top of page

The Titles of UX Designer vs. Product Designer, Cont.

As I become more senior in the field of UX, I have more business related decisions. How does UX Designer, Product Designer, and Product Manager all fit together?


I think of a Product Designer as someone who is focused on a specific product or features of a product. For example, in my own career history, when I was working at VMware and TripIt, I was focused on specific products. Those products spanned multiple devices and delivery mechanisms, but I only focused on the products themselves. When consulting, there is a more holistic view, and then I consider myself a UX Designer.


Don Norman's original definition as to what a UX Designer is helps clarify:

"'User experience' encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products."

When worthing with different clients, I take into account both users and business goals, customer interaction with the business, etc.


There are a lot of articles about being a Product Designer. One I read recently tracked the traits required for the job of Product Designer by analyzing 30 job descriptions. These are the top 10 traits that the author came up with:


In order of popularity and skill importance:


  1. Interaction / UI Design

  2. Visual Design

  3. Communication /Articulation

  4. Collaboration

  5. UX Design

  6. High Work Standards

  7. Efficient

  8. Decision Making

  9. User Research / User Testing

  10. Customer / User Focus

However, there is no definition offered of UX Design in the article. It is lumped under foundational design knowledge. There is also no mention of the method used to collate the chosen job descriptions, location of jobs, or company type. Therefore, I cannot make an informed decision about this person's opinion, about whether I consider them "correct" or not.


I define myself as a UX Designer, not a Product Designer.

126 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

The term UX/UI

A red flag for people looking for a job. Although, I should be more empathetic because many people don't understand what job they are...

Super-Pumped

Super-Pumped was one of the 14 leadership principles at Uber when Travis Kalanick was the CEO. It meant ready for anything. In the wake...

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page