Redefining UX: the transformation into Product Design

What is prompting the noticeable shift in the industry, with UX designers making the transition to product design? Is a product designer basically an upgraded version of a UX designer? As the lines between roles blur, the responsibilities and expectations attached are becoming less clear-cut.

In recent years, it seems like?transitioning from UX design to product design is considered a natural progression?of sorts. Designers have reported transitioning from the former to the latter, with their job titles changing from “UX Designer” to “Product Designer”. This might not come as a surprise seeing as there have been talks of product thinking becoming more pronounced in UX since a few years ago, speculating about a broader shift in the industry, where designers would lean towards a design process that focuses on the product as a whole, rather than mainly on the user experience.

Blurred lines between roles

Sometimes what appears to be a change in roles is just a matter of semantics, or people inside an industry seeking new titles, even if they’re unsure of the specifics of what the corresponding job should exactly entail. However, although job titles may not always seem fitting initially, the title of Product Designer makes sense when we consider?product creation as a process that encompasses not only UI and UX, but also multiple facets of business?itself.

On the surface though, it does seem like the role itself might not currently be as clear-cut;?some say a product designer is essentially an “upgraded” UX designer, with their area of work being relatively the same. The notable difference to some is that the former is also responsible for thinking about the aforementioned business side of the story—or rather, more so, since one could argue that good UX designers always keep business requirements in mind anyway. Still, there is importance in giving a name to something that can be characterized as the end goal of the designer career path in our industry; it serves to more obviously infer that there is a difference, and the responsibilities and expectations of the job might crystallize and become more defined as time goes by.

Product designers as specialized generalists

As it stands, product design seems to be a continuation of UX design specifically. In other words, I feel like it is implied that to become a product designer, one must have a background in UX. I don’t think this is necessarily the case; in my opinion,?both UI and UX designers can make the transition to product design. And even though business thinking is more aligned with the UX designer role while the UI designer can technically isolate themself from it, I believe a good UX or UI designer should never be ignorant of the business side of product development.

Therefore,?what really matters is that the designer is a specialized generalist, especially for a role such as the product designer, which is either a UX or UI designer who is more involved in the business side than usual. Product design is a step above regardless of UI or UX as the root, but their primary competence is still design, not business. The product designer can be either UI-focused or UX-focused—provided, of course, that the UI-focused designer doesn’t completely skip the UX step, as it’s still a crucial aspect of product thinking.

The proverbial T-shape

The core of this story is the?T-shape?as a crucial concept that applies to all areas of life, since being a specialized generalist, or T-shaped or deep generalist, makes one more valuable, employable, and adaptable. To achieve this, one should?focus on developing specialized skills while also maintaining a broad, generalist perspective—unless they aspire to a purely managerial role.

For example, a senior developer, whether they specialize in front-end or back-end development, must possess a good understanding of the other to ascend to a leadership position such as head of development or CTO. Similar examples could be found throughout the whole industry.

The T-shape principle particularly applies to both UI and UX designers, as such work requires a holistic understanding of the broader context. Both types of designers must be T-shaped, continuously expanding their knowledge and skills, which will at some point hopefully extend into the realm of business as well. So, a product designer, as a T-shaped designer with a more pronounced business side, has the potential to become the design lead.

I’ve worked with hundreds of designers, and the majority would always focus on design without ever considering the business aspect. Maybe this is what sets senior designers apart from mid- and junior-level designers; to me, a senior designer can’t be someone who distances themselves from business.

The inevitable influence of AI

Of course, we just can’t gloss over the topic of AI entering the field. It’s not much of a leap to conclude that, very soon,?AI will very likely be able to cover the majority of UI aspects, as well as UX in part; at least, the parts of UX like user research. However, when it comes to product design—and I’m not saying it will never happen, but, as it seems for now—AI will not be as useful regarding a number of business-related facets of product development.

What I’m thinking is, those who are already sufficiently business-oriented and able to see the bigger picture without necessarily having good practical skills could reach high levels as product designers with the help of AI; because?if AI is going to be able to replace anything, it will be aesthetics, and so far it is more difficult to replace design logic?and thinking about the bigger picture.

Expand or get left behind

So far, it was necessary to possess practical knowledge of UI design. But AI might enable less competent designers to enter the field of product design by seemingly covering the lack of some skills and proficiencies;?those who will be more adept with AI will be more successful overall, while thinking and problem-solving abilities will be at the forefront. However, I would consider not having the practical skills to back it all up a hindrance still, regardless of AI. I don’t see such a designer reaching the kind of excellence needed for higher levels that easily.

While UX as a whole might be harder to replace with AI for the time being at least, the emergence of AI seems to me as more of a concern for those types of UI designers who are solely concerned with aesthetics. I think it could be?a wake up call for them to leave the comfort zone?and start working on other hard and soft skills and expand, and generally keep an open eye (and mind) and acquire knowledge and skills in areas that affect their work; not just UX, but business as well.

Resources

Product Design is overtaking UX, and it’s because we’re in a weak economy?by Kai Wong (2023)

UX is dead, long-live Product Design?by Melody Koh (2023)

Why Product Thinking is the next big thing in UX Design?by Nikkel Blaase (2015)

Adjust Your Scope: Moving From UX to Product Design?by Kurt Krumme (2017)

The clear-cut difference between UX Design and Product Design, explained?by Aaron Travis (2019)

Why Designers Need to Be ‘Specialized Generalists’?by Benek Lisefski (2019)

7 UX/UI Design Trends to Watch for in 2023?by Maria Myre (2023)

UX design vs. product design: what is the difference??by John Carter (2018)

IDEO CEO Tim Brown: T-Shaped Stars: The Backbone of IDEO’s Collaborative Culture?by Morten T. Hansen

Having a hard time as a UX specialist?by Olesia Vdovenko (2022)

This article was originally published on?PushYourPixels.com.