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The alchemist’s guide to UX
Finding the design equilibrium.
“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”
Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ narrates a story where a young shepherd sets out to find his Personal Legend. On his journey, he meets an old king who shares a little story with him.
In the old king’s story, a shopkeeper sends his son to learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The wise man gives the boy a task: look around his beautiful palace, holding a spoon with two drops of oil, making sure not to spill it, but also to observe the palace’s marvels. The boy initially focuses solely on the spoon, and upon returning, he realizes that he has observed nothing in the palace. The wise man then asks him to go back and appreciate the beauty of the palace, but this time the boy spills the oil. The wise man uses this experience to teach the boy a valuable lesson: the importance of enjoying life’s marvels while also being mindful of responsibilities.
The Marvels of the World: Tools and New Technologies
As UX designers, we often find ourselves drawn to spend significant time creating astonishing and unique designs in Figma or other tools. Creating eye-catching, interactive prototypes opens up new possibilities. More importantly, at the conceptual stage, it’s what captures attention and engages stakeholders at first glance. The ability to clearly articulate thoughts and visions through high-fidelity wireframes and rapid prototypes sets apart a good designer. This skill is essential, yes, but it’s not the entire story.
While embracing the marvels of design tools and new technologies, we should not lose sight of the core responsibilities that make a product functional and meaningful. A stunning design can quickly become less meaningful and have a short-lived impact if it doesn’t consider the experience in its entirety — including how intuitive it is to navigate, how accessible it is to different types of users, and how it empowers users in terms of privacy and data.
