The UX landscape is evolving quickly.
The UX world is full of opportunity. But it can be tricky to navigate – even for seasoned professionals. In the last few years the industry has grown massively, and the roles of product and design teams have grown with it.
Why are these changes happening in the UX Landscape?
Because businesses understand how UX can drive their success. And where giants like Apple, Google and Amazon have led the way, the rest of the world is following.
What does it mean if you’re working in UX?
You’re in demand. Employers need UX expertise on their teams. Unfortunately, they don’t always know how to hire for it. The result? Confusing job titles and catch-all job descriptions.
Our latest report, ‘The UX Landscape: What a UX career looks like in 2021’ will get you up to speed on the different types of UX jobs out there.
We explore the different roles from UX designer to UX researcher to content designer. We look at what skills you need to work in each area and we ask industry leaders for their thoughts on the UX landscape.
With contributions from:
Krys Blackwood has been working in UX for over 20 years. She began her career in Silicon Valley working as both a researcher and designer before moving to NASA where she’s designing the future of mission operations. Andrea is part of the UX Global Practice of Microsoft Consulting. Over the last 13 years, he’s worked as a design leader in organisations like the United Nations and University of the Arts London, where he teaches user experience. Jonathon Colman leads Platform and Growth product design and the content design discipline at Intercom. He’s a Webby Award-winning designer and a keynote speaker who’s appeared at over 90 events in 9 countries on 5 continents. Aside from working on design systems at Workday, Tom Cunningham draws on his decade of industry experience to co-host the design podcast, ‘Opacity’. He’s also the course creator for the UX Design Institute’s Professional Certificate in Visual Design. With 20 years recruitment experience, Libby leads a large team of specialist recruiters across contract, permanent and interim positions in the technology, project management, and fintech space. Laurah Mwirichia is a product writer and user experience advocate. She spent several years working in content creation for tech startups in New York before discovering her true passion; UX writing. Melanie Polkosky has over 20 years experience in UX research and design. A cognitive psychologist (PhD), Melanie has worked as a UX consultant for a number of Fortune 500 companies around the world. In 2015 wrote a book titled, “Uncovering Truffles: The Scarcity and Value of Women in STEM”. Jen began her career in journalism and publishing. She worked in content strategy on a number of key products at Google before moving to Netflix to head up the Content Design Team. Ben Taylor has been in the UX industry for the last ten years. He has worked for software companies like SAP, Workday and Paddy Power. He is currently at HubSpot, focusing on the partner experience. Mitchell Wakefield started his career in UX research at IBM Canada in 2013 as a university intern. He worked as a UX research consultant for a number of years before moving into the healthcare space. He’s been with NHS Digital since 2017. Barry Winkless is the Strategy and Innovation Director and Future of Work lead at The Cpl Future of Work Institute.
Krys Blackwood
Andrea Caporale
Jonathon Colman
Tom Cunningham
Libby Kelly
Laurah Mwirichia
Melanie Polkosky
Jen Schaefer
Ben Taylor
Mitchell Wakefield
Barry Winkless
What you’ll learn in this report:
What does a career in UX look like?
Where does the UX process come into play?
Why does UX maturity matter?
What’s the difference between generalists and specialists?
Curious about a career in UX?
Click here to download our latest report, ‘The UX Landscape: What a UX career looks like in 2021’
