In this episode of UX Pathways, join Lou Rosenfeld as he shares his journey from library science and information architecture to becoming a UX community leader with Rosenfeld Media. Lou discusses how UX has always been a field of multiple disciplines, but the goal has always been to solve complex problems and create a shared language across teams. He says that AI will change how work gets done, but the need for human-centered design will continue to grow. His advice is to think beyond interfaces and focus on broader systems and services where UX thinking can have the greatest impact.

Key Takeaways:
– UX has always been a synthetic field, bringing together diverse disciplines to solve complex digital problems.
– The real challenge in UX is often creating a shared language and framework so different experts can collaborate effectively.
– AI will change how UX work is done, but it will likely increase the need for human-centered thinking, not eliminate it.
– Early-career professionals should look beyond the interface and focus on systems, services, and strategy.
– UX may evolve from being just a profession into a toolkit of skills used across many industries.

Transcript

Marc:
Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of UX Pathways. I have the great pleasure of being here with Lou Rosenfeld. Lou, how are you today?

Lou:
I’m doing great. I’m sitting in my office near Wall Street in New York City. It’s cold and sunny—just the way I like it—so I’m very happy.

Marc:
Sounds like the city is hustling and bustling out there.

Lou:
That’s right.

Marc:
Well, I’ve been a fan of yours for many years, and I’m really excited to have you on the podcast today. Before we dive in, could you give listeners a quick overview of your current role in the industry and a bit about your journey?

Lou:
Sure. For most of the last 20 years, I’ve served as a combination gatekeeper and convener in the UX world.

My company, Rosenfeld Media, focuses almost entirely on UX. We publish UX books and produce conferences—four a year—and a variety of related content. That’s what most people know us for.

I say gatekeeper because we’re in an interesting position where we help decide what topics matter to the field—what books get published, which conferences we produce, and who speaks at them. We try to be very careful about making sure it’s not just our personal network that gets heard. We want to bring in diverse voices and perspectives.

I also call myself a convener because I love bringing people together. Whether it’s building a conference program or helping authors collaborate on a book, my happy place is gathering smart people, stepping back, and watching something great emerge.

Marc:
And you’ve definitely done that. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at one of your conferences, and I’ve attended many others. You’ve also published a lot of great authors whose books I have on my shelf. Those books have helped countless people understand the importance of user experience.

I also love what you said about bringing people together. In UX, many people arrive through different paths. Some come from education, others from accessibility, design, psychology, or research.

What was your background? How did you end up in this field?

Lou:
Like many people, I sort of stumbled into it.

I’m 60 now and have been doing UX work for about 35 years, though we didn’t call it UX at the time. My background is in information science and library studies. I studied at the University of Michigan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning my master’s and completing most of a PhD program.

Back then, I was teaching people how to use the internet—before the web existed. A lot of the tools and conveniences we take for granted today didn’t exist yet. At the time, people were still debating whether the internet would ever be used for commercial purposes.

Eventually I had to choose between staying in academia and pursuing the opportunities that were emerging around the internet. I decided to leave the doctoral program and start a company. That was over 30 years ago.

My company quickly evolved into an information architecture consulting firm, which is what I became known for early in my career. I worked with Peter Morville, and together we wrote what people informally call the “Polar Bear Book”, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. It’s now in its fourth edition.

We also helped launch the IA Summit conference in the late 1990s. I spent a lot of time building the community around information architecture. Without realizing it, I gradually moved from being a practitioner to becoming more of a community builder—a convener and, eventually, a gatekeeper.

And honestly, Marc, I realized something along the way: I’m not a great designer, and I’m not really a practitioner anymore. But I’m very good at bringing people together to create and share knowledge. That’s my sweet spot.

Marc:
When you mentioned the Polar Bear Book, my ears perked up immediately. That book brought so many people together around a common language for information architecture.

It’s fascinating how even early in your career, your work was already about bringing people together.

One thing that’s interesting about UX is that the term gets used everywhere. We started with usability, then information architecture, and now UX.

From your perspective, is UX still the common denominator across all these disciplines? And if so, why is it so important?

Lou:
One thing I learned from the early days of information architecture is that people from many different backgrounds—design, psychology, development, librarianship—were all trying to solve messy digital problems.

Half the battle was simply getting these groups to communicate using a shared language.

UX continues that idea. It’s what I call a synthetic field. It pulls together wisdom from many different disciplines: psychology, marketing, theater, data science, library science—you name it.

We need a shared umbrella that allows people from different specialties to collaborate.

Personally, I don’t care whether we call it UX or something else. What matters is recognizing that solving complex problems requires multiple perspectives.

However, I’ve recently started thinking that maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to abandon the term UX. People say UX is dead all the time, but I don’t believe that. I think we actually need it more than ever.

The work will change—especially with AI—but the need for the kind of thinking UX brings isn’t going away.

Marc:
That’s interesting, because you mentioned AI. Right now it feels like the 300-pound gorilla in the room. Every conference and conversation seems to revolve around it.

Do you think AI is the hype everyone can’t ignore right now?

Lou:
I hope people don’t ignore it.

If good people ignore powerful technology, that technology will still be used—just by bad actors.

People in the UX community tend to think about ethics, human needs, and long-term impact. So it’s important that we learn how to work with AI.

Eventually, though, I think AI will become like other technologies—it will fade into the background.

Take the telephone. When it was invented, it was revolutionary. If it launched today, we’d have conferences, books, and podcasts about it nonstop.

But now it’s just infrastructure. We don’t think about it.

AI will likely follow a similar path—just much faster.

Marc:
That makes sense. People often struggle with how to apply new technologies to their work.

One question we always ask guests on this podcast is about career advice.

Since you’ve worked with so many authors and leaders in the field, what advice would you give someone entering UX today?

Lou:
First, remember that UX is fundamentally about humanizing technology.

But technology is always becoming faster, cheaper, and more powerful. That means some work becomes commoditized.

For people early in their careers, the risk is becoming replaceable by automation.

My advice is to zoom out.

Don’t focus only on interfaces. Focus on systems.

If I were starting today, I would probably become a service designer, because that work looks at the broader system surrounding products—and it’s much harder to automate.

Marc:
I love that idea of systems thinking. Often we have to step back and look at how everything connects.

Lou:
Exactly.

And one final thought about the future of UX.

At the University of Michigan, they recently launched a UX undergraduate major—and it’s huge.

But what surprised me even more was their UX minor, which has become one of the largest minors at the university.

What that suggests is that UX may not just be a profession—it might be more of a toolkit that people bring into many different careers.

Marc:
That’s fascinating, and it reinforces your point about UX being a synthetic field.

Before we wrap up, where can people learn more about you?

Lou:
Visit RosenfeldMedia.com. You’ll find conference recordings, books, and community sessions from over a thousand contributors.

Marc:
Lou, thank you for joining us and sharing your insights.

Lou:
Thanks, Marc. I really enjoyed it.