UX bootcamp & university students — ignore your professors & do this instead
This PSA is primarily for anyone taking a university program or bootcamp related to UX. I do hope it’s also a useful reminder to more senior designers, as our craft is always a work in progress.
A common ask of many UX students, as part of regular coursework or often a capstone project, is the following:
Design an app of your choosing
On the surface, this seems like a reasonable exercise. Students get to choose a problem they care about, it gives the professor ample opportunities to guide them as they (no doubt) err on their way to learning the User Centered Design (UCD) process, not to mention the tools and techniques that underpin UX more generally.
And yet.
Let’s be real, this is a prompt that, unless you’re a cofounder of a startup or small business owner, you’re likely never going to encounter in your UX career. And. I. mean. never.
It’s an exercise that feels good because it scratches the entrepreneurial itch that we all have deep down, the fetish our culture has for people who invent things. It feeds the fantasy that really we’re all mini-Zucks toiling away in the garages or basements of the world to some bigger end.
But UX designers aren’t only, or even primarily, inventors in this way. We’re contextual problem solvers. And, like it or not, we tend to operate around an existing product, app or service — so we’re not solving literally any problem that’s out there in the world. That’s why we work with Product Managers, whose job it is to find meaningful problems that we can then help them solve.
All that said — if you are in a UX program and are given the prompt, “Design an app of your choosing”, here’s how I’d recommend going about it in a way that will make sure you’re learning the right skills, designing the right thing, and making yourself way more hirable down the line.
1. Think holistically
I often see junior UX designers do the right things, but not to the level of depth that I’d expect. They tend to:
List out the user problems…but don’t rank them.
This can lead to them focusing too much on a single problem to the exclusion of others (and it’s often one they like the most). Not all user problems are equal, and designing without this in mind is a recipe for disaster (and a lack of engagement or product-market fit).
Map out a task flow…but ignore the overall user journey.
Tasks focus on what happens inside the product, but a user’s experience begins before they ever arrive at or sign into your product – the expectations they bring with them, how the product interacts with other tools, their broader needs. Your product exists in a context, and ignoring it is a common mistake for junior designers.
Think about the experience…but ignore the business model.
I understand it’s not necessarily only or even primarily the job of a UX designer to think about the overall business – that’s usually on the Product Manager – but a designer who totally ignores the business model is designing half-blind.
This myopic mindset can lead to experiences that fall flat and don’t answer the “so what” question. Sure, your app might help a user pick a paint color for their ADU…but so what? Is this something people will actually use? Does the experience support a real business?
Thinking beyond pixels will make you a way more valuable cross-functional partner in the long run, and someone I would definitely want to hire onto my team.
2. Focus on the aha moment
Understandably, more junior designers tend to focus on the mechanics of the UX particulars: the screens, layouts, interactions and micro-interactions, the visual design. These are all very important, of course; but just like how not every user problem is equally important, not every moment within the overall user experience should carry the same weight. The why matters.
Specifically, I encourage designers to identify the “aha moment”, or that single interaction (or series of them) that marks when a user recognizes the value the product is bringing them. This is a critical moment that often builds on all those that came before it, hence the need to think holistically. It will also help answer the main question any designer (and PM) worth their salt should be asking: “Does this product solve a real problem — and are users willing to pay for it?”
Starting with the aha moment and working backwards can feel a little awkward at first, but thinking about the arc of your product experience, treating it like a piece of music or movie, with various “beats” leading into a “crescendo”, finally arriving at the “peak”, will make sure you’re focusing on creating user value rather than designing something you just think is cool.
3. When in doubt: beg, borrow and steal
In UX, as in life, there really is no such thing as an original idea — and this isn’t a bad thing! If anything, recognizing this can unburden you from solving problems other people have already, and instead focus your energy on the parts of your UX that need the most attention and customization.
Thinking up a new onboarding flow? Trying to figure out if you should open a link in a new tab, a side-sheet or a popup? Designing a navigation or IA that accommodates the complexity of your product but doesn’t also confuse users?
Chances are, these are all solved problems. Really. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Instead, look at what best-in-class products do, and learn from them. These patterns might have become absorbed into your psyche (especially if you’re a more senior designer), but if you’re just starting out, it’s 100% OK to do research, to see what other products do, to find inspiration. Synthesizing what you see out in the world into the right solution for your product and context — this is the job of a UX designer. Creativity doesn’t come from a vacuum.
**Caveat** I will grant that there is sometimes value in coming up with something “from scratch” on your own. It’s good to flex your brainpower, to learn by doing why some UX approach does or does not work; doing this can sometimes validate that your approach is right when you compare it to what’s already out there, which is really valuable. But in most cases, if you take your ego out of it, you’ll realize that someone out there likely already did the heavy lifting for you — and that’s 100% OK.
Like what you just read? You can get a dedicated session with me by booking time on ADP List. Whether your transitioning into UX, struggling with a mid or late career issue, or have some fun UX problem to think through (I love onboarding flows!), I’ve got you.
And don’t worry, it’s $free99 🤙🏼
