Proving the Value of UX
A reflection on trust, maturity, and the long game of design influence.
Many still see UX as something quick something you can knock out in a night and still ship by morning. I’ve heard it too many times: “Can we just mock it up real quick?” And sure, maybe we can. But that’s not UX. That’s styling. That’s decoration.
The myth of speed in UX comes from this obsession with velocity launching fast, iterating later. But what happens when “later” never comes? What happens when we launch something we never truly tested, and it flops? Or worse, we blame the execution without questioning the process.
UX isn’t about going slow, either. It’s about pacing with purpose. Sometimes the value of UX is in the pause when we ask the second question, not just the obvious one. That’s how we avoid building based on assumptions and start designing with intent.
But none of that works without trust.
Trust is the real currency of UX. Without it, you're just fulfilling tickets. You're that person who makes things “look nice” at the end. With trust, though, you’re invited upstream. You help shape the problem before the solution is baked. You ask why not to challenge, but to bring clarity.
And trust doesn’t come from being “right.” It comes from consistency. From asking better questions. From listening. From helping others look good not just yourself.
Still, even with trust and time, UX can fall flat when there’s no context.
Too often, we’re looped in late. After the roadmap is set, the goals are defined, the scope is locked. And then we’re asked to “UX this.” But without knowing the why, the who, or the what for it’s hard to do anything meaningful. You end up pushing pixels, not solving problems.
That’s when UX feels invisible. Dismissed. Optional.
The value of UX isn’t in what we deliver it’s in how early we’re allowed to think. We don’t need more ownership over screens. We need more presence in the conversations that happen before the screen.
So if you’ve ever felt stuck in that space between intention and execution you’re not alone. The real work of UX isn’t just about craft. It’s about trust, timing, and being in the room before the brief is written.
Because in the end, proving the value of UX isn’t about louder voices or prettier slides. It’s about staying in the work. It’s about building trust where there is none, asking better questions when answers feel rushed, and holding space for clarity in a world obsessed with speed. UX isn’t just what we design it’s how we choose to show up, again and again, even when no one’s watching. And that? That’s where the real value lives.
-
Bandung, 7 April 2025