Summary
Designing "at scale" assumes conceptual consensus on what the particular levels of that 'scale' actually are. In the last few years, UX professionals have specialized into UX researchers, product designers, service designers design strategists, etc. Nowadays, we're also witnessing the debut of a new term: "system designers". But do we really understand how these job titles and subthemes of UX fit within that scale of complexity in design? In this presentation, we'll introduce the basic levels of a scale of design, articulate how common UX job titles fit on the scale, and map how the work we commonly tackle in both research and design should also be informed by the scale of the problem we're addressing. We're also going to critique the (somewhat misguided) ways the current world of UX is handling the widespread growth in the complexity of our work.
Key Insights
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Historical models of design scale do not account for contemporary complexities.
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Product design often focuses on singular user needs, while service design requires multidisciplinary approaches.
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Research quality diminishes at higher levels of design complexity, necessitating systemic approaches.
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Designers are still commoditizing their work through simplistic practices like design sprints.
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Community and systemic perspectives are crucial for ethical design practices.
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Effective service design requires collaboration and understanding of internal and external stakeholders.
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Design practices need to evolve to include holistic research methodologies.
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The importance of asking the right questions in service design cannot be overstated.
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Recognizing systemic impacts can enhance the overall quality of design work.
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The role of designers is shifting from mere executors to strategic partners in organizational contexts.
Notable Quotes
"This is a conversation that I feel is long overdue in our community."
"My opinion, they don't quite address the complexity or the disciplinary granularity that we have to deal with."
"If you're familiar with Aaron Draplin, his body of work falls exclusively within the second layer of the scale."
"At the system level, we're dealing with an even higher degree of complexity."
"We need to ensure that we ask the right questions."
"Design practices are mostly happening in the lower half of this design scale."
"I firmly believe that in order for designers to truly become ethical, we also need to become system thinkers."
"If we're focused only on things like design systems, we're all about scaling simplistic, repeatable processes."
"When we look at the problem outside in, we tend to apply macrolands."
"Community doesn't necessarily fit directly on that swim lane of the scale."
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