UX is taking over the world

TL:DR:?Google Trends data shows how consistently UX has grown over the last decade, surpassing the growth of "UI" and more traditional business metrics like "conversion rates".

Hey ??

I'm a UX consultant, and over the last few years I've seen the popularity of the field grow considerably. So this morning I sat down to look at some of the data.

Here's some evidence that UX is taking over the start-up world, and what you can do as a founder:

Firstly, let's?define UX?(user experience). It's not 'pixels on a screen', but rather 'making stuff work beautifully'.

UI = how stuff looks.

UX = how stuff works.

The two coexist, and are often handled by the same person internally. But that's normally because a company doesn't appreciate the nuance of UX, and hires one person, instead of two.

(Side note: being a UI and UX designer is the equivalent of a 'full stack' developer. It exists, but if you?really?want to build something great, you have dedicated front end / back end developers).

1. The data

So, is UX growing?

Yes—look at the following Google Trends charts, showing search trends over the last decade.

"UX" = steady growth.

"UI" (User Interface—remember, this is a different skill, and should be a different role).

Not much growth at all, other than one bump.

Here's a fun one.

Board rooms are full 'walking suits' talking about "conversion rates", as if that's the most important metric to a business.

Guess what, it's not the most talked about thing any more. (I'll get onto this in more detail in a bit).

"Marketing ideas" = stagnated.

"If UX is so important, surely people are hiring more UX designers, right?"

Yes, you're god damn right.

LinkedIn even listed "UX" as the 5th most sought after skill in 2020—coming above marketing, analysis and sales.

Let that sink in: UX is more valued to a business right now that marketing, business analysis and sales.

2. What are businesses doing?

i.e., is this actually impacting the business landscape?

In my opinion, businesses have realised that?creating beautiful products normally wins. Or rather, it massively increases your chances of winning.

Instead of spending millions on 'guerilla marketing', they're investing in building great product.

To be clear,?marketing spend isn't dying?by any stretch—it's actually growing steadily. But repeatedly, we see winners and disrupters winning without a marketing budget. The marketing helps scale, the product helps them win.

Remember the search trends graph of "conversion rates" declining?

Successful companies are redefining how they think about conversion rates. UX isn't considered as a 'hack' anymore—it's about building great stuff.

3. What should founders do?

Okay, so UX is growing, cool. But you're not a UX designer, so how do you hustle and apply this to your start-up??Especially?if you don't have $50,000 to invest in design.

As a?founder myself, and my experience helping other product teams, I think these are the most impactful things that you can do:

1. As a founder (or product owner), you need to?learn more about UX. Read books, blogs, watch YouTube videos and listen to UX podcasts. Immerse yourself into the UX of industries other than your own (i.e., you can learn a lot from the?UX of gaming, or eCommerce).
2. If you do raise money, instead of assigning a large marketing budget, consider?shifting some of that into design. Either to get external help, or hire internally.
3. Be obsessed with your own product. If something annoys you, it probably annoys someone else. It doesn't mean that your MVP has to be perfect, but?aspire?to fix those pesky bugs.

I can help with #1. I regularly publish free UX tips and teardowns. I also have a?newsletter, if you prefer it to come your inbox.

You're already doing the right thing, by reading an article like this—just do more of it.

Peace, keep hustling out there!

P.S., the UX of writing this article on LinkedIn was shocking.