I made a presentation recently of the evolution of software. From desktop applications (from way back like VisiCalc and XTreeGold) to modern web applications. The thing I find interesting was the split in designers who make applications look like “websites” (with a sitemap) and those that make the application look more like software in a browser.
The reality is that most students of design are being taught how to design functional websites (or mobile apps) and not how to design software. This saddens me greatly. Part of the problem is that we (as a design community) have never differentiated software design properly from other kinds of design.
We have UX, UI, visual/graphic design, IA (Information Architecture), product design, mobile design, design systems specialists, design ops, game design, design researchers, marketing design and many I’m forgetting. We even have names that have been lost over time like human factors and interaction design. Most designers don’t even know what is part of the job and what isn’t. It’s become a colossal mess.
Product designer is named primary to match product manager. It is similar and the community liked that parallel. Unfortunately, it continues the trend of confusing names.
Software Designer
Note: I don’t have a better word in mind, so I am going with Software Designer until someone tells me a better name.
I think maybe we should call some of us Software Designers. Specifically, this is for people who design applications that act like software and not like websites. An example of a functional website:
This is a tool called Gusto, an employee management app, where you can see your benefits and other work details. It is similar in function to Workday. It works very well and has a nice design. However, it is not designed like software. It has a fixed sitemap and the pages are scrolling with mostly wizards for functionality. This is not software. This is a functional website. On the other hand…
Compare Gusto to Microsoft Office 365 Powerpoint. This UI is in a browser, just like Gusto, but the structure is wildly different. It looks like software. There is no sitemap. There are no wizards. Everything is direct manipulation. Right clicking gives you contextual menus. Footers and headers are fixed in place. This is software.
In most HCI Programs they do not teach you how to design this kind of functionality/structure.
Other examples of software (off the top of my head) include Google Drive, GMail, Figma, and even the full site editor in WordPress that I am using right now. All of those examples are served in a browser.
Examples of functional websites (that are not software) are Workday, Hotjar, AirBnb, and most B2C apps.
There are many well designed functional websites and many poorly designed software applications. One is not superior to the other, they are just different. My main point is that the names of these designers should be differentiated. A Software Designer would make something very different than a functional website designer would, given similar requirements.
I believe that more collegiate HCI programs should give specialties to these different kinds of design. I know I can’t change the world, but I can still fight the tide in my own little way.
Which do you work on? A functional website or software?
Whatya think?