Thread by @notdetails

I want to talk about bit about my path as a Corporate Designer. How I see myself and my role has often mirrored what the industry has told me is right, and that’s changed over time. 1/

When I was just starting out, I saw the user’s experience as something sacred. It was my hallowed responsibility as a Designer to keep that experience ~pure~. I’d go to bat for ~the user~ frequently and get into long arguments w/ other stakeholders. 2/

This “experience” I was fighting for included everything from visual polish, to intuitive IA, to never including dark patterns or shady gamification that didn't serve the user. It was SO important. 3/

Fast forward. This past decade, Designers have become so much more valued within the tech industry. We’re well compensated. We don’t have to fight quite as hard for the user because people trust us now. We’re included in high level decision-making. It's pretty great. 4/

But with this shift, I noticed a new narrative gaining steam: what makes a Designer valuable is their pragmatism and ability to achieve company goals. 5/

I began believing this model.

Junior Designers were too idealistic and always pushed for things to be perfect.

Senior Designers were more realistic and understood that a company was a company.

My changing priorities were just a sign of my becoming more experienced, right? 6/

What's more, this change in priorities came with a noticeable a shift in how others treated me. The way I was thinking now aligned closer to PMs and leadership, and that garnered respect. Respect feels good, and is generally an indicator that you're on the right track. 7/

So we had this one set of priorities that came with prestige, lowered friction, and alignment w/ what the industry sees as important.

And then this other set of priorities that was framed as bull-headed, junior, childish. 8/

And so project goals became increasingly centered around company needs rather than user needs. Words like “polish” and “value” gave way to “adoption” or “engagement” or “platform cohesion.”

It’s honestly really easy to tell yourself that these things are good for users too. 9/

Obviously it's a balance. There’s a spectrum betw. corporate henchman and design justice warrior. I still cared about my users, but my perspective and responsibilities had shifted away.

I think a lot of others went through the same thing in similar stages of their careers. 10/

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/

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/

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/

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/

It’s how you get shit like this. 15/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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