What samurai can teach us about UX
Wisdom from the Sengoku era on being better designers.
Although UX design is a relatively new moniker coined in the last 30 years, the principles behind UX are as old as humanity itself. As a result, human history is replete with wisdom UX designers can draw upon today. Of all the cultures and eras that make up human history, the samurai of Sengoku era Japan offer a uniquely relevant perspective on the principles of UX through the lens of war. Their battlefield is our design sprint, their army is our design team, and their clan is our user. Although the history of the samurai is vast, I have chosen just five kernels of wisdom that UX designers can learn from in hopes that we build a better future by reflecting on the past.
“Those who cling to life die. Those who defy death live.”
— Uesugi Kenshin
Kenshin was both a warrior and the lord, or daimyo, of Echigo province. He is remembered as one of the most powerful daimyo of the Sengoku era and was known for his mastery of the battlefield. Here Kenshin is of course referring to death literally in the context of battle. In essence, he believes that samurai who fear death, and cling hopelessly to life in battle, will ultimately be defeated by their enemies.
If we replace the battlefield with a design sprint, a designer can learn from Uesugi in the same way a samurai might have centuries ago. We can best position ourselves as designers to learn from Kenshin if we frame our reading of this quote around the concept of creative maturity. If you fear feedback on your designs, and are unwilling to iterate because you are convinced your design is the only viable option, you have not achieved creative maturity. However, if you develop creative maturity, or become open to the idea that your design will have to dramatically change after prototyping, usability testing, and feedback, your design will in effect “defy death”. The iterations of your design will die, but the final product will live on stronger having gone through the iterative process.
“Men are your castles; men are your stone walls; men are your moats. Fellow feeling is your ally; enmity is your enemy.”
— Takeda Shingen
Kenshin’s main rival and fellow daimyo, Takeda Shingen, famously never built a castle in his province, Kai, insisting that his men were his castle. Shingen strongly believed that people were his greatest strength and therefore saw no need to build a castle as most other daimyo had done throughout the Sengoku era.
From a UX perspective, Shingen’s words can be read from the lens of empathy. Specifically, how empathy with users strengthens a product, particularly as a product grows bigger, stronger, and more popular. Rather than build the walls of your company’s castle, focus on the people that made your product what is has become. The more a company can harness the power of empathizing with users, or treating them as the castle that supports the product, the more successful that company can be. Maintaining Shingen’s “fellow feeling” for users and avoiding “enmity” throughout a product’s growth is of utmost importance because the more castle walls you build between you and your users, rather than treat them as the castle itself, the less likely you are to offer them a meaningful experience.
“When you put your life on the line, you want all your weapons to be of use. Your real intent should be not to die with weapons worn uselessly at your waist.”
— Miyamoto Musashi
Although Musashi was not a samurai in the strictest definition of the term, as he worked as a freelance warrior, or ronin, rather than serving a lord, he is often considered one of the greatest warriors of the Sengoku era.
As UX designers, we can read Musashi’s words about weapons in terms of tools. While samurai used swords, daggers, spears, bows, and arrows, the list of tools a designer might use is seemingly endless and ever growing. Every year a new collection of design tools are released, some short-lived hype emerges for each, the next tool hits the market, and the cycle repeats. As designers, we can jump on the next hot tool as soon as it’s released, but if this constant jumping from tool to tool conflicts with mastery of them, then they will not be of any use. Rather, by learning a few tools to mastery and then changing tools only when it becomes necessary, not for novelty, these tools will not be “worn uselessly at your waist”, but will instead serve you as best they can in your design pursuits.
“Draw out what your subordinates have to say, and listen to them well. It is common knowledge that gold lies underground.”
— Nabeshima Naoshige
During the Sengoku era, Naoshige served as a samurai for the daimyo of Hizen province and was known for being a fierce warlord with a sharp intellect. His wisdom is famously recorded in the practical and spiritual guide for samurai, the Hagakure.
Naoshige’s words can be read by designers in many ways as active listening is a core component of the design process. However, I think this particular quote speaks most directly to the listening that should take place amongst colleagues. Although Naoshige recommends we listen to our “subordinates”, this term may only be appropriate for designers in senior or management positions. However, I believe the term “subordinates” could be extended to include colleagues of all positions as the value of one’s insights is not determined by their position or rank on a team. Thus, by including as many colleagues as possible in the design process: designers, engineers, product managers, and listening to them well, the “gold” that “lies underground” can be uncovered and applied to the product being designed. By hearing from as many colleagues as possible who represent as many perspectives as possible, we set up our designs to be more complete in approaching the problems they intend to solve.
“Honor always wins, it is inevitable.”
— Ishida Mitsunari
As a samurai, Mitsunari served famed daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi and led Toyotomi’s Western army as commander in the Battle of Sekigahara, which was the second to last major battle of the Sengoku era. Although he was ultimately on the losing side of this battle and was executed in Kyoto, Mitsunari is remembered as an adept strategist and military leader.
Here, Mitsunari’s words are referring to honor in the context of battle as he believed that those who lived and fought honorably would ultimately prevail over those who did not. Ironically, Mitsunari did not live by these words himself and behaved dishonorably in a number of ways throughout his lifetime. For example, during the lead up to the Battle of Sekigahara, Mitsunari kidnapped the wives of his opponent’s supporting daimyo as an act of provocation rather than confront the daimyo directly. However, despite not living by his own words, Mitsunari’s defeat reflected their meaning in that by living dishonorably himself, he did not come out of the Sengoku era’s penultimate battle victorious.
As UX designers, we can read Mitsunari’s words from the perspective of design ethics. As a brief overview of what design ethics are, CC BY 4.0’s hierarchy defines ethical designs in three main categories: Human Rights (decentralized, private, open, interoperable, accessible, secure, and sustainable); Human Effort (functional, convenient, and reliable); and Human Experience (delightful). In essence, these core components seek to guide designers towards creating products that serve the user, not manipulate them. We should always be mindful of design ethics because, when building a design, we yield great power in guiding the decisions and behavior of our users. Those who use this power honorably, or ethically, will prevail over those who do not in that these designers aim to build a powerful and lasting experience for the user, not an experience that tricks the user into doing something they would not otherwise do. Although unethical designers can procure short-term gains with their products, the products that stand the test of time are designed honorably and ethically. Thus, if we abide by the principles of ethical design, the success of our products may not be “inevitable”, but the products themselves will ultimately serve our users far better than if we had not.
In sum, whether you are a freelancing ronin or work in-house serving your corporate daimyo, we can all learn from the Sengoku era samurai and live a life more aligned with the UX bushido.
References
- The Samurai Archives (2019). The samurai archives Japanese history page. Retrieved from: https://www.samurai-archives.com/
- Wilson, W.S. (2015). The pocket samurai. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
