My LinkedIn feed is full of screenshots. Look how horrible this copy is. Look how nonsensical this flow feels. I would have done so much better. How the hell did this go live?
I share bad copy sometimes myself. It can be an effective demonstration about why good UX matters. A what not to do, if you will. Exhibit A for why you need a good writer/designer/product team.
But when there are so many examples to choose from, start-ups and behemoths alike, something’s up. Some of these companies have really strong UX teams, yet garbage still makes it out the front door. Some of the awful designs can be explained away by not having a dedicated designer or writer, but surely not all of them. So what’s going on?
Why do so many awful designs go live? And what can we do about it?
Lack of time
It’s easy to tell when a feature was rushed. Edge cases aren’t considered, terminology is inconsistent, error messages aren’t clear, and details are lost in the fray.
As UX-ers, time is often out of our control. If management has their heart set on an unrealistic deadline, the list of things we can do about it is short.
One trick I’ve found to be helpful is setting expectations early. This doesn’t always get the deadline moved, but it at least makes the downsides clear. Sometimes this looks something like “Hey, I can get this to you by Friday, but it won’t be to my normal standard. If we give it an extra week, I can deliver XYZ.”
The time issue is especially frustrating since doing it rushed the first time often means having to go back any way to fix what’s wrong, thereby not saving any time at all. But part of being on a product team is knowing that not everything is in your control. It means finding not the best solution, but the best doable solution.
Lack of research
Not researching is often a symptom of not having enough time, but it’s still its own issue.
I’ve been in UX full-time for 5 years now, and I’ve come to trust my instincts. I can write a modal or sketch the hierarchy of a page and be fairly confident that I’m heading in the right direction, because I’ve absorbed good design principles throughout my journey.
But there’s a limit to individual knowledge. I can assume that users will understand something, but until I test that — as well as the assumption that we’re actually building what they want — I’m on shaky ground.
Don’t skip your research. Please. Even if you are genuinely short on time, some is better than none.
Technical limitations
I’ll say it again: Good UX is about finding the best doable solution.
Sometimes the right answer isn’t a possible answer. Maybe dynamic text would solve the issue, but would require backend refactoring. Maybe a toggle component would work better than a checkbox, but that component isn’t finalized by the design system team yet.
The challenge is working around these limitations. If everything was possible, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Next time you see a shoddy design, try to think of reasons why your proposed solution couldn’t have been implemented. Changes are you’ll find one or two.
Vetos from above
Welcome to the corporate world. Sometimes, it’s just not your decision.
And that’s okay. It’s frustrating, sure, but it’s okay. What’s your responsibility is your responsibility: no more, no less.
I add this one to the list because even the best writers or designers may be limited by rulings from management or other stakeholders. No one gets their way a hundred percent of the time (and honestly, if you do, you’re probably not on a team that’s helping you grow). Whether you agree with a decision or not, at some point you have to move forward.
I learned early on in my career that choosing battles was key to my sanity. Some decisions really are worth digging in your heels for, but others can be let slide if it means moving the project forward.
UX blindness
How many times have you heard the phrase“I need a fresh pair of eyes”? It’s a cliché for a reason.
Having someone else look at your work can bridge the gap between what’s understandable because it’s good UX and what’s understandable because you’ve been staring at the same flow for the past two months. When we’ve been working on the same thing over and over, sitting through meetings and downing cup after cup of coffee over our Figma file, we lose perspective on what the user’s actual experience is like.
I suspect that a lot of bad designs are released because no one outside the main team took a look before it went live.
Competitor copycats
“But Facebook does it this way!” I don’t care.
FAANG companies are constantly used as a reference. Just because a large company makes a decision doesn’t mean it’s a good one. And just because any competitor makes a decision doesn't mean it’s a good one, either. If you were trying to emulate everyone else, why exist at all?
Competitor analysis is important, but a key to good UX is context. Maybe a design decision works for Apple because of their ecosystem. (Or, maybe it “works” for them because they can afford to get away with it.) What’s good for one may not be good for another.
Designing what isn’t understood
I never write what I don’t understand.
It would be easy enough to hop into a Figma file, “clean up the English” or “polish the text,” and hop out. But that’s about 2% of my value. The real value comes from understanding the feature, the user, the product, the context, the journey, etc.
I need to know what happens when every button is clicked, how users end up on every screen, why they ended up here at all, and more. Will all of this info end up in the final UI? Absolutely not! Good design and writing is about deciding what and where information needs to be communicated.
Part of this is research. Part of it is sitting down with the PM and not being afraid to ask “stupid questions.” If you don’t know, chances are your user won’t, either.
So. Does this mean we’re doomed to terrible design and confusing copy?
I don’t think so. Being aware of pitfalls is half the battle of not falling into them. And being aware of what we can and can’t control is a big factor in preventing burnout.
I hope that most of what I produce isn’t classified as terrible. But I’ve also learned to be okay, in certain situations, with good enough. It’s the old adage: serenity to accept what cannot be changed, courage to change what can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other.
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