There’s something we haven’t told you about UX design and UX research. It’s not always so hyper-focused on usability testing, prototypes, and optimizing the user experience.
There are also memes.
During times of slow productivity or low spirits, it’s important to take time for some much-needed light-heartedness. So, in celebration of laughter and meme culture, we’ve explored some of the greatest UX design memes.
In today’s piece, we will reveal the best (and the worst) memes that relate to UX design and UX research. From nostalgic classics to subtle wit, we invite you to join us on our journey through the internet’s best memes!
Why You Should Take a Break To Look at UX Design Memes
There are many reasons why you should take the time to look at some hilarious UX design memes.
Before we unveil our top picks for the best UX design memes, you should know why meme-hunting is important.
1. Easing the Stresses of the Design Process
It’s no secret that a UX design process can prove emotionally taxing and sometimes even tedious for UX designers.
The UX design process demands that you know the ins and outs of your target audience. A large portion of a UX designer’s work revolves around working with UX researchers to acquire and analyze user-centric data. This means that a lot of UX designers spend their time deciphering their users’ needs, desires, and frustrations. After all, UX designers and UX researchers aim to create digital products that resolve their users’ issues.
When a UX designer can comfortably assert that they understand their users, they must create user personas. User personas, alongside empathy maps, help to contextualize their users and design a product that caters to their unique contexts.
From there, a UX designer will have the user-focused know-how to effectively create wireframes based on their design solutions. Wireframes quickly transform into functional prototypes, and those prototypes transform into presentations where clients and stakeholders provide constructive feedback.
With enough revisions, coffee, software, and clarifications that they aren’t graphic designers, UX designers can finalize their designs.
Sounds like a lot of repetitive hard work, right? By finding humor in even the most pressing challenges, UX designers and UX researchers can significantly improve their moods. Higher spirits mean higher productivity and efficiency. And what better way is there to lift your spirits than to look at some hilarious, relatable memes?
2. Understanding Your Users in a Creative Way
More often than not, it’s real users who create and distribute UX design memes. So, how does this benefit you?
Memes can prove a great way to further understand your users’ mental models, preferences, and attitudes. By analyzing memes that repeatedly appear in your target audience’s circles, you can determine what they find engaging.
However, memes don’t just allow for user engagement but also user base expansion.
If the tone of your product is conversational in nature, utilizing meme-like humor can help you expand your user base. Memes have shareable qualities that users can’t help but show their peers!
3. Embracing the UX Design Community
Sharing UX design and UX research memes in the UX community can help you foster meaningful relationships with your colleagues.
The laughter that memes evoke creates a more friendly, positive work environment for you and your fellow designers.
Aside from a cheery workplace, you can rest assured knowing that you’re not the first designer to encounter pitfalls. The challenges you see in UX design memes aren’t new to the UX community overall.
What’s more, if problems are recurring in the UX community, you can relax knowing that there is also a solution!
UX Designer Memes That Represent Your Design Process Too Well
Enough chit-chat. It’s time to look at some memes!
Among a wealth of UX designer memes, we have selected the best ones that reflect the UX design process.
You may wonder, ‘How do they know the best UX design memes that perfectly – and painfully – reflect our design process?’
We recognize that, as a UX designer, you’ll often have to adopt iterative design practices to optimize your product. What’s more, the constant revisions and feedback sessions can grow tiresome after a while.
We also recognize that, with the right memes, any mundane task can become the highlight of your day. So, with this in mind, bring on the memes!
1. All Hail the King of UX
Chaos is a ladder, after all. But the ladder to successful, user-centric digital products can prove even longer for a new UX designer. For the fresh-faced UX designers out there, we have the perfect starter pack for you!
2. UX Designer Must-Haves
However, even with this starter pack, you may encounter the odd stressful situation…
3. Poor Mark
…especially when people keep confusing you for a UI designer.
4. A Classic Leo Meme
Leo’s not amused.
5. Wait…UX Design Isn’t Graphic Design?
Seriously, it’s not?
6. The Accessibility…Velociraptor?
Jurassic Park just became a lot more accessible.
7. This One Stings
Does anything else need saying?
8. Don’t Forget About User Research
Bring on the usability testing!
The Bad UX Design Meme You Can’t Ignore
What’s better than bad UX design? A bad UX design meme!
This meme perfectly encapsulates what UX design would look like without the data from UX research.
Remember: If you can’t empathize with your user’s needs, goals, desires, beliefs, and frustrations, you need to conduct more research!
UX Designer vs Developer Memes
Of course, we can’t leave out UX designer vs developer memes!
1. Looks Fine to Me
There doesn’t seem to be an issue here.
2. Another Young and Hopeful
Of course, as a UX designer, you know how to code, right?
3. For the Seasoned UX Designers and Developers
It has so many meanings.
UX Research Memes
It wouldn’t seem right to give UX design memes all of the attention…
Let’s look at some of the best UX research memes, too!
1. To Infinity and Back to the Drawing Board
Don’t forget to order a lot of Post-it notes!
2. The Prince of Darkness (and User Personas)
Who’d have thought that Ozzy Osbourne and King Charles had a user persona in common?
3. Would a UX Researcher Do That?
Don’t act like Dwight.
4. Gandalf, the Great UX Researcher
Gandalf the White? More like Gandalf the Wise.
UX Design Memes: Some Much-Needed Levity
Hopefully, you’ve taken the time to de-stress and chuckle at the memes we’ve provided in our article.
It’s important to remember that although you focus predominantly on the user’s experience, you should also have fun.
On the topic of combining fun with the user’s experience, you’ll need some inspiration. Meet Page Flows!
Page Flows offers an abundance of inspiration when it comes to vital user flows. From onboarding to analytics and stats, Page Flows’s library sports over 4,800 successful products!
We work across industries, from fashion to fast food, collecting emails as we record user flows. Our goal is simple – to help you help your users enjoy an engaging, helpful digital experience.
Much like UX design memes, our ethos combines visually intriguing layouts with compelling design. Why not see for yourself?
Get started today to access our ever-evolving library of user flow recordings. With Page Flows, you can rest assured that you have an endless source of inspiration. Keeping up to date with current design trends has never felt so effortless!