Thoughts on Experience Design

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what my definition of experience design is. I think that this is a result of recent conversations where the question has been asked, and my alignment with the school of thought where experience design takes a more holistic approach, not just the traditional narrow definition.

For years, when you mentioned user experience, people automatically thought websites or applications. But experience design is such a wider scope. It is the design of all points of experience. That can manifest itself as the brand identity, the packaging, an environment… the design of the product itself. Aligning those touchpoints and considering how each one effects another and builds upon each other to create the experience as a whole — well, now we’re on to something.

Mapping out those points of interaction and designing for each is where experience design lives. When disciplines collaborate with the goal of creating great experiences, one big idea can expand into a whole ecosystem and engage customers at every touchpoint by delivering and building value. This is the new future of experience design, and something that excites me. It’s what gets me up in the morning and makes me want to keep striving to do better work.