2024: The UXers concerns unveiled

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a Fireside Chat organized by ADPList, featuring Jakob Nielsen and Sarah Gibbons on the future of design and UX.

Rather than focusing on the insights from the Host and the Speakers, I want to concentrate on the questions posed by the attendees in the chat, as

I consider them indicative of the current concerns and interests of UX professionals. In the wake of numerous layoffs, the commoditization of UX, and the emergence of AI, Spatial Computing, and Augmented Reality, these questions reflect the worries and curiosities of hundreds, if not thousands, of UX practitioners.

Here’s a brief overview of the 5 main topics addressed by the questions:

1. AI and UX Design Integration: Questions frequently revolve around how AI will influence UX design, AI tools specific to UX/UI, the impact of AI on design standards, and how designers can leverage AI in their work. This topic includes discussions about AI-driven personalization, AI-first product design, and the ethical use of AI in design.
2. Career Development and Skills in UX Design: Many questions are focused on career paths in UX design, including advice for new designers, transitioning into management or leadership roles, and the necessity of specific skills like coding or specialization in areas like accessibility (a11y) and inclusion. Queries about how to stand out in a competitive market and how the UX design field might evolve over the next 5–10 years also fall under this category.
3. Education and Learning Resources: This includes questions about recommended courses, certifications, and resources for learning about UX design, AI, and leadership. There is a focus on accessible and affordable education, particularly for those who are new to the field or are looking to upskill.
4. UX Design Strategies and Practices: Queries in this area encompass the balance between business goals and user needs, alignment of global organizations on UX strategy, the role of designers in evolving industries (like spatial computing), and the future of UX roles. It also includes the need for sustainable design practices in corporate settings.
5. User Research and Methodologies: Questions related to efficient research methods for startups or teams with limited resources, heuristic evaluations, and the role of user research in design. This topic also touches on the challenge of designing for neurodiversity and cognitive impairments, as well as the integration of traditional design roles with UX design.

Below is the complete list of questions. I’ve attempted to transcribe them accurately without any modifications:

1. Where would you suggest looking for non-profits seeking UX design help? Is there a website or does ADP list offer this type of connection to non-profit orgs?
2. What new roles will AI generate for the future? And how can people set themselves up for that now?
3. Adding to my above question, designing, researching for neurodiversity and cognitive impairment is another topic, I’d love to hear your thoughts about.
4. How do you foresee the role of Interaction or Service Designer changing in the next 5 years or more?
5. With the UX and design world always evolving, how would you recommend designers who are following internal, sometimes rigid, company standards find a balance between following those standards vs. evolving and keeping up with the design industry?
6. Isn’t “Lowest employee loyalty ever” placing fault on employees, when the other side of that coin is “lowest wages relative to cost of living ever?”
7. How do you align a global organization on UX strategy and user empathy with cultural differences in mind?
8. What would be the best way to create a roadmap for personal-growth and move forward to pursue personal goals and have a clear career path? What are the key questions to be answered?
9. In mentoring a number of folks on ADPList, I wonder, How can a designer stand out in this age of increasing AI and continued efficiencies?
10. Sarah — How did you foster your own growth and development during your transition into leadership over the years? Lessons learned? What should young leaders do to be better leaders or managers (and getting there)?
11. People often talk about the importance of being a T-shaped designer, where you have more expertise in one area. I genuinely enjoy being a generalist but is there value in that? What’s the value in being a generalist in such a competitive job market?
12. You mentioned ChatGPT has a terrible design — can you please explain? I’d love to hear your critique!
13. User research is vital, but budgets and timelines are often tight. What are some efficient, ‘good enough’ research methods you’d recommend for a startup or a team with limited resources to still get valuable user insights?
14. How do you balance business goals with user needs? Amazon tends to be a great example, where business decisions ($$$) take precedence over what the user wants/needs (a good experience). How would you convince Bezos to focus on the user experience?
15. What has been your strategy and design approach when working with teams or companies that have lower digital and UX maturity?
16. Does NN/g recommends any specific resources for learning AI or leadership? That is accessible and affordable for those who have lost their jawbs?
17. What are the AI tools we should focus on for good combination to help ideate? (free)
18. What are some resources or sites to find quality info on AI as it relates to UX design?
19. As the devices we design for continue to evolve (for ex: wearables, VR, AR, etc…), how do you find the balance between following established UX patterns and innovating new ones?
20. Jakob: I am not necessarily a Unicorn but an all rounder with 25 years experience and skills across the board, just like you say. I KNOW I can add UX value to an employer, but I can’t even get my foot in the door! Any advice?
21. There are so many fly-by night bootcamps. I’m currently in the field but want to continue to upskill. Can you recommend certifications/course/institutes that at the forefront of the industry and constantly on the pulse?
22. Should designers start learning architecture and industrial design as Spatial Computing may become mainstream?
23. Could you explain the notions of UX generalization and specialization in relation to localization?
24. Can we set up a poll to see who has used AI tools vs not used them?
25. Do you not have any concern on copyright or other legal / ethical issues with the use of AI?
26. I am working in a quite large company in Germany, but compared to the US, UX is still under question by many developers and managers. What is the reason for this? Why haven’t many European companies fully embraced UX compared to those in the US?
27. Hello everyone. What do you think would be other fields besides tec industry for US designers?
28. I don’t have the skillset for design and don’t want to gain those skills. I do however have an eye for design. My specialty is UX Research. Do you think specialising like this will be okay in the future or do you think you will need to be a unicorn?
29. Hi guys! Can you please give some advice on how to create a great designer portfolio? What things are the most crucial for the designer to have in the portfolio?
30. How do you see ways “traditional” designers (web/print/visual) and UX designers can support each other through this new design landscape? (I feel they are still very siloed — whether through jobs/departments/communities/etc.)
31. With the boom of AI, there is so much info coming out on a daily basis about AI. If you want to learn more about how AI can be used in research, do you have suggestions on best resources or classes to take to learn more?
32. At what point are UX designers pointless?\n1. when businesses think the plethora of AI-generated designs are good enough?\n2. when AIs have learned enough where they can reach UX-decisions without going through time-intensive qualitative research?
33. Hi there! That was a good point on staying up-to-date and being curious. How would you effectively present yourself to non-profits as a valuable resource for addressing their challenges/problems?
34. What advice can you give for those who have been actively searching for volunteer projects, but finding that the selection process is just as competitive as the job market?
35. So many UX Roles seem to concentrate on graphic design being the core skill. Do you HAVE to be a graphic designer to be a UX Designer? What other skills are just as important to have in UX Design?
36. Should we do this challenges/assignments that some jobs are asking for? It’s really time consuming and I have never got a job from participating in those job searches. Is this a scam? Or is this real for companies asking us to work for free
37. Hi Jakob and Sarah! In today’s world of uncertainty, how can Designers navigate difficult situations like Layoffs and continue growing in their Design careers?
38. What are some ux considerations when it comes to designing for an “ai-first” product?
39. How do you envision the role of AI-driven personalization, particularly in balancing the benefits of personalized content and interfaces with the need to respect user privacy and avoid creating ‘filter bubbles’?
40. If UX becomes a commodity and becomes more and more common, would that spell the end of high-salaries for designers?
41. How could we change designers’ view on accessibility from this niche specialization to it being a necessity in design?
42. With all the talk of AI, it is important to consider the ethical use of AI. The design field has been talking about and navigating dark patterns for years, so how do we ensure that AI doesn’t make this worse somehow?
43. Would you say that there is a lack of research investigating fundamental human cognitive processes when it comes to interacting with AI? As a HF researcher, I feel that we have established human-AI collaboration design principles that are ignored
44. How might the plethora of AI tools (content, imaging, etc) narrow down to the FEW best in class? What are the critical elements (outside of accuracy)? Usability is a factor but I’m curious if you have a bead on a different aspect.
45. How would AI governance directly affect our work as UX-ers?
46. How do you think the skills needed for UX design will change in the next 5–10 years?
47. Give Dr. Nielsen’s perspective, could a parallel be made with how UX was born, when Human Factors didn’t want to bother with discount usability and preferred remaining in domains such as cockpits or control rooms? Could that be a cautionary tale?
48. Do you have a point of view on how the development of designers may change due to AI? How should leadership evolve in those terms?
49. Hi! I’m dipping my toes in a11y and inclusion. \nI wonder if you have tips, thoughts, stories about approaching such a challenge.\ne.g. Prototyping tools are often not compatible with assistive technology, and I’d love to continuously discover/test.
50. What are some potential research topics for individuals aspiring to pursue an academic path in Human-Computer Interaction, considering the evolving landscape of the field?
51. As a beginner designer, what uncommon question would you ask to an expert in the field like yourself to gain maximum insight?
52. Do you think UX has largely become just pixel-pushing, making smooth experiences even smoother to maximize stakeholders’ profit, and designers should be equipped to work on wicked problems because as Sarah said “the world is on fire”?
53. How can a UX designer transition to a management role (limited to design management)? What’s the path? There is no “MBA in design” kind of thing that I am aware of 😅
54. Question: What are your thoughts on the impact of AI on design in the short-term, medium-term and possibly long-term future?
55. Should uxers, also inspect datasets and delicately approach creating of genuine datasets for research and design, facilitating that data to ML algorithms and integrating those output into business models?
56. Is there a danger in putting some of that pancake into the hands of juniors? Sometimes, life takes experience to understand.
57. Sometimes I wonder if it’s Jacob or a next genAI model with all these great insights and ideas, hard to tell at times. ;)
58. Which areas of UX Design do you think will experience the most growth in 2024?
59. what…? Making pretty photos for social media posts isn’t useful? What’s this world coming to?
60. For the future of this field, what are your thoughts on a focus on honing our craft vs move toward being more strategic?
61. Will figma be future AI tool ?
62. A lot of companies are understandably scared to fill their research data into even “closed” AIs like ChatGPT Team and Hello Marvin. I wonder how long until we can utilize AI safely and where we feel our data is not shared.
63. If we’re discussing the future of designers, what do you think about self-knowledge and communication as two fundamental skills that one should strive to improve?
64. Are there any proactive steps we can collectively take to influence the responsible use of AI? I’m excited by the technology but disheartened by how it’s being used.
65. How do you think the need for accessible products and services will change in the next 5–10 years, as the population ages and neurological issues are on the rise?
66. What ai tools do you suggest that are specific to UX/UI?
67. What are some resources on AI/UX research we can learn from and/or participate in?
68. I work at a startup with a FAST pace. It’s hard to take the time to slow down to learn AI tools, even if they will increase my speed and efficiency. Where would you start? I am a full process product designer creating custom platforms for clients.
69. Hi all, please share any tips, suggestions, and resources to create your own opportunities. As Sarah suggested, treat ourselves as a business. Thanks!
70. Which field would you suggest to focus on?
71. In terms of corporative companies, what do you recommend for scaling sustainable design practices?
72. How can we start a conversation on the UX of AI? how can we make it more user-friendly?
73. I’m currently doing a Heuristic evaluation for a website using Jakob Nielsen’s 10 web heuristics. Can you please go over 10 laws if possible?
74. I’ve been reading about the Position UX Project Manager. Is that becoming more necessary with the inclusion of AI?
75. How do you navigate avoiding having design be the bandaid to hide poor AI/science application? or any thoughts here?
76. What would you recommend from someone starting/transitioning today with limited resources (time & money) with AI?
77. Hi Lee, Thanks again for gathering us here for this wonderful opportunity. When I apply for the job, in the job description (entry-level), they ask for 1–2 years of experience. When I applying internships, they ask for 6 months -1 year of exp? why?
78. Can I ask the AI to thinks as Jakob Nielsen and study my designs to be greater? Haha that would be wonderful
79. How can we prepare ourselves not to fight against AI, but How can we take advantage of it? I know there is a course in JNG website. Can you talk about it?
80. Any thoughts on UX future for Apple Vision Pro ?
81. The more AI will be used in UX, the more the chances that it will influence what we consider the “familiar patterns”, since if more and more design will be similar due to a massive use of AI the higher the chance that the AI will define the standards
82. If AI is allowed to evolve into a valuable resource, but economic barriers hinder young professionals from entering, could we witness a blending of levels, eliminating distinct hierarchies?
83. Can you please share your opinions about Voice Interface Design?
84. Is AI already influencing what are the standards in UX design?
85. Do you think that UX designers should now know coding? Because this would be a completely different field.
86. Both — can you recommend your fave sources for building AI x Design fluency for future-proofing?
87. How can I leverage my psychology major to get into AI UX?
88. How is NN Group’s workshop/courses are adapting to this mindset and technology shift in the market?
89. How do you think the impact of AI collaboration is on the meaningfulness of work?
90. I am a new designer and am really struggling to get into the field at this rather rocky time. I recently decided to learn AI for UX design because I recognize it’s unique potential as a collaborator. How can I leverage this in my job search?
91. I’ve been in UED since the beginning (95'), but haven’t been able to find a senior UX leadership job for almost a year. What advice would you give for us with almost too much experience in finding a position?
92. As a junior UX designer, do you have suggestions on how to stand out in such a competitive market, especially when there are so many experienced designers available to hire?
93. But if you are focusing in all areas of UX you’d have less time to actually become really good in one of them instead?
94. Beyond the actual craft, what are the skills that can help Designers build credibility and impact of their work as Designers, specifically in cross-disciplines like Product, Engineering and other?
95. How about making the NNG courses more accessible for all income groups? Everyone doesn’t live and work in the US …

What do you think? Do these questions resonate with your experiences in the field? Would you like to share your insights or answers to any of these questions?