Why “everybody is a designer”?

Why “everybody is a designer”: The UX Design Skills
Ladder


I started to write an article on how
non-designers can get started
in interaction design, but quickly realized that Tip 2, “Know where
you are on the UX design skills ladder,” is worthy of its own post.
The UX Design Skills Ladder has several constituents:

• The ability to recognize problems
  
• The ability to identify solutions
  
• The scope of design knowledge
  
• The method for making decisions
  
• The ability to give and receive feedback
  
• The ability to persuade others
  

Here it is:
Level 0—”Everybody”

• Can identify general, superficial problems with a design.
  
• Thinks of design in terms of technology.
  
• Believes “user centered design” means designing for the one’s mother,
  sibling, or spouse.
  
• Gives vague, often harsh feedback, usually in terms of personal
  opinion or preference.
  
• Offers feedback that is often inappropriately detailed, focused on
  minor visual details.
  
• Is unaware of what they don’t know.
  

Level 1—Beginner designers

• Can identify basic interaction and visual design problems.
  
• Thinks of design in terms of technology and features.
  
• Works with a single solution, rarely considers alternatives. Often
  that single solution is their first idea and they have trouble seeing
  beyond it.
  
• Makes one-off decisions based on whatever “feels right.” Often
  “wings” it.
  
• Offers feedback in terms of personal opinion or the behavior of
  other programs.
  
• Can convince self that a design idea is good.
  

Level 2—Intermediate designers

• Can identify many interaction and visual design problems. Aware of
  what makes a design good.
  
• Thinks of design in terms of tasks.
  
• Usually works with a single solution, but occasionally works with a
  few.
  
• Makes decisions based on data, team feedback and consensus, and the
  problem at hand. Still often “wings” it.
  
• Offers specific, actionable feedback at the appropriate level in
  terms of design concepts.
  
• Can convince several people that a design idea is good.
  

Level 3—Advanced designers

• Can identify subtle interaction and visual design problems. Has a
  strong appreciation for good design.
  
• Thinks of designs in term of scenarios and personas.
  
• Always works with many solutions before making a choice. Proposed
  solutions include standard approaches, simple solutions, and innovative
  alternatives that others would miss.
  
• Makes decisions using a decision making framework and a holistic
  product vision. Often uses data to make decisions, but is willing and
  able to go beyond the data.
  
• Offers specific, constructive, actionable feedback at the
  appropriate level in terms of design principles, guidelines, branding.
  
• Can convince a team that a design idea is good. Experts can convince
  a team that a radical design idea is good.
  
• Is completely in tune with what they don’t know.
  

Some observations

• Level 0 Everybody has at least level 0 design
  skills, which is why “everybody is a designer.” Unfortunately,
  these skills are neither rare nor particularly valuable but people at
  this level are blissfully unaware of this fact. They often think their
  vague, unactionable feedback is brilliant. For example, they’ll say
  things like “My mom would never do that” or “I don’t care for that color
  red.” Brilliant! They also tend to be managers.
  
• Level 1 Most people experienced with “design
  thinking” are at least at level 1.
  
• Level 2 A surprising number of people are at this
  level, even designers with many years of experience.
  
• Level 3 This level of design skills is fairly rare.
  Many people think that they are at this level but aren’t quite there
  yet. For example, I’ve noticed that many who think they are doing
  user-centered scenario-based design are really doing feature- or
  task-based design. (The difference? Stay tuned for a future post.)
  

Why this helps


Knowing the ladder will help you in a variety of ways:

• It suggests a road map on how to improve your design skills.
  
• It helps you understand other people’s design skills better so that
  you can work with them more effectively.
  
• It helps you evaluate other people’s design skills for things like
  job interviews.
  

If
you do only one thing: Know your UX Design Skills level and
make a plan to get to the next level