Product Design Just Killed UX Design (What Roles to Look for Instead)

Design Table Podcast

In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick are trying to untangle the confusing world of design job titles and their many, many variations. From UX designer to product designer to the emerging UX engineer role and everything inbetween.

They share what each title actually means, their differences, and how to survive the ever-changing landscape of design careers today.

Also, Tyler shares his experience as a senior product designer in-house, while Nick explains his approach as a freelancer who uses "UX and Product Designer" to catch different types of clients. They discuss the evolution from web designer to the current product design trend, and upcomgin roles like UX engineer that challenge the lines between design and development.

Here's what's on the table in this episode:

🔸 Why Nick uses both "UX" and "Product" designer in his title (it's an SEO play)
🔸 How design titles evolved from web designer to today's product designer
🔸 The difference between UI, UX, and product design roles
🔸 Why larger companies need more specialized design roles
🔸 What service design and customer experience (CX) roles actually do
🔸 The rise of UX engineer and what it means for designers who code
🔸 How AI is helping designers learn development skills
🔸 Why "user" vs "customer" language matters more than you think
🔸 The Pokemon evolution of design careers (and what comes next)
🔸 Senior vs junior titles and how they affect your career progression

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