A designer by any other name…

Dmitry from ZURB is not happy with the term “User Experience Designer”: 

How many of these positions are really web design, IA (information architecture), interaction design or another established craft, but filed under a buzzword name? Frankly, how can you design a user experience? Doesn’t it just happen?

First, I’ll note that I’m complicit for responding to this post, but if our industry put the effort we put into defining our roles or arguing about job titles into something else I’d be a happy man.

Sure, if you take “User Experience Designer” literally it’s not a great description, but if “Interaction Designer” and “Web Designer” are what you’re comparing it to you look a bit silly. I’ve churned out very few “webs” or “interactions” in my time and if I were to try, I feel “webs” would be most difficult to design.

Although not perfect, User Experience as a term is useful because for most it indicates a broader view of what’s being designed than “web” or “interaction” design. 

There’s plenty more here, especially if I drag “Service Design” in the ring, but wouldn’t we rather have a discussion about what we’re doing rather than what we call it?