Let's reconsider our "users"

Words are crucial, therefore changing the lexicon was the first step. I stopped considering the web as a place where to find an audience . I quit using the word users , switching to people instead and rewrote my pages to reflect my true self. Eradicating the marketing jargon was also paramount. I don’t produce content , I write and record sounds an... See more

Designers are taught that their job is to represent the people who will use our products. We "empathize" with them and put their needs at the center of our decision-making process. As companies scale up, their priorities and incentives become less and less aligned with the people using their products. Bad things happen as we stop solving people pro... See more

So: stop calling yourself and your coworkers “ICs”. You are a designer, an engineer, a producer. Your contribution deserves more than a moniker that is made to dehumanize you, purpose-built to make you replaceable. Do not help this dehumanizing system to dehumanize you by normalizing this kind of language!