The Designer Therapist
How successful UX Designers unlock their secret super power by tapping into their inner therapist
One of my long-time inspirations, Esther Perel, a psychotherapist exploring the tension between the need for security and the need for freedom in human relationships, recently noted:
“As a therapist, I strive to be challenging and direct, but not judgmental; warm, open-minded, and willing to let people explore options in life; careful to not rush to diagnose and pathologize; and deeply respectful of the intricacies of intimacy and sexuality.”
Her quote struck me. I was surprised by how much I resonated with it in my own profession, User Experience Design. Since the beginning of my career, I have always struggled to explain exactly what it is I do to coworkers, friends, and family. I often wonder why it is so challenging for others to understand what I do.
The title of “Designer” conjures up ideas of sketching, fashion, architecture, and other very tangible forms of design. I watch as people’s eyes glaze over when I start to explain that I design software with the goal of making it easier for people to use. Even this simplified explanation is too abstract for most people to absorb. In my opinion, what makes the profession even more abstract and hard to grasp is trying to explain the breadth of non-tangible work required to be a successful designer.
Now, designers are responsible for sketching concepts and ideas on paper, whiteboards, and delivering concrete assets, but before any of this work can be done, attentive listening, questioning, and researching is needed — the intangible work — to make the visual and tangible designs possible.
Like therapists, designers create space for people to share their problems. We listen. We ask questions, we challenge preconceived notions, and we try to create a paradigm shift where people can see possibilities that were previously hidden. If I take Esther’s description of her approach to her work and apply it to my approach of User Experience Design, I come up with:
“As a UX Designer, I strive to be challenging and direct, but not judgmental; warm, open-minded, and willing to let people explore a variety of ideas; careful to not rush to a solution; and deeply mindful of the intricacies of the problems we are tasked with solving.”
When I disassemble that quote into smaller components, breaking it down to better understand why it resonates with me, I find some great principles to strive toward as a designer:
Be challenging and direct, but not judgmental
Designers are hired to solve problems. In order to solve problems, we must ask questions and be bold enough to challenge existing concepts and beliefs.
It is our duty as designers to challenge ideas, to be skeptical, to not take information at face value. We must dig for the unseen or the unknown, but in a way that is constructive; without tearing down people or ideas. It is practically an art form to know how to push back in the right way; without hurting egos or stepping on toes. My best advice is to be direct, but make people feel heard and try to understand their perspective. Then present alternate ways of thinking and facilitate a constructive conversation around all possibilities.
Be open minded, explore a variety of directions, and don’t rush to a solution
One of the pillars of design is to brainstorm ideas and not fall in love with a solution. It sounds simple, but from experience, I’ve found it takes restraint and practice to know when to let go of a solution. It can be painful to pivot, but only if you’ve become attached to one way of thinking.
It is, in fact, easy to come up with solutions to problems, but knowing which solution is the right one takes skill. You could find a solution that is exciting — at least, according to UX trends; or you could find a solution that is ideal — because it’s the easiest to build.
How do we decide which solution is the right one? It takes exploration and understanding to answer this question, and your findings will depend on many factors, including the user’s needs and the client’s objectives. Everything must be taken into consideration when choosing a solution, and that’s part of the process of exploring all possible directions. When choosing the right solution, always keep in mind that you are not the user and that data and research are your friends. If you strongly believe in one solution, the best way to know whether it is the right solution is to back up your decisions with data.
Be mindful of the intricacies of problems
The problems that UX designers are tasked with solving are complex on a variety of levels. Designers need to be mindful of:
- Business goals and objectives
- Development time and effort
- Feasibility of a solution
- User needs
- Market trends
- Competitor products
It’s a fine balance of priorities, budget, needs, and wants that the designer must weigh. Without the right balance of elements, or the understanding of the intricacies of the problem, the designer fails. If the designer succeeds in finding the right balance, the business will see positive outcomes and the user base will grow.
Many people think of design as the tangible outcomes alone — the prototypes, the wireframes, the mock-ups. But what makes the profession exciting, interesting, challenging, and complex is all the work that’s required before we even begin to approach the tangible outcomes. Designers are multi-faceted; we listen, analyze, solve, and iterate. Designers are problem solvers in practice … and really good designers are therapists in disguise.
