I’ve just read Designing for Digital Products by Cassie McDaniel, an article about the different roles and work processes of a modern designer.
Something that rings true is how many designers now find themselves in hybrid roles rather than confined to a singular tasks. As technology and work processes have evolved, many existing job titles are overly vague or simply inaccurate.
“Labels like user experience designer, user interface designer, interaction designer, product designer and so on may describe a person’s interests better than another, but most designers do a little of all of this, as “hybrids” (be it designer and coder, user experience and user interface designer, or designer and entrepreneur).”
I see this as a positive thing, it implies that design is seem by many companies as being an integral part of the product design process rather than purely the service of making something look pretty. Designers are ultimately responsible for improving the overall quality of a person’s experience with a company’s content. They help create the most successful – not necessarily the most attractive – solutions to a client’s needs. Making things look pretty is nice, but the real buzz I get out of designing is from exposing problems and creating solutions that make a difference.