Michael Holzer

Over the last year or so I’ve watched VC’s and startups all clambering to hire UX folks. Initially I was stoked for where the industry was hopefully headed. Getting UX people integrated at the beginning stage of product development is an excellent way to increase the likelihood of creating a compelling user focused product. I spent the bulk of my career with a design hat on and moved into product because I wanted to be in the early conversations. It worked, I’m now involved in the conversations that designers should be but aren’t. When I saw that founders were looking to hire design talent early on I thought the industry was starting to realize the value of design from the start and that the next generation of designers wouldn’t have to change their title like myself to be involved from the beginning. Now I’m starting to rethink this a bit…

I’d say at least 80% of the startup products I use these days are fantastically polished but the interaction design is horrendous. You know what this means to me? Founders, VC’s, etc who are touting UX as being a necessity for every early stage company still don’t understand design. They believe design is polish instead of a methodology for creating products. Sigh…

We’d come along way in the design world when information architects and interaction designers became regularly recruited roles at companies with design departments. But in some ways we’ve taken a few steps back in the larger war of proving the business value of engaging designers from the very beginning. 

Perhaps it’s the designers fault. Design is nothing without effective design communication. We must always being selling design, not polish but DESIGN with a bid D as I once heard Luke W say. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some polish but you can’t polish a turd. 

One step forward, two steps back. Bummer.