What I think of UX and humans
We humans cherish experiences. We cherish the memories associated with the good, bad and the in-betweens. That is why experiences are so valuable. They are merely not restrained to the screens we see and the gadgets we use, they are beyond.
As a young adult, I still remember my first childhood experiences of feeling snow, making mud and sand castles, and coming up with “crazy” crafts with my mom. These core memories are still there. What is common in all these experiences? Are they just happy moments that I happen to remember? Well, yes and no. What about the numbness I felt on my hands after some time of touching the snow, or endless slipping in the wet mud or pricking and hurting my hands while doing crafts? I remember and cherish it to date. See, experiences are not necessarily good or bad. They are not supposed to be memorable or pleasing or even bad every time.
The subjective nature of experiences makes them interesting.
It is pretty common among people to have poles apart opinions of experiences. For example, an Android user would not agree that iOS is better than it or vice-versa. In a small research project I had done in my undergrad on this topic, these users ended up arguing how Android so and so features are better compared to iOS. Similar statements came from iOS users. Why does it happen? All experiences are not meant and designed for the same purpose. Android and iOS were never designed keeping in mind the same goals. Both wanted to define their own experience. And, people adapted to those systems. Over time, the users adapted to the usage patterns and design language. They started enjoying the rewards that those experiences provided them with even if they presented some restraints or inconveniences. This tells how experiences are defined by so many factors. For example, the airports. The context surrounding experiences dominates perceptions. Traveling through security and boarding at different airports follows broadly similar rituals worldwide even as local variations shape distinct atmospheres. As people become habituated to processing patterns in contexts like transit, expectations cement. Delivering on those expectations produces the least disruptive, most intuitive user experiences. Surprises violate user trust.
Prof. Erik from Indiana University during his talk on how to define if an experience is good or bad, said “It depends”. He highlighted and stressed the subjective nature of experiences. Furthermore, he mentioned the concept of external and internal factors that affect an experience. Any experience is always dependent on a lot of factors interlinked with each other. They need to form a harmony to form a good experience. Realistically speaking, it is not in the designer’s hands to govern all the states. His job is to make sure that an experience has the least interruptions possible. As a designer, it is vital to understand all the states, map out the journeys and most importantly the context. Designers need to make sure that experiences are in context. For example, as Prof. Erik says, you cannot design a pleasing alarm sound for a building on fire. The alarm sound’s job is to alert everyone to help evacuate quickly, it cannot be an announcement. Experiences — sublime, frustrating, and mundane alike — shape our narratives profoundly. We humans relish recounting those tales, worn and burnished through years of nostalgic remembering. An experience transcends any one interface, device, or service. It seeps into our psyche through the memories encoded and emotions kindled in the moment.
As an experience designer, I wish to design experiences for real-world spaces. I wish to explore experiences that are tangible, yet digital at the same time, redefining the way we perceive them presently.
Integration of technology in our lives has to be seamless. I want to reduce those unknown or awkward gaps in such integrations and interactions.
Previously, I worked in an IT service company as a UX Designer. It is no secret that you do not get flexibility while working. As a designer, I was ideally supposed to follow the process and not directly jump to solutions. But time-constraints restricted my ability to stick to the process. Clients expected solutions and prototypes as early as possible to kickstart the development process. In this, they forgot how important it was for the UX to be right in the first place. They notice this in the later part of testing and again come back to square one. This vicious cycle continues and it needs to be broken.
As a designer, I wish to change this approach. Learn how to have the power to influence clients and other stakeholders.
I see experience design professionalizing into a specialized discipline like architecture or information design. Companies like Canva or AI like Chat-Gpt and Claude.ai will allow everyone to be a designer, but no expert. People will be dependent on these tools. But if one wants to achieve the expertise, they need to study this specialised discipline.
Looking ahead, I envision an era where experience design matures into an essential literacy — a specialized discipline equipping the next generation to thrive amidst exponential technological change. While some tools lower barriers to entry, they cannot substitute for human creativity, empathy, and ethics.
My personal north star remains crafting empowering, inclusive experiences that reduce complexity and amplify capabilities. However, the accelerating pace of innovation demands experience designers additionally serve as stewards — guiding implementation and auditing new technologies alike through a human-centric lens before collateral damage accrues. I aspire to lead this charge.
My previous roles granted me invaluable hands-on design practice while highlighting process weaknesses that restrict impact. I realized securing stakeholder buy-in requires designer skillsets spanning research, prototyping, communication and strategic influence — not just isolated creative flair. I now seek an opportunity to couple my expertise with dedicated decision-making power over the full project lifecycle. This will allow me to demonstrate the manifold benefits of upholding rigorous user-centered process.
I’m prepared to spearhead creative teams toward positive paradigm shifts. Call it optimism, but I believe the most empowering designs remain undiscovered — and I cannot wait to author them. I’m ready to reshape expectations around experience designers as vital strategic partners rather than simply decorators secondary to business priorities.
