Every now and then, I come across a blog post like this one - a day in the life of a "UX Designer." The post outlines the prototypical work day that ranges from group huddle to design process and feedback, but it is a hollow representation of what true UX is.

What is your research process like?
How do you know who your users are?
How do you know that your solutions are best for your users?
Why is Photoshop exclusive to your design process?
Where are your interviews, analytics, mapping, wireframing, user testing?
 The list goes on...

It is becoming commonplace that product/graphic designers tack on "UX" to their job title, and that makes selling our craft harder. When everyone else is a "UX" designer or researcher, it makes it that much harder to distinguish yourself and the importance of the research process and understanding your users.

User-driven design will always win out, but you may have to fight harder than normal to convey that message.

Dr. Rob Gray from Arizona State University hosts a fantastic podcast about current research in vision and sports science. His latest episode touches on collision detection, something that many of us study at TTU. I highly recommend listening!

Click here to listen to the latest episode

Click here to follow Dr. Gray on twitter

Doing user-centered design involves approval from many people on the design and consumer sides. But, like creating a cat food, ultimately, the cat is the one who must be satisfied, not just the owner of the cat and the factory. We must align our production with the cat's/user's interests. In design, we must consider the user's interest as our top priority while considering the motivation of developers and purchasers of our product or system.

Megan will spend this summer working at UL Wiklund R&D in Concord, MA!

Wiklund "is a global independent human factors consulting group specializing in human factors engineering of medical technology." While there, she will collaborate on projects in varied stages of design and development- clients bring projects to Wiklund in stages from idea through FDA testing and approval- all drawing on her knowledge of Human Factors background and methodologies.

I'm willing to bet that many of us consider 'product thinking' essential for human centered design. However, we always have to sell the importance of UX to potential employers and clients.