Under the traditional business model embraced by many companies, it is unlikely that designers will ever truly possess an equal seat at the table. This unfortunate reality is because designers are intrinsically creative, passionate, and empathetic problem solvers, not savvy business people.
In the business world, designers will always be subservient to a corporate culture that primarily values objective outcomes such as profitability or market share.
Despite this bleakness, there is light at the end of the tunnel for designers and those alike seeking equal representation in this inhospitable environment. However, the business world must first undergo a significant economic and moral transformation for such distinctive equality to take hold.
Capitalism is the best we have…for now
As it currently stands, most business models in the western world revolve around the basic principles of capitalism. This system is an economic principle in which private owners seek profit and command over various industries and trading.
Ultimately, profit equals power and control. And those with the proper skills, mindset, and connections in a profit-driven environment are rewarded with greater wealth, power, and glory.
Many people perceive capitalism as a system that produces inequality and greed. And they would be right, to some degree. However, capitalism is also responsible for encouraging individualism, innovation, and a free market — these are vital characteristics of a free and democratic society.
The trouble with capitalism has more to do with the high value placed on wealth and power, which becomes the primary motivation for producing products and services.
Capitalism loosely works because if a product is terrible, the people do not buy it, and the company eventually perishes. Unfortunately, many companies seem to be in a permanent Minimal Viable Product (MVP) mode or focus heavily on quantity over quality to maximize profit. This thinking style works excellent for delivering high-earning products and services with inferior characteristics.
Fundamental design principles such as product usability and experience take a backseat if these ideas limit profitability or do not align with business strategies such as projected earnings or revenue recognition models.
This capitalist dilemma is why designers will never have equal representation in most business settings. Our primary motivator will always be to design valuable products and user experiences, which makes us terrible business people in the conventional sense.
The predisposition of businesses to prioritize developing highly profitable products as opposed to highly applicable products is a significant reason why the field of user experience (UX) is expanding and filling this void.
UX involves producing products that solve people’s needs and deliver good experiences to the highest degree. And because of this shifting attitude, the foundation of the antiquated business mindset is being reshaped.
UX has changed everything
The field of UX has started to challenge the conventional concepts of capitalism. Instead of trying to develop highly profitable products and services and persuading people to purchase or use thoughtlessly produced merchandise, companies (with the help of UX professionals) are creating products based on genuine consumer needs as the primary objective.
This renewed way of thinking is partly due to the shift of a feature-driven product and service culture to one that emphasizes good user experiences and values that align with customers.
The reason for this shift is two-fold. The first is that the advancement of technology has given more businesses the ability to offer a comprehensive array of features — thus forcing competitive companies to develop products and services that provide deeper values and emotional connections with consumers. A great example of this concept is evident in the automotive industry.
Twenty-five years ago, luxury automotive manufacturers relied upon posh features such as heated seats and keyless entry to justify high costs. However, today, many entry-level vehicles possess these once upscale features. This global market advancement has forced high-end auto manufacturers to focus on non-feature aspects, such as their brand image, product experience, and core values.
The second and more complex reason for this evolving business landscape and the continued UX growth stems from a fundamental shift in business morality we are currently undergoing.
Contemporary business wisdom has followed a system of preordained moral principles for quite some time. Those with authority and reverence exist because of their ability to achieve the primary objective of wealth and power. Achieving these goals requires a particular set of ethics, which could be described in essence by what the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche calls the “master morality.”
Master and slave morality
Nietzsche argues that there are two fundamental types of morality: “master morality” and “slave morality.” Master morality values pride, strength, and power, while slave morality values kindness, empathy, and sympathy.
Nietzsche defined master morality as the morality of the strong-willed. This small yet powerful group of individuals generally define the idea of good and bad as whatever benefits or hinders them. Good makes them stronger, wealthier, and more powerful — bad is any consequence that reduces this outcome.
Opposite the powerful are the majority of people, which Nietzsche refers to as the herd. These groups are controlled by the master morality — representing the slave morality. These less powerful groups cannot attain status, power, and wealth under the master morality, thus causing envy.
Nietzsche states that eventually, the less powerful will have a moral revolt to deal with the harsh lives they lead and their inability to get what they want. The less powerful eventually denigrate the master's morality and turn what they do have into a virtue — this is considered slave morality. And thus, a new form of good and evil is created.
Pillars of the master morality, such as wealth and power, become vices. In contrast, the characteristics of the less powerful, such as weakness and deprivation, become positive virtues and morph into the beliefs of fairness and humility.
Marginalized groups in traditional business settings, such as designers, are turning their business weaknesses into virtues. They are leveraging their natural inclination to design products based on usability, empathy, and accessibility. And redefining what it means to be a successful business person — a sharp contrast to the ambitions of conventional authoritative business figures who primarily focus on profits and market share.
Using Nietzsche’s concepts of master and slave morality may seem like an extreme comparison. However, the UX movement is fundamentally changing the moral landscape of the business world. For example, companies that practice “dark UX patterns” or do not empathize with customer needs are now perceived as unethical business behaviors.
It is worth noting that ethical and moral beliefs are fundamentally dogmatic — especially in the business and design world. Examining Nietzsche’s philosophy on master and slave morality, it would be fair to say that people generally possess a combination of many different and even contradictory ethical behaviors.
Aligning to one set of these moral principles or another does not necessarily make you a good or bad person — it just means you believe in something humans conjured up to help us survive and to provide some sense of meaning to a meaningless universe.
Conclusion
Many articles discuss how designers have finally earned their seat at the table. The truth is until we see a fundamental transformation to capitalism and businesses begin objectively valuing something deeper than wealth and power as primary goals, designers will continue to be bench warmers instead of key players in the business world.
However, the glass ceiling designer’s face may not be around for long, as a shift in business morality seems to be taking place. This transformation may be a byproduct of evolving technologies, the need to market beyond features, or a half-hearted attempt to align with user values due to these circumstances.
Or perhaps UX has evolved into an infectious set of moral principles spreading throughout the business world like an unstoppable new religion. Nonetheless, UX ideology is here to stay, and businesses must adapt or fade into the background until the next moral revolution occurs.
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