UX design doesn’t exist

I’m sorry to break it to you, UX designer, but your job title is horrible. I feel very passionate about the misuse of the term UX design, let me tell you why.

What is UX?

First, let’s take a look at the definition:

UX or User Experience encompasses all aspects of the end-users interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

In order to achieve a high-quality user experience in a company’s offerings, there must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design.

Don Norman & Jacob Nielsen describe UX as the complete interaction of the end-user, crafted by a seamless collaboration of multiple disciplines. All involved roles contribute to the user experience, not just a designer.

When you talk about UX design, you suggest that the experience of the user is only defined by the visual aspect of your product. If it is, your product probably isn’t that user-friendly. Here are a few examples of how different roles can contribute to that a great user experience:

• Strategist or researcher finds out about the user needs
• Product Manager drafts acceptance criteria that cover any edge cases so the product is fully functional
• Copywriter writes clear and easy to understand error messages
• Front-end engineer writes accessible code, so every user can use your product
• Back-end engineer creates a sturdy backend with minimal loading times
• Marketeer creates a campaign to acquire users and guides them to the product
• Support help any users that are stuck with useful information
• Data analyst detects where users drop off and improvements are needed