I’ve never been particularly fond of the word “user.” Despite its permeation in the digital world, there’s something inherently cold about referring to human beings as “users.” I’m even less fond of the term “User Experience (UX) Design.” While I don’t disagree with the core concepts of UX Design, and I feel that the artifacts produced and the research conducted in these practices are extraordinarily important, I can’t shake the idea that “user” is reductive and “experiences” cannot, really, be designed.
That first point—that “user” is far from a flattering term for humans—is hardly controversial. The idea, ...
