Ive worked in UX for the better part of a decade.
Ill start by trying to avoid using them in conversations at work.
Ill erase them from myLinkedIn profile.
Ill find new ways to describe my job when making small talk.
I will experiment and look for something better.
I dont have any strong alternatives to offer right now, but Im confident Ill find some.
I think of it as a challenge.
I can either keep using language I disagree with, or I can begin to search for whats next.
I choose to search.
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The latter is used.
But labeling people as users strips them of complexity.
This is a poor ethos for building ethical technology.
The relationship these words describe is no longer accurate.
Long ago, the line between operator and tech was much more clearly drawn.
Simply put, the U-words have their origin in a more sanguine, naive era.
The term UX design began its rise to industry-standard ubiquity in 2009.
UX means solving a customers problem so they keep coming back for more?
Its 2019, and nothing is simple anymore.
The fact that people use something doesnt always make it good.
Its too low a bar to set.
In the design world, the user occupies a pedestal.
We hold users in high regard.
We care about our users.
We work in user experience design organizations.
We call ourselves UX designers.
We parcel out development tasks into user stories.
So do we care?
A contradiction like this demands that we take a closer look at these words.
User has always had other, much more odious connotations outside our industry.
Calling someone a druguser, for example, is different from saying someone has adrug problem.
Thats what we have right now.
They are far too uninspiring.
Without them, Im still a problem solver and thinker.
Im still a person who wants to build things that provide value in the lives of other human beings.
If anything, I think my shift in language will make me better at my job.
Without the U-words, I can start the hard work of redefining how I think about design.
I can have tough conversations.
I can begin to do better.
Im hopeful we all can.
