A lot of people might wonder what is a UX designer? It’s a good question and it is one that deserves a little explanation.

First, the word designer has a problem. A designer is any person who designs. The title itself could mean a fashion designer, interior designer, textile designer, graphic designer, or web designer with an understanding that this someone has a sense of style and taste. 

A UX designer refers to a User Experience Designer and this is also a person who has style and taste but the fundamental difference is a person who uses a proven testing process to create a digital product. Not many know what UX designer really does because the field is still new and growing. 

When I was young there was only a limited range of digital platforms. The computer screen and like a caller ID. In the past 15 years, phones and computers have rapidly changed their shape and functionality. It was a desktop computer, laptop, or cell phone in 2005. In 2007, Apple released the first iPhone then shortly after in 2010 the iPad, and then all the major software companies seemed to be in a race to create their own smart devices. Online everything became easier and Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Uber, Lyft, Snapchat, TikTok, etc rose out of the accessibility of mobile and the device's built-in cameras. 

Fast forward to 2020, and an explosion of UX research and design is commonplace. The need for designers to understand how people are using all of these different platforms and devices is practically the only way to keep up with the rapidly growing industry. The old way of designing which dictates that the designer knows best is not reliable any longer. If a start-up can figure out that people prefer a certain service and can create an app for it, the possibilities of making the next big shift in tech are greater if the user research is in place. It is too risky to rely 100% on a designer's taste and sensibilities for the final functionality of a website, or an app. Take Uber for example, who could have guessed that creating a little car icon on a map and profile for a driver would have revolutionized the cab industry and created a spike in the gig economy. 

So what is a UX designer? It is a person who is open to discovering what they don't already know.