Stop Making Design Recommendations, but What Happens When You’re Gone?
Last month there was an article on Johnny Holland by Jared Spool discussing why, as a UX designer, you should refrain from making design recommendations.
To summarize, the article suggests moving our approach/design philosophy away from making recommendations for change on design and instead push towards a subtle difference of ‘experimenting’ with design options. As Jared points out, the difference is subtle in approach, but experimentation seems to be the ideal choice.
His most recent article What Happens When You’re Gone? addresses some concerns from other renown professionals in the UX arena, arguing that not giving recommendations is essentially not doing their job(s).
Jared responds in this article again, mentioning that making design recommendations aims at a short term solution only. Promoting an ever changing UX strategy (by way of experimentation as opposed to recommendations) enables client teams, or in some cases other members of your internal team a process that informs future design decisions. He outlines an “Implementation Spectrum” depending on your involvement and expected deliverables for a given project.
Ultimately, the message I took away is that giving design recommendations is a risky action that can position you as the designer in a tough spot long term, for reasons outlined in the first article. In the end, you not only help to build a process by shifting philosophy to ‘experimentation’ but also ensure that those solutions for an ever changing product are consistently informed and successful.
