The reputation of the tech industry — where most product designers work today — is getting worse. Some designers feel frustrated or even uncomfortable to be associated with the industry.
However, it isn’t new and may have nothing to do with tech. Designers have felt dissociated and often “above all that” for decades.
In 1964, The First Things First Manifesto, signed by 400 graphic designers, was published and got a lot of support in the design community. The manifesto complained that the design profession is mostly utilized to sell more consumer goods.
Instead, it suggested the following:
“We think that there are other things more worth using our skill and experience on.
“There are signs for streets and buildings, books and periodicals, catalogues, instructional manuals, industrial photography, educational aids, films, television features, scientific and industrial publications and all the other media through which we promote our trade, our education, our culture and our greater awareness of the world.”
These are great aspirations. However, they are true for any profession. If more engineers worked on improving public health instead of making us addicted to mindless videos online, the world would be better too.
But why do we never see engineers, accountants, or copywriters publishing such manifestos? What is so unique to designers? Why do they feel special?
Designers may think: “It’s because we have a strong community / greater integrity / a better understanding of what business needs”. This thinking may even reinforce the feeling of being special.
In any case, it becomes clear that there is a gap between how designers imagine or wish their work or profession to be and the reality.
“What I learned when I switched from UX to a project leadership role is: no one cares. Most of the common arguments UX folks use are noise. As a leader I was up to my neck in problems. If someone showed up at my door with a solution, they quickly got support and resources.
“Alternatively, if they asked for things like seats at tables, or lectured me about fighting for the user, without solving project level problems, they were easier to ignore. Why? Everyone in the organization wants power and influence, but few help solve important problems.”
It seems that designers became convinced that they are different and therefore deserve special treatment.
While doing research for my upcoming book, I read a few books on career growth for engineers. If you replace the word “engineer” with “designer,” 99% of the problems described in these books would still apply. And still, designers often feel that they are the only ones who need to fight “to get a seat at the table”, “to get into the room,” secure resources, etc.
The moment designers stop feeling special and expecting special treatment might be exactly what will help them get a seat at the table and be taken seriously.