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Summary
Lou Rosenfeld is Rosenfeld Media's "product guy". He oversees the acquisition and editing of dozens of UX books, and is responsible for programming of four annual UX conferences (DesignOps Summit, Advancing Research, Design in Product, and Designing with AI). In this informal session, participants gathered to share ideas, get recommendations, and ask Lou burning questions.
Key Insights
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The UX profession is experiencing a downturn with layoffs and hiring freezes, especially in tech companies.
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Design and research operations roles are expected to grow, as infrastructure and tooling become harder to cut.
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AI is replacing lower-level design tasks, freeing UX professionals to focus on interaction design, information architecture, and service design.
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Authenticity and creating a narrative about your unique value is critical for standing out in hiring processes.
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Networking and maintaining personal connections are vital for finding new UX job opportunities.
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Broadening UX to include related fields like CX, service design, and public sector work opens new career avenues.
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The term 'UX' is evolving from a distinct field to an ingrained attribute within organizations.
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Competitive job markets mean that even highly qualified candidates face challenges due to volume of applicants.
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Portfolio storytelling, including demonstrating ROI through tools like money slides, helps communicate UX impact.
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Helping companies mature their UX practice rather than seeking only mature organizations can be a rewarding career path.
Notable Quotes
"The state of the UX profession just totally sucks, doesn't it?"
"You can't lay off the infrastructure, like the tooling and operations teams; they're harder to cut."
"AI is fascinating for doing low-level design tasks so we can focus on higher-level service and systems design."
"Having a narrative and a point of view about how you deliver value is key in interviews."
"Networking isn't just knowing people, it's about staying in warm connection with people over time."
"UX might just be becoming an attribute woven into everything, like the telephone once was."
"There’s always money for software, not for people."
"Finding the intersections between UX and other domains is where the most interesting opportunities are."
"Be authentic in your portfolio and speak to your unique experiences and values."
"Sometimes it's more fulfilling to help organizations build their UX maturity rather than only joining mature ones."
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