#westory

Most companies I meet have a hard time connecting quality engineering with quality design. This is even true in the tech world. Some products are built on well-coded architecture, yet look like basic WordPress templates. Others are beautifully designed with minimal functionality.

The disparity between these two skill sets is becoming increasingly important to a company’s success. More than ever companies are calling for people who can apply knowledge and creativity in both computer science and design.

Cliff Kuang, Editor of Fast Company’s Co.Design, agrees.

“Issues of design matter now in a way they never have before.”

  At WeStory, WeWork’s quarterly speaker event, Cliff Kuang spoke about the impact designers will make on future industries. He believes the role of designers is changing. They're emerging from a history of marginalizing themselves as professionals who only fix ugly products. Now, designers are also the people a company calls when the product doesn't function well.

This is because design isn't just about aesthetics anymore. It's about the user's experience: the enjoyment users derive when interacting with a product.

When building a product or service, often times the missing key factor is making sure what's built connects with its audience. Kuang believes, "Design is the relationships fostered around core interactions."

He uses one aspect of Amazon's Kindle as an example of great user experience design. Amazon spent billions of dollars to personalize each Kindle to each customer's experience, so a customer would receive a personal greeting when turning on her Kindle for the first time. For instance, mine would say, "Hello, Jon!" This personalized greeting is meant to symbolize the initiation of a dialogue and relationship between the product and its user.

As more and more companies adopt these techniques, the field of user experience design will become increasingly ubiquitous. Within the next ten years the role of Chief Experience Officer will be a prominent part of any major organization.