Who Are You?

10 years ago, when asked about what I did for a living by members of the software community I had to, at length, explain, justify and defend not just UX, but WHY UX, and then why ME. Today, for the most part, I don’t have to do this. In my experience, UX is fairly standard, generally recognized, and for the most part, people get it.

There are exceptions:

Last year, I interviewed for a lead UX position where the CEO of a digital agency called me and began the conversation with “My developers tell me I need to hire a UX person. What is a UX Designer and why should I care?” He literally didn’t know what UX was.

The Pitch

Earlier today, a recruiter contacted me pitching his latest and greatest UX candidate. Here is his pitch, word for word:

JOHANNES — UX DESIGNER

Johannes is a Sr. Interactive Designer with strong interactive agency experience. He is adept at branding, marketing, and brand strategy. He is a leader with solid communication skills to help his design team successfully launch initiatives. He uses his passion for visual design and communication to effectively create brand experiences that add value to his projects. His skill sets include: Adobe Creative Suite, HTML, CSS3, + more. Johannes has done work for large financial and travel companies. He would be an incredible asset to any team.

Who Is Johannes?

I have no idea. I know he’s a UX designer. That’s it. I know nothing about his process, his goals, his personality, his passions (his true passions), his interests…nothing. He can use Adobe CS? Wow! That’s…everybody.

When I read this my first thought was — wow I have a lot in common with Johannes…and every other single person who calls themselves a UX designer since the beginning of time. Virtually every word in that paragraph is 100% unnecessary. The recruiter could’ve simply said JOHANNES—UX DESIGNER and conveyed the exact same amount of information.

I looked around the room at the 3 other UX designers sitting near me. I read this paragraph out loud, substituting each of our names. It worked for each one of us. It was actually kind of fun.

The reason this bothers me so much, I think, is that I’m 100% guilty of having written this paragraph before. I (unfortunately) wouldn’t be surprised to find this paragraph attached to my name somewhere online. We need to start telling people who we are, not the things we’ve done. We are not merely the sum of our experiences and expertise. We are individuals with parts and passions, energy and force, power and strength, successes and failures. That’s who I want to read about. That’s who I want to hire. There are a million UX designers out there. Tell me about YOU.

We are not merely the sum of our experiences and expertise.

Who Am I?

I’m Brandon—Experience Designer. I love media: movies, books, music, theatre, art, games, architecture, design…pretty much all of it (except country music — hate that stuff, well, except the old-school stuff that told compelling stories like Coward of the County). I’m a huge sci-fi nerd. I’m a 16 yr veteran of marriage and father of 4 (Girl, boy, boy, boy). Kristy proposed to me (on our 3rd date). We’ve never had a fight. I fight for the user. I love projects that improve customers’ happiness and success by discovering and addressing their needs and pain points across all areas they interact with a brand. I’ve been improving my skills for 14 years. I’m bald (but would rather have long, flowing locks). I practice Kung Fu. I’m a cat person. If you work with me, you will discover that everything reminds me of a movie, a TV show or a song. Or a meme. Those songs will be sung, those theme songs played, those shows quoted, those memes posted.

?

That’s me. That’s what I’ll be sending to clients. That’s what I’ll be looking for in applicants. So the question is, who are you?

Don’t die with your music still in you.

Don’t die with your music still in you.

— Dr. Wayne Dyer

I heard this quoted in a religious context the other day and it has been ringing in my ears ever since.

As a singer and composer who doesn’t get to use those skills very often, and even then, very rarely to their full extent, it’s got me thinking about ways and means I can get all of the literal music welling up inside of me out. Maybe I should audition for more groups or shows. Maybe I should set aside some time to just write or record my music. Lots of potential there.

As a designer and developer, there are always little solutions, ideas, affordances, improvements, etc. milling about in my head. Everywhere I go I see ways to improve and enhance, to increase performance, usability, perception, and efficiency. That’s largely why I’m keeping this blog — It gives me a voice — a way for me to take action on the random bits in my head and not just grumble about crappy UX in the POS PoS machines. It gets them out of me so that they may live (or die) and benefit others.

So let’s abstract this quote a little bit.

Don’t die with your X still in you.

What are some other things we should get OUT before we’re reaped grimly? Here are the first things that came to my mind:

Don’t die with your …

family

potential

ideas

best

worst

failures

successes

anger

love

life

passions

fears

designs

solutions

observations

skills

knowledge

emotions

jokes

faith

history

story

stories

… still inside you.

I’m sure there are a ton more that would work really well and speak volumes to us. What do you think you should ensure gets out of you before you die — either to be rooted out and expunged or to be released for the world to enjoy (or mock, or critique or…)?

My Unlimited Signature

Two Weirdos Getting Married Oct. 31st, 1998

This will make sense in just a second…

Things I designed/made in this picture:

1. Her wedding dress

2. His suit and shirt

3. The cake

4. The cake stand

And this is my email signature:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

- Lazarus Long (Robert A. Heinlein)

And this is why…

From the day we are born, people are trying to limit us. They don’t usually do it out of malice or in an attempt to hurt us; on the contrary — often they do it because they love us and want to help and protect us. These limits come in various forms:

1. What do you want to be when you grow up?

• You have to grow up

• You have to narrow your vision to one very specific thing and do it quickly or something bad will happen.

2. The sky’s the limit!

• There’s a limit

• Don’t try to go beyond the sky, that’s too far

3. Stay inside the lines.

• Deviance from the norm is unacceptable

• Beauty is pre-defined and not discoverable

4. Why can’t you be more like <insert name here>?

• Here’s a box, fit in it

• Different is bad

And there are many others like You have to have money to make money. You only live once. Pick something reasonable. Be realistic. That’s just a pipe dream etc. There are a million ways the people who love us want to protect us, so they tell us the things they think will help us hurt less, fail less often. However well-meaning they may be, they’re limiting us to one degree or another.

The Wayback Machine

When I was a teenager, and early in my career, I considered myself a Jack of All Trades. I could build a house, fix an engine, sing professionally, paint a car, repair a bicycle, build a computer, design a wedding dress. I was pretty darn proud at how diverse I was. I saw this as an asset and I continued to seek additional skills. Then one day I heard the rest of that expression:

Jack of All Trades, Master of None.

Oh crap, I thought, if I can do all of these things, I must not be very good at any of them! Who wants to hire a mechanic who can sing? Who wants a computer geek who designs clothes? I’d better stop generalizing and really start focusing! I changed my résumé to reflect just one skill. I picked a title for myself. I didn’t mention all the other stuff I could do or enjoyed doing during interviews — I thought it might distract and draw focus from what I was really good at.

This philosophy seemed to work…for a little while. Then one day I found myself applying for a job as a writer. As I finished up the writing portion of the interview, the HR person came in and said “It says here you know Flash and Photoshop as well.” to which I replied “Sure.” “Well,” she said, “we have another position here that pays more and I think you’d be perfect for it. It requires someone who can code AND design, and those are very hard to come by.” So I applied for, interviewed for, and got that job instead. And my next job. And the job after that. And the next 2 jobs after that. And…

Be All The Things

Pretty soon I came to realize, being able to call yourself a master at something is cool, but having great skill and mastering LOTS of things makes you invaluable, employable, and, dare I say it, much more interesting. Then one day I happened upon the Heinlein quote and discovered why I’d always been at odds with the Jack quote.

“Jack of All Trades, Master of None” implies limits. It assumes you cannot be a master of any/all those trades. It’s a limiting thought and it’s damaging. One day someone Tweeted something to the effect of

“How can they expect me to be a great designer AND learn to code? Won’t learning to code take my focus away from my true craft?”

To which another replied

“Why not be great at both? Haven’t you ever met a great programmer who was also a great musician?”

This hit home for me for a few reasons:

1. I was a Lead Developer

2. I have 2 degrees in music, another in Theatre, and a Masters degree in Interactive media

3. I was a Lead UX Designer.

Of course, you can be great at lots of things — I am. I’d bet most people are. You’re probably awesome at lots of stuff. But, for some reason, our culture wants to silo you off, box you in, label, and pigeon-hole you. Applying these limits makes things easier on them and doesn’t help you at all. Why limit yourself, and you sure as heck shouldn’t allow others to limit you. That’s the over-protective masses talking in the back of your head telling you to stop dreaming so big because you’ll fail and feel bad. To firey places with them. I want to be Lazarus Long. That’s why that quote is my email signature. I refuse to limit myself to the confines and fears of others. I’ll be what I want to be and do what I want to do — because it makes me better at everything I do.

I’ll be what I want to be and do what I want to do — because it makes me better at everything I do.

I’m a better designer because I code and a better coder because I design. I’m a better father because I design and a better husband because I’m a father. It goes on and on.

Specialization is for insects.

PS — here’s how I’m doing with that list. What about you?

• change a diaper ✓

• plan an invasion

• butcher a hog

• conn a ship

• design a building ✓

• write a sonnet ✓

• balance accounts ✓

• build a wall ✓

• set a bone ✓

• comfort the dying ✓

• take orders ✓

• give orders ✓

• cooperate ✓

• act alone ✓

• solve equations ✓

• analyze a new problem ✓

• pitch manure ✓

• program a computer ✓

• cook a tasty meal ✓

• fight efficiently ✓

• die gallantly

A Credo

I believe in truth.
I believe in absolutes.
I believe in work.
I believe in reward.
I believe in leisure.
I believe in family.
I believe everyone can teach.
I believe everyone must learn.
I believe I am very often right.
I believe I am very often wrong.
I believe in changing my mind.
I believe contention breeds ignorance and disgrace.
I believe in disagreements.
I believe in fighting.
I believe in forgiveness.
I believe in winning.
I believe losing sucks.
I believe in ownership and responsibility.
I believe in power.
I believe in credit.
I believe in honor.
I believe in integrity.
I believe in unity.
I believe in teams.
I believe in speaking.
I believe in listening.
I believe in self.
I believe in ego.
I believe in humility.
I believe in love.
I believe in service.
I believe in science.
I believe in ideas.
I believe I can.
I believe I sometimes won’t.
I believe I am strong.
I believe I am weak.
I believe in beauty.

And because I believe,

I do.

Flight of the Buffalo

Appa — the flying bison. This is an awesome still from one of the worst movies of all time. Unfortunate, because it’s one of the best animated series of all time.

There is a fantastic book called The Flight of The Buffalo. It’s one of those “managing people” books, and the title is actually very apt once you learn the metaphor. Buy it and read it. You’ll be glad you did.

Anyway…One of the major premises of the book that I loved was this: When something isn’t going the way you want, always begin your inquiry into the problem with:

“What is it that I am doing wrong?”

The idea is this: If you’re the leader and your minions aren’t performing up to snuff, or business isn’t going the way you want/expect — you need to introspect your query into the cause because it’s probably you. If Johnson didn’t land that account that was in the bag, it’s probably because either a) YOU didn’t train/inspire/counsel/trust, etc. her/him well enough or b) YOU shouldn’t have hired her/him in the first place. Nearly every problem a leader sees in their team is due to a lack or failure in themselves. Good leaders know this. Great leaders do something about it.

So what has this got to do with design?

“Who me!?” — Han Solo

Most, if not all, of us, have sat across the table/monitor while we’ve watched users click the wrong link, choose the wrong option, go down the wrong path, stare blindly at the screen, lost, confused, bored, angry or apathetic. I myself have felt the desire to perform a remote Jedi choke when the user I was watching said something so obtuse and moronic I could’ve died. Then, when my pride had stopped choking me, I was able to sit back and ask myself “What is it that I am doing wrong?” And that’s the key. As UX/UI designers we are Tron — we “…fight for the users.” Notice the ‘for’ — it’s really important. We aren’t CLU or the MCP who fight against the user. So when the user isn’t successful, it is often us that have failed them and we need to ask ourselves what we’re doing wrong.

Introspection Brings Insight

I find that this kind of introspection to be incredibly insightful. It sheds light on end-user issues, biases, misinterpretations, misunderstandings, incorrect assumptions, process holes, bad data, poor design, bad choices, bad marketing, poor user experience, bad business practices, flawed methodologies, skewed perceptions, prejudices, pride, stupidity, apathy, and simple mistakes. <breathes> But what I find most amazing about approaching an issue from this tack is this: When I am the problem, I am also the solution. I can change me. I can change my processes. I can improve this or that. I can modify this, that, or the other thing. When you can follow the problem all the way back to yourself you’re equipped and able to begin setting things in motion to affect (and effect!) change for the greater good — and not just in your designs, but in your entire organization.

So the next time something goes awry with that thing/person that upsets you all the time, take some time and ask yourself: “What is it that I am doing wrong?” and you may find some new epiphanies that lead you down a more enlightened path — where buffaloes take wing.

Seriously, read the book. Then you’ll totally get it.