Q: What's the most important mind set shift you had to make when you switched from Graphic Design to UX Design?

A: This question comes from one of my students at Springboard.com. This student asked me this question in her first class and she wanted to know what type of mindset she'd have to be in to be successful in her career transition.

She had already received a degree in Illustration, but was not getting anywhere professionally so she was pursuing UX/UI (User Experience and User Interface) Design thinking this would help her with her career prospects. Which I believe she’s right about. This is a highly sought after field to work in and currently the jobs are aplenty. I also feel that asking this question before you start any endeavor is a great idea. What type of mindset do I need to be in to be successful?

The biggest mindset shift for me was a statement I first heard from Don Norman who some may call the God Father of UX Design. Others may hate for having just said that. Either way what he said was: "You are not your User".

You'll hear this statement thrown around a lot as you begin working in the field of UX Design. It's become kind of like a mantra, it centers you, brings you back to what your focus is and serves as a constant reminder to keep your user at the forefront of everything you do. By USER I mean the people who will be using your software or interacting with your website or service.

What it really means is that, as much as your opinion, the opinion of your boss, client, project manager all matters. If the decisions you make don't increase value for the people who will be using your product, then your product is not going to be successful. Our aim is to build products for people, not ourselves. It's rare that you or your boss will be the ideal user of the app your building. You always need to keep your ideal users at the forefront of everything you build.

So how do you keep your ideal users at the forefront of everything you build? First, you’ll need to define who your ideal user is through creating something like a persona. Some may argue that persona aren’t perfect tools, but they’re a great way to get to know the person(s) you’ll be designing for.

Next and throughout your project. You should talk to the folks who fall into this persona you’ve created. Interview them to find out how they think, feel and what they say about certain activities. Get to know their needs, wants and fears around products. Then continuously test what you design with them in the form of prototypes. Constantly asking for feedback so you can take what they say and make your product better with each iteration.

When I worked in advertising, branding and web design. Choosing a design was always about creating something our team and our clients were excited about. Obviously we wanted people to like and be excited about it as well, but we never really got around to involving the folks who would be using the website or experiencing the new brand as an integral partner in the design process.

The mindset of “You are NOT your user” will help you to remember to constantly test and iterate with the people who are ultimately going to make your product successful. The people who pay you to use it. That at its essence is the spirit of User Experience design. The USER is the most important person on your design team.