After 7+ years of being in the tech industry, my view on the importance of UX design shifted with every new role I had. UX plays a different role for an early-stage startup founder than for a C-level executive at Google.

One thing stays the same: UX design helps generate more money.
Or in the case of the startup founder: Your first money.

The essence of UX design is making software easier to use and increase its value for many different stakeholders. We are basically trying to improve the product or software every week.

Like a fund manager, we try to improve the value of our product.

We don’t research companies, but pain points.
We don’t audit businesses, we user test.
We don’t focus on returns, but… returning customers.

The point is: UX design helps you grow the business, and especially early on: Find a market for it.

The current state of UX hiring

With all the tech layoffs happening, UX designers have a hard time finding new jobs. Reddit forums talk about changing profession, as finding a job is so frustrating.

I get it, but I also understand why it is so hard right now:

Tech companies shifted from growing to maintaining due to economic downturns. You need UX designers to grow, but you don’t need them to maintain.

UX designers improve things and build new features. You don’t need them to maintain what you already have.

So don’t worry, fellow designers; Tech companies slowly shift back to growing, and the UX market will improve again.

What UX Design is not for

When talking about how you should use UX design strategically, I also want to mention what UX is not for:

1. Make software look pretty

That’s it.

Yes, it will increase your perceived value, but people still need their f*cking problem solved. So a nice landing page and a beautiful user interface won’t help in the long run.

Why am I writing this (& who is it for)

Fellow UX designers complaining on how hard it is to find jobs got me thinking why layoffs hit designers harder than other professions. My goal with this article is to spark some ideas or provoke a discussion about the general topic of UX.

No matter if you are a founder, entrepreneur, designer or developer, feel free to comment your thoughts below, or wherever you want. Also, don’t shy away from reaching out to me here: nik@grauberg.co

Keep rocking, and let’s build amazing tech together!