Ep. 10 - What do you need to become a product designer?[00:00:00] Jaivardhan: I think if it's a general interest about solving problems, it's a great place to be in because you will be solving problems. And a lot of times people question that how can somebody who just changes the shape of a button can change the world?" But you actually can do that. [00:00:18] Evan: Howdy friends, this is the Ascend UX podcast. A show about the experience of user experience design. I'm Evan Sunwall. [00:00:44] Ayan: And I'm Ayan Bihi. [00:00:45] Evan: You know, the funny thing about UX and the design domain is the number of job titles out there, right? Have you encountered anything like this in your journey, Ayan, about the confusing world of design job titles? [00:00:58] Ayan: Oh, for sure. There are so many titles, and you just don't know if it's a facade, or are people actually doing different things, or are we all just doing the same thing, but different titles. [00:01:08] Evan: It's rather confusing. You have UI/UX designers, you have UX/UI designers, product designers, usability consultants, human factors engineers, information architects, UX engineers — there a ton out there and it's really hard to parse what is the right job for you, what are the right responsibilities that match up to your strengths and your interests? So we're going to start digging into some of these job titles. We're going to start digging into what people are actually doing in this role. [00:01:36] Evan: And our first one today is a product designer. This is a flexible job, it has a lot of responsibilities and it can vary a lot across companies, but the responsibilities generally include facilitating or helping to define business objectives for new products and services or features — these folks typically have some domain knowledge or they understand a market or a customer fairly well. Perhaps not to the same level as a business analyst or a product manager, but pretty good. They all also focus on the user-centred design process. So that's everything from user research and interviewing users, prototyping, conceptualizing solutions, and testing them with those users and then iterating based on that feedback. And this is the part that typically encompasses the UX designer job. [00:02:22] Evan: And then lastly, we have, the third part of the process, which is helping engineering put together and make these products a reality and that could be either delivering high-fidelity designs or maintaining style guides and reusable UI components that are commonly called design systems and so, they have a wide breadth of responsibility. [00:02:42] Evan: In the industry, there is a common term called UX unicorns, which some people criticize or it's really contentious topic. And it really speaks to this mythological person who is business-savvy and user-centred and they're capable of designing in any fidelity. And they also can, code what they design. And if there was ever a job title that really embodies that idea, it is probably the product designer job. [00:03:07] Ayan: So as we can't really travel today due to the current circumstances, Evan, we've traveled digitally to better understand not only this role, but also how people in different parts of the world are practicing it. [00:03:18] Ayan: So for today's episode, we'll be taking you with us to Beirut, then to Barcelona, and lastly, we're going to New Delhi in India. There's going to be a lot of diversity in our discussion, not just geographically, but also in the roles, responsibilities and pathways of the product designer's job. So once again, we're traveling the world, pack your bags, hope you have your passport, and let's go. [00:03:42] Evan: I'm excited! I got my tray table in the upright position. I buckled up. Let's do this! [00:03:48] Ayan: Take off! So, Evan, our first destination is Beirut, Lebanon, where we'll be meeting Alaa. [00:03:55] Alaa: I have a BFA in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut class of 2009. I currently run a small design studio that's based in Beirut, in Lebanon. We try our best to focus on digital projects, mainly web design and animation, but we also take projects and branding and publication design. [00:04:13] Ayan: Next we'll be making a stop in Barcelona where I'd like to introduce you to Marynes [00:04:18] Marynes: I'm from Venezuela. But I've been living in Barcelona, Spain for 15 years. I call myself now a UX and circular economy consultant. The idea of circular design is to maximize the experience, the quality, the value of the product. So when we are designing, we need to think about everything — like, okay, where is this material coming from? How people are going to use this? What people are going to do with this product after the life cycle when this goes to the end? [00:04:52] Ayan: And last stop, we're going to meet Jay who's based in New Delhi in India. [00:04:57] Jaivardhan: I take a lot of different titles. The most commonly used title that I use is a New Media UI/UX Designer. I attach the word new media" because while I work a lot with conventional interfaces and experiences like websites and apps, I also work a lot with new media devices like augmented reality and virtual reality, mixed reality. [00:05:20] Jaivardhan: I tried to expand my horizons and see where all I can take my knowledge of user experience and user interface and how interaction design can be integrated into these upcoming technologies. [00:05:34] Evan: So these are all folks with product designer in their job title — at least in their past. And what's really fascinating is the diversity of their experiences. And none of them actually got a formal UX degree from a university. [00:05:51] Ayan: Yeah, for sure. At least at the beginning, and then maybe perhaps complemented it later, which we'll go into after, but I think what's really interesting is that seeing these different job titles — especially when you're entering the career and you don't really understand what is expected of you — it can be very intimidating. [00:06:07] Ayan: So to understand that people can have different ways of applying that job title that kind of can reflect their different experiences can be quite encouraging for somebody who's getting into the field. [00:06:18] Evan: I think that makes a lot of sense too, because if this product designer job is this really hybrid role that reaches a lot of different areas in a company, it rewards, or it's really helpful to have that kind of broad experience to bring to the table and do the job successfully. [00:06:35] Ayan: That's also kind of the catch of UX design is that we really have yet to formalize what we do and have this really definition, for example, as a chemist would, but that's also the beauty is that it allows so many other people to come in with different backgrounds and apply their skills and experiences into the field. [00:06:54] Evan: There was another interesting aspect, to their stories is that they typically started in graphical or media arts too. [00:07:00] Ayan: Yeah, exactly as we just discovered Marynes and Alla, they both studied graphic design. I believe Marynes went back to get a UX degree and her master's, but it's interesting, I thought is because graphic design is usually our first introduction into the realm of design, perhaps graphic and fashion. So it's normal for people to kind of go into that field, maybe with an inkling of interest. And maybe once they're learning, they're like actually, there's more that I'd like to learn about this field." So it just kind of having one moment that sparks that interest and going for it. [00:07:30] Evan: That's a great point. If someone out there has a similar background and is anxious about it or feels kind of unqualified or out of their element, a lot of people have had that similar experience and have successfully done it. That's a great insight. [00:07:43] Ayan: And I imagine graphic design, the methodologies are the same, right? We're kind of taking a problem and we're trying to communicate a solution. It's just different forms. Perhaps there's not too much a user-based approach and graphic design, as there is with us in UX. But you know, we're all trying to make the world a better place. Just different methods. [00:08:01] Evan: Yeah. So you asked them a series of questions, right? In terms of delving into their background and their job duties. [00:08:08] Ayan: I did. And we asked them all the same question, but naturally, the responses are going to be different. So the first question, Evan, is how did they discover product design and what do they need to get into the field? [00:08:20] Alaa: My background is print-based. We learned the basics of design thinking or brainstorming. I've gained experience in interactive design or user experience or web design later, after I graduated. Actually, it started in my internship at the end of my third year in college. [00:08:39] Alaa: In my first job, I was a junior designer in a small design studio. There I got the chance to work on different kinds of projects. One particular time, I have the project that the client chose my direction. And because we're a small team, my boss asked me if I can take on the full project, like designing the full brand and the website. And this is where my first experience in actually designing the website without people around me giving me directions or helping me. This is when I started to learn from observing, from researching, from doing hands-on projects. [00:09:13] Marynes: I made my decision to study, I chose graphic design. I started working on that then I say, I prefer digital, not print." So I started to study for a master's degree and I did digital design and UX. In that place is when everything started because I like to solve problems, but not only graphic problems. So I was working on a studio, a smaller studio. I was doing a lot of things, project manager, everything. [00:09:46] Marynes: W
