that means that the best design in my eyes isn’t the best design in their eyes. Sometimes that means iterations to get them closer so they’re not overwhelmed with change. That means remembering to check my design on my laptop rather than staying exclusively in my 34" monitor. Who knows what it will mean for you and your users.

Example

One example of this is a conversation I had earlier this morning with a coworker. We were looking at different themes for a web app we use for time tracking. One theme was an ‘Outlook’ theme. He expressed distaste for it and wondered aloud who could possibly want that theme.

To be clear, I don’t like the theme (and to be honest, the UX behind the whole webapp is generally awful).

But, for a moment I tried to step outside of myself and think of why that theme might have been developed. It occurred to me that there are many people out there who use Outlook and are quite familiar with its interface. Might they feel comforted to open up this webapp and see something familiar? I’m not advocating that this theme be their only option, but perhaps including it as an option is a nod to serving their users well.

To close: The important thing is to I catch myself and remind myself that when I work to serve others, then the work gets better for my users, even if I wouldn’t call it better.

How does that kind of wording change how you think about your users? Respond in a comment below!

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