It’s ironic. Design is more important and respected than ever, which means we have much more agency to affect change. But at the same time, our priorities have been subverted. It’s hard to reconcile those things. 11/
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I’ve been thinking about this shift a lot recently. I’m trying to understand how anyone managed to convince us that becoming more senior meant caring about users LESS? 12/
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15 years ago, being a UX Designer meant that your #1 priority was usability. You had less clout, which meant you had to fight for it. And your role was much smaller, which meant you didn’t have as much say when it came to things like company strategy. But it was... clean. 13/
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Design's new stature might be more lucrative and impactful, but unless it comes w/ the right set of priorities, that impact can be negative. It’s led to an array of products that optimize for engagement and stickiness over value. 14/
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It’s how you get shit like this. 15/pic.twitter.com/lyJMm4Vplj
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I’m not naive. I know that corporations don’t prioritize user needs unless those needs already align with company goals. I also accept the limited agency of any given person to affect change within an organization. But I don’t accept that it ISN'T our responsibility. 16/
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If doing a good job as a designer means balancing company and user needs, and doing a good job in most other roles means prioritizing and achieving company needs. Who is supposed to be standing up for the user? Who's supposed to be creating friction for shady decisions? 17/
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If that isn’t a PM’s responsibility, or an Engineer’s, or a Designer’s, then whose is it? We're the people building these products! 18/
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Of course, I think there's something to say about becoming more experienced and pragmatic as a Designer. It’s not inherently negative. But the more experienced you become as a PERSON, the more you understand that company needs can't outweigh human needs. 19/
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These companies and products have so much impact on society. As we've seen, that impact is often at odds with what people really need. There needs to be a stronger mechanism for prioritizing human needs. That used to be us. It can be us again. So let’s fucking do it. /fin
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But with seniority we fight different battles about what a product is, what has value to many parties, what is right and responsible and ethical - user-centric on a large scale. We still often see our works as pixels, because seeing it as purpose is much harder. 3/
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