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Product Design is overtaking UX, and it’s because we’re in a weak economy

Understanding why UX is not enough and three ways to augment your skills

Kai Wong
UX Collective
A woman with her elbows on the table and hands under her head, looking pensively at another person holding a piece of paper that says Resume
Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-black-long-sleeve-shirt-sitting-having-interview-4226115/

My job title recently changed to Senior Product Designer instead of Senior UX Designer, and it's part of a trend I've been seeing everywhere.

There's a rallying cry that's occurring right now, which is that "UX is Dying, and Product Design is going to replace it."

My reaction to that is a "Well, kind of." Unfortunately, the harsh truth is that UX Design alone is no longer enough to guarantee a good (and high-paying) job.

However, people are missing the point of why. It's not a fundamental shift in business culture: we're in a weak economy.

In this sort of environment, more than UX is needed. We need to offer additional value for companies to pay our salary.

Here are three paths UX Designers can take to augment their skills in this environment.

UX doesn't do well in weak economies, especially with tech layoffs

UX design (and research) are fields that suffer from recessions and weak economies.

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