As a UX designer, you have the power to make technology accessible to everyone.
But working in a creatively demanding field comes with its challenges, and you might struggle with inspiration from time to time.
For the days when you face designer's block, here are 16 UX quotes to inspire you. Give 'em a read, then use them to inspire your next Wix Studio site.
The best UX quotes for designers
UX quotes on why user experience design is important
If you’re feeling unsure about the importance of your work, these UX design quotes can give you a sense of purpose.
"Designers can have an impact and shape how technology affects people and empowers them.” —Jon YabIonski, senior product designer at Mixpanel
As a designer, the impact you have on user experience goes beyond just the aesthetics. In fact, design bridges the gap between a product and its users, making it accessible to people. If you’re ever having second thoughts about the importance of UX design, this quote sums it up pretty well.
“Adaptive and responsive design is no longer a nice to have; it’s a requirement.” —Dr. Elizabeth Gerber, co-director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design at Northwestern University
Today, people are looking to do more with less. Whether it’s an app or a product, if it doesn’t adapt to a user’s needs, they’ll be quick to switch to other options. As a result, having an adaptive design has become a must for businesses. It’s not a “nice extra” anymore.
“I think there’s an argument that could be made that just about everything we do in building these companies is a design problem. Leading, solving problems and setting goals from a design-centered perspective seems to be more holistic.” —Josh Brewer, co-creator of 52 Weeks of UX
Wondering how much of a role user-centered design plays in a business? At the end of the day, it affects everything. From planning to leadership, thinking about what’s needed to offer a fantastic user experience is key to success.
“Like art, design must function by filling a need and provide value to the person using it. A design that isn’t useful is a design that has failed.” —Yael Levey, product design manager at WhatsApp
It’s crucial to zero in on the product’s purpose before you start designing. If you don’t have a solid understanding of a product’s purpose, you may create a user experience that’s confusing or frustrating.
UX quotes on inclusive user experience designs
There’s nothing better than making your design accessible to people from all walks of life. Keep these inspirational quotes in mind when making your UX designs more inclusive.
“Design isn’t truly innovative enough if it doesn't respect and account for the vast values and ideologies of our diverse world.” —Maurice Woods, founder and executive director of the Inneract Project
Good UX design makes the technology or product accessible to people. And that includes all types of people, including those with special needs.
“Design is all about tradeoffs. As we create new technologies that overcome the limitations of the previous generations, we make decisions about how we can accommodate those basic unchanging traits of people while looking at what we ask our users to adapt to.” —Jared M. Spool, co-founder and co-CEO of Center Centre
This insight from Spool explains a beautiful contradiction in human behavior: people are, to a certain degree, willing to adapt to new technologies, even though they hate change. For example, they may prefer the accuracy of mechanical keyboards but adapt to using touch keyboards on mobile devices. When designing for inclusivity, striking a balance between what you’re asking people to change and what behaviors they want to keep the same may help make the design accessible to more users.
“In order to build for someone else, you must ask, ‘who else?’ Who else needs to be in the room? Who else must be driving the work forward? Who is missing?” —Annie Jean-Baptiste, head of product inclusion and equity at Google and author of Building for Everyone
You might try to make an accessible design. But when your workload keeps piling up, it’s easy to miss out on some features, unknowingly making the product less inclusive. Keep Jean-Baptiste’s insights in mind throughout the design process to ensure your work accommodates all users.
“When we design inclusively for all, we can create deeply positive experiences that resonate with people—all people.” —Aarron Walter, author of Designing for Emotion
A key factor when creating accessible designs is having empathy. Empathy makes you sensitive to a variety of user needs, helping you build a user-centric design.
Your average user might not need certain accessibility features. But by being empathetic throughout the design process, you’ll create enjoyable experiences not just for the primary audience but for everyone who wants to use the product.
UX quotes on how to create great UX designs
Taking an idea from okay to amazing may only require subtle changes in your design process. These inspiring quotes will give you some insight into how to avoid bad design decisions and wow users.
“Take it one step at a time, but start somewhere! Just start! Start experimenting with understanding problems and start designing! Immerse yourself in the space!” —Ioana Teleanu, senior product designer at Miro
Great product design doesn’t create itself. It often starts out as a tiny idea or an unplanned experiment and can need lots of fine-tuning. But the important part is that you begin somewhere. If you’re a perfectionist who’s always waiting for the right opportunity to get started, you may want to take this advice to heart.
“There is a significant part of any creative work that happens outside of our conscious awareness, and happens at a different pace from focused, at the computer, pushing boxes around the screen kind of work … So I would say: pace yourself and trust your intuition.” —Jesse James Garrett, co-founder of Adaptive Path and author of The Elements of User Experience
Creativity doesn’t come in a box. If you’re always laser-focused, then you might want to ease up a bit. Garrett’s quote highlights how relaxing and thinking out of the box can lead to great outcomes.
“If every day, you look for ways to try something new, stretch yourself, get feedback and be useful, you’ll get damn good in no time. It might sound obvious, but getting damn good is one of the most important things to build a fulfilling career.” —Simon Pan, senior staff designer at Google
Pan’s quote is top-notch advice for budding UX designers. The key to building a satisfying career is to be good at your craft. And to be good at your craft, you need to work on it every day.
“Design is storytelling; it’s visual communication.” —Gail Anderson, chair of the BFA Design and BFA Advertising programs at New York City’s School of Visual Arts
To really resonate with users, it’s important to think about what ideas and values you want to communicate. What story are you telling them with each design decision you make—and is it a story that interests them?
“A team needs to give it the right amount of attention to make sure a design system is going to work in their organization, which they can’t do in a bubble.” —May-Li Khoe, interdisciplinary designer and artist
Designing is part of a larger creative process, and it’s not enough to only consider the perspectives of the design team. You also need to accommodate other opinions to ensure your design has no loopholes. For instance, you can seek feedback from potential users or other departments at your company.
Quotes on UX design for when you need inspiration
If you’re looking for inspiration to jump-start your latest design project, consider these UX designer quotes.
“What’s possible in terms of drawing on the web is practically infinite, but so much of design is still informed by how we’ve been doing it for decades.” —Talia Cotton, founder and creative director of Cotton Design
Running out of design ideas? Cotton’s quote might just inspire you to adopt an innovative approach and steer clear of the usual methods to create impactful new designs.
“Creativity is finding novel connections among things that exist in the world. You’re not creating new matter, because that’s against the laws of physics. The more that you know about what exists around you, the more capacity for creativity you have.” —Erika Hall, co-founder at Mule Design Studio
As a designer, constantly coming up with new and creative ideas can be a challenge. If you’re facing creative burnout, Hall’s quote might help change your thinking.
“Go ahead and make bad designs, videos or podcast episodes. Then ask for feedback and keep getting better! Don't let your fear of failure hold you back from making progress.” —Jesse Showalter, founder at Good Fight Creative Co.
If you’re worried about creating bad designs, Showalter has some encouraging words for you: do it anyway. Your work may not be the best initially. But every project you work on gives you a chance to get feedback and improve your designs, and that’s key to progressing as a UX designer.
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