I consider myself an Empathy Hacker (read more about that here), which on the surface looks a lot like a UX Designer. But it is so much more than that.
That means, I design and redesign a wide range things to help humans be more efficient and happy.
So, yes. You can call me a Designer, too. But if you’re wondering how someone with an undergran in behavioral economics and a Master’s degree in organizational engineering ended up as a designer, you’re in the right place.
“The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.”Adam Judge
So why am I a designer?
The quick answer is that I can’t help it. I’ve always been a designer. Even if that was not my official title or the field I graduated in.
The longer story is that I’m a constant nonconformist. I see opportunities for improvements everywhere I go. I’m usually not happy with defaults, I want things (products, services, processes) to fit me, and I have the power to modify them, to turn them into custom-made, to fit my specific needs. Once I discovered that I could do that for others too, there was no turning back.
I’ve had many “roles”, but I always end up designing things. Here are some examples:
- As a teacher and mentor, I design presentations, lessons, activities, evaluations and feedback systems, safe spaces to fail, even entire learning processes and methodologies.
- As a consultant and researcher, I design workshops, tools for diagnosing and analyzing problems, information-gathering tools, methods, documents, variables, KPIs, formats, prototypes, infographics, tests, and solutions.
- As an entrepreneur and freelancer, I design strategies, business plans, guidelines, policies, models, marketing campaigns, automatizations, briefs, events, presentations, gift cards, posters.
- As a product UI/UX designer, I design apps, websites, icons, logos, names, stickers, brands, strategies, habits, behaviors, copywriting, tests, analysis, recommendations.
All of those designs require me to think about my users (students, clients, customers, coworkers, even myself), about their needs and how I can use the resources I have and my skills to satisfy them. They also require that I give useful & constructive feedback to everyone I’m working with, and listening to what they say, so I can modify the way things work in order to facilitate everyone reaching their individual goals, as well as the global ones. So that’s where the Empathy Hacker aspect shines.
From simplifying my morning coffee-making routine to developing multi-platform systems for teaching better habits, I see design in everything that I do. And I really hope that never changes.