Generic much? A true story about case studies...
I’m gonna write about an article that I just read, super recommended by the way, as it portrays a trending practice for a while now but applied to a crescent number of design use cases
Undoubtedly, the market dynamics remain the same... When the offer responds to the demand and a new product/practice is suddenly common and accessible, the patterns and “spontaneous protocols” recommending a “How To” approach start to appear.
These patterns, in abundance, tend to create an impression that leads to the belief of a growing trend towards generic and unauthentic results. Design has always been a field susceptible to these practices like many others, yet diverse and ample enough for a myriad of movements and styles do stand out, leaving “generic” in the back row.
Nonetheless, -Due to the rapid evolution in the tech field, and I would assume given the pandemic effects on social restrictions and mobility- the increasing number of UX Design education programs with online bootcamp modalities, looking to rapidly feel the gap in the job markets that institutions with more structured curriculums can’t move quick enough to do, have created an impression that leads to believe that such a trend is more present than ever in this field.
The thing is contextual in my opinion, and I will try to explain... It’s been 7 weeks since we started the bootcamp, and I can see myself somehow aligned with the trend (At least in a few aspects, not all). I mean, it’s logical to follow some kind of structure or step by step when you’re learning new methods, tools, etc. The issue becomes the issue when you make a recipe of what you’ve learned and leave behind the capacity to improvise and think for yourself, and even though I consider my case studies to most likely follow the same aforementioned generic structure, I also believe that I manage to shine through in the way I write.
Knowing the process, doesn’t mean to remember the step by step, but to recognize the objective behind the task, and be able to then decide to take a different approach if more convenient or necessary.
As always, change things around, approach the story from a different angle, tell your story according to your experience, but design the experience thinking of your user, that way your seal remains your brand, and there’s no better advantage competitively speaking, than differentiation through and through... What better way to shine through the crowds than being yourself and putting your words and designs out there?
I guess what I’m trying to say is that as students learning tends to be the priority, and as the curving learn is more pronounced, creativity and the experimentation process should flow more easily without the bootcamp’s time restrictions... I can’t wait to finish the program and sit and think about creating my own ideal process , improve, and materialize my ideas into the screen aiming to get better with every time and looking forward to my results.
Let’s talk some more about this...