UX professionals take note

Original blog by former Foolproofer Jemma Green.

I always dread the moment a taxi driver or acquaintance asks me what I do for a living; as a user experience (UX) consultant I never know quite what to say.

I have successfully attempted to explain what user experience is but I often find it ends up sapping their will to live. Hurrah for a recent interview with Jesse James Garrett on the ‘Tea with Teresa’ blog: “What the Heck is User Experience Design?! (And Why Should I Care?)”

In this interview he quotes others’ simplification of user experience: ‘making things easy and enjoyable to use’ and ‘all the elements that impact someone’s perception of a product or system’. He himself likens it to going on a great first date.

Useful stuff if you’re a UX professional in a taxi on your way to a first date.

28/04/10 Teresa Brazen said:

Hi, Jemma. Glad to hear the podcast has been useful and thanks for sharing. Jesse is so eloquent. In the same vein, you might also find this article interesting (talks about how to explain UX to high schoolers and some useful tips about how to communicate the value of UX): http://www.uxmag.com/strategy/explaining-ux-design-to-high-schoolers Take care! Teresa