4 ms·

I feel the UI/UX space is so full of zero skill people.

by lvl102 4y ago

tpmx 4y ago
It's a bit like with developers. At least 50% are crap.
- lvl102 4y ago
  I really view UI/UX position as an excuse to have “friends” around the company.
  - tpmx 4y ago
    I don't doubt that there are a number of broken companies where that is the case. Sorry if you're in such a place :/
  - emadabdulrahim 4y ago
    You must work for a really mediocre company? Design makes or breaks a product. Not sure where you got the impression that it's useless and professional designers gets nothing done.
    - lvl102 4y ago
      I am not contesting that UI/UX is incredibly important and hard. It’s just that 99.99% of the people in that profession are clueless.
      - emadabdulrahim 4y ago
        Are 99.99% of developers clueless? I'm just trying to understand what makes you think that in the field of design, 99.99% of the professionals are clueless? What about in the marketers? Are they also 99.99% clueless? Trying to learn how non-designers think of the profession/professional designers.
        rileymat2 4y ago
        Having worked with an excellent UX designer, specifically not a graphic designer, he was great. The difference between him and the other ones I have run into since, he watched users use the product, he would ask users how they might operate low fi paper mock ups, before us developers even saw the design. He tried his best not to project his own preferences and idiosyncrasies on the interaction design. On the other hand, I have not seen this since. Compared to him, in my anecdata 90% are not clueless, but pretty bad.
        rileymat2 4y ago
        To add on, he was not some genius, what he did was listen.
insightcheck 4y ago
Is this really true, though? It's maybe plausible that people can hold positions without doing much, but I was under the impression that UI/UX requires a lot of expertise. From a couple of days ago on HN [1], it's possible to have over 1,000 layers on Figma just to create a button [2] and over 10,000 layers on an entire website. And that's just for creating a design on Figma. Then there is the field of UX research to gather data on the design, the sense behind choosing colors and typography for UI, a familiarity with working with shadows to create a sense of depth on the page, and even working with sound and audio for feedback. I don't even see how it's possible to hold a UI/UX position and not do anything, because there are very clear deliverables that can be asked for, and a manager can soon tell if a person isn't completing the work. It's plausible that low-skill people can exist in the field, but I genuinely can't imagine how one could stay low-skill yet keep the position. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33013182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33013182 [2] https://imgur.com/TodWS0r https://imgur.com/TodWS0r
- diordiderot 4y ago
  > 1,000 layers on Figma just to create a button Really proves the no skill point.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    1000 layers for a button is a misleading description of the linked image. It’s an entire design system for every button in an app.
- yetanotherloser 4y ago
  Design is really important and a genuinely difficult skill. Unfortunately UI/UX design is a growth area that is currently attracting useless chancers like shit in a honey-and-vinegar sauce attracts flies. I feel a bit sorry for chancers because it must be a bit grim to know you are useless and have to fake it... but not so sorry I will hire one, or treat the one hired by someone else as the star they claim to be.
nfw2 4y ago
I agree that a lot of UI/UX professionals have dubious qualifications. That said, talented designers can arguably be a company's most valuable employees. Product design is the axis on which many tech companies compete, not technological innovation. Technical competency is table stakes.
agumonkey 4y ago
I hesitate to conclude this but I have a feeling that this is a 'wishful sketching' profession for many.

I feel the UI/UX space is so full of zero skill people.

by lvl102 4y ago

I feel the UI/UX space is so full of zero skill people.

tpmx 4y ago

It's a bit like with developers. At least 50% are crap.

lvl102 4y ago
I really view UI/UX position as an excuse to have “friends” around the company.
- tpmx 4y ago
  I don't doubt that there are a number of broken companies where that is the case. Sorry if you're in such a place :/
- emadabdulrahim 4y ago
  You must work for a really mediocre company? Design makes or breaks a product. Not sure where you got the impression that it's useless and professional designers gets nothing done.
  - lvl102 4y ago
    I am not contesting that UI/UX is incredibly important and hard. It’s just that 99.99% of the people in that profession are clueless.
    - emadabdulrahim 4y ago
      Are 99.99% of developers clueless? I'm just trying to understand what makes you think that in the field of design, 99.99% of the professionals are clueless? What about in the marketers? Are they also 99.99% clueless? Trying to learn how non-designers think of the profession/professional designers.
      - rileymat2 4y ago
        Having worked with an excellent UX designer, specifically not a graphic designer, he was great. The difference between him and the other ones I have run into since, he watched users use the product, he would ask users how they might operate low fi paper mock ups, before us developers even saw the design. He tried his best not to project his own preferences and idiosyncrasies on the interaction design. On the other hand, I have not seen this since. Compared to him, in my anecdata 90% are not clueless, but pretty bad.
        rileymat2 4y ago
        To add on, he was not some genius, what he did was listen.

insightcheck 4y ago

Is this really true, though? It's maybe plausible that people can hold positions without doing much, but I was under the impression that UI/UX requires a lot of expertise. From a couple of days ago on HN [1], it's possible to have over 1,000 layers on Figma just to create a button [2] and over 10,000 layers on an entire website. And that's just for creating a design on Figma. Then there is the field of UX research to gather data on the design, the sense behind choosing colors and typography for UI, a familiarity with working with shadows to create a sense of depth on the page, and even working with sound and audio for feedback. I don't even see how it's possible to hold a UI/UX position and not do anything, because there are very clear deliverables that can be asked for, and a manager can soon tell if a person isn't completing the work. It's plausible that low-skill people can exist in the field, but I genuinely can't imagine how one could stay low-skill yet keep the position. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33013182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33013182 [2] https://imgur.com/TodWS0r https://imgur.com/TodWS0r

diordiderot 4y ago
> 1,000 layers on Figma just to create a button Really proves the no skill point.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  1000 layers for a button is a misleading description of the linked image. It’s an entire design system for every button in an app.
yetanotherloser 4y ago
Design is really important and a genuinely difficult skill. Unfortunately UI/UX design is a growth area that is currently attracting useless chancers like shit in a honey-and-vinegar sauce attracts flies. I feel a bit sorry for chancers because it must be a bit grim to know you are useless and have to fake it... but not so sorry I will hire one, or treat the one hired by someone else as the star they claim to be.

nfw2 4y ago

I agree that a lot of UI/UX professionals have dubious qualifications. That said, talented designers can arguably be a company's most valuable employees. Product design is the axis on which many tech companies compete, not technological innovation. Technical competency is table stakes.

agumonkey 4y ago

I hesitate to conclude this but I have a feeling that this is a 'wishful sketching' profession for many.