No, seriously, it’s been a year.
As I sit to write this, it’s been exactly one year since I published my long-ish rant: “Undoing the Toxic Dogmatism of Digital Design.” Follow the link if you haven’t read it yet to give this follow-up more context. The response to that article was overwhelming — far beyond anything I could have anticipated. I’ve learned so much since through subsequent research and conversations about why the issues I outlined exist, how practitioners feel about them, and what, if anything, can be done about each of them.
When I wrote the piece, my only goal was to spark conversation. It definitely did that, but there were unforeseen reactions that I found genuinely surprising and others that were incredibly rewarding.
The backlash never came.
I expected to provoke at least a decent percentage of folks who would rush to tell me how wrong my assessment of the state of things was. I braced myself, and… nothing.
A few people on Reddit and in the comments were pedantic about my definitions or the provocations I sprinkled in, but for the most part, the reaction was positive. While that is a relief for me personally, it didn’t say great things about where we find ourselves as an industry. I really did not want to be as right as it turns out I was.
People wanted to focus on me.
As flattering as it was to be the object of such interest — with all the invites to speak, interview, or write, I turned everyone down. The only thing most of them knew about me was that one rant, and I had no interest in being the spokesperson for the ills plaguing digital design. As I said, I intended only to spark deeper discussion and motivate people to grab onto an issue they felt passionate about and run with it. A few had those discussions without me, like UXPodcast with hosts Per Axbom and James Royal-Lawson, who did a great job of breaking down the topics and adding their own astute insights. Some started Slack groups, while others felt more empowered to share their perspectives through writing and giving talks.
Overwhelmingly, I got the sense that many wanted me to keep it all going, as if I somehow knew what the greatest minds in our field did not and could lead the charge toward the solutions. We humans have this way of anointing others as champions for simply making keen observations because what they say resonates so profoundly with us on some level.
The thing is, I don’t have the answers. The issues I raised, especially those surrounding Design Education, Inclusion, and Ethics, are much bigger and require far more analysis, coordination, and collaboration than any one person is capable of orchestrating on their own.
My network expanded in the best possible way.
I was already connected to some incredible people, but now I get to chat and collaborate with so many more from all over the world — everyone from prominent industry leaders to those just starting out. On any day of the week, I can tap experts to discuss the many wicked problems we collectively face. I learn so much with every conversation, and they have all informed my thinking in ways that have helped me chart new and exciting paths. And I get to connect with great people like you.
But enough about me… (cont.)
Read the rest of this article on Medium