ED/UX is an interesting discipline, from a design standpoint it has a lot less in common with some of the other design disciplines that we are familiar with like graphic design or product (industrial) design. Unlike those design disciplines ED/UX has not really evolved from a single craft, it seems to be a way of thinking about design problems that can act as a conceptual umbrella to many other disciplines. The primary goal of ED/UX is to balance the needs, wants, and aspirations of users/customers with the goals of the organization, by taking a holistic, contextually rich view of a customers experience with an organization, its products, services and employees.
Victor Papanek in his 1971 book called “design for the real world” had this to say about industrial designers (swap industrial for experience and it makes an interesting argument).
“…the various sciences and technologies have become woefully compartmentalized and specialized. often, more complex problems can only be attacked by teams of specialists, who often speak only their own professional jargon. Industrial designers, who are often members of such a team, frequently find that, besides fulfilling their normal design function, they must act as a communication bridge between other team members. Frequently the designer may be the only one who speaks the various technical jargons. Because of his educational background, the role of team interpreter is often forced upon him. So we find the industrial designer in a team situation becoming the “team synthesist.”
This book shows that designers have struggled and continue to struggle with similar challenges that were identified 30 odd years ago, it’s a good read, BTW it was published by Pantheon Books.
