The Duolingo Shift
Recently, Mig Reyes, VP of Product Experience at Duolingo, made an intriguing announcement that rippled through the design community. He revealed that they had renamed their "UX" function to "Product Experience." According to Reyes, they tried the UX umbrella term, but "it never stuck. It didn't feel like us. It felt... antiquated."
This statement raises a provocative question: Has UX really died just like Duo (Duolingo's mascot) appears to have in their dramatic social media campaigns?
Beyond Labels: The Evolution of Design Disciplines
Those who know me well understand that I've consistently championed being multidisciplinary in every training session and meeting for years. This emphasis has intensified over the past 2-3 years. Perhaps it stems from my naturally curious personality or the hidden joy of never belonging solely to one discipline.
The change made by Duolingo's design team reflects a broader shift I've observed: the concept of "design" itself has transformed from being inclusive and broad to adopting a more analytical approach.
Key Points:
- Multidisciplinary advocacy: Consistently promoting cross-discipline expertise in professional settings for years
- Intensified focus: The past 2-3 years have seen an increased emphasis on breaking down disciplinary silos
- Natural curiosity: Personal drive to explore multiple domains rather than confining to a single specialty
- Industry reflection: Duolingo's rebrand represents a broader transformation happening across design organizations
- Design evolution: The field has shifted from broad, inclusive thinking toward more analytical, data-driven approaches
The Shifting Designer Identity
In previous decades, a "designer" was often stereotyped as someone hip, possibly wearing a cape, speaking abstractly, and waiting for inspiration. Such creatives might have used their artistic image as a shield against criticism.
Perhaps this explains why designers with a more analytical approach found it easier to adopt the identity of a UX Designer rather than simply "Designer." The UX label provided legitimacy to the analytical, research-based work that differed from traditional conceptions of design.
Was there truly a clear division?
Certainly, user experience seemed to represent a deeper exploration, broadly questioning the relationship between users and products. However, this discipline has increasingly become more inclusive. As physical objects in our lives have transformed into digital products, UX/UI design has absorbed other design disciplines, becoming nearly synonymous with the concept of design itself.
Product-Led Thinking: Duolingo's Reasoning
Duolingo's decision to unify under the broader concept of "Product" has solid reasoning. Their core product - language learning lessons - inherently impacts user experience and requires thoughtful design at every level. The strategic decisions shaping design are directly linked to the overall experience.
As Reyes explained: "Duolingo is a product-led company. Product drives our business, culture, and priorities. Our function includes Product Designers, Product Writers, and Product Researchers."
This product-centric approach acknowledges that everything from content to code influences the user experience.
Renaissance Thinking: Melting Interdisciplinary Walls in the AI Era
During the Renaissance, sharp distinctions between art, engineering, and science did not exist. Leonardo da Vinci, working simultaneously as both an artist and an engineer, serves as inspiration for designers in the age of AI. Today, you don't even need to be a genius to work across disciplines. đ
Following the promises of AI, productivity doors across various disciplines have opened wide. When a product roadmap itself is a designed process, and the content within a product forms part of the user experience, designers' obsession with disciplinary boundaries seems increasingly illogical.
The design process itself revolves around "learning to learn." Aren't UX designers already employing methodologies to understand user experiences? Why shouldn't they leverage AI assistants to design better systems?
Generalists: Designers of the Future
I've previously discussed how the future is perfectly suited for generalists and how we're entering a world of interdisciplinary productivity. Future designers won't confine themselves to single disciplinesâthey'll integrate UX, strategy, AI, and product thinking as a unified approach.
This shift doesn't mean specialization loses value, but rather that the ability to connect diverse knowledge domains becomes increasingly valuable. The Swiss Army Knife professional, equipped with both depth and breadth, stands to thrive in this new landscape.
The Evolution, Not Death, of UX
Is UX truly dead? I'd argue it's not dying but evolving and expanding. What we're witnessing isn't the death of user experience as a concept but the evolution of how we organize and label the work of creating meaningful product experiences.
Rather than focusing on titles and disciplinary boundaries, perhaps we should embrace what Duolingo has recognized: that ultimately, we're creating products that serve human needs, regardless of what we call the process.
What do you think? Has UX died? Are you ready for this new multidisciplinary world? What did you do today to become more of a generalist?
