Written by Yegor Tsynkevich

由Yegor Tsynkevich撰写

The more companies understand the power of a great user experience design and its impact on customer loyalty, the more they are willing to have it embedded in their culture. With so much emphasis on the user today, there are plenty of career opportunities for UX professionals. An extremely diverse cohort of companies and teams are looking to seize top UX talent.

公司越了解出色的用户体验设计的力量及其对客户忠诚度的影响，他们就越愿意将其融入其文化。 当今用户非常重视，UX专业人员有很多职业机会。 众多不同的公司和团队正在寻求抓住一流的UX人才。

Choosing between dedicating your professional self to working for a design agency or a corporate company is a big deal. Just think about how different the design roles for UXers in an agency and corporate can be in terms of the environment, working culture, team size, responsibilities and the impact of final deliverables.

在奉献自己的专业知识为设计机构或公司工作之间做出选择是一件大事。 只需考虑一下机构和公司中UXer的设计角色在环境，工作文化，团队规模，职责和最终交付成果的影响方面有何不同。

In this piece, I will try to highlight major perks and pitfalls of a UX designer’s life in a corporate environment in comparison to that within a design agency. Before diving into the topic, let me just say that obviously there are no universal truths in this area and what one views as a pro or con highly depends on personal needs, goals, character and career expectations.

在本篇文章中，我将尝试强调与设计机构内部相比，UX设计师在公司环境中的生活的主要好处和陷阱。 在深入探讨该主题之前，我只想说一下，在这一领域显然没有普遍真理，一个人赞成还是反对的观点在很大程度上取决于个人需求，目标，性格和职业期望。

That being said, this article aims to give a non-final list of things to think about for someone who is deciding whether to go with a UX design role in a big company or to work for an agency.

话虽这么说，本文旨在为那些决定要在大公司中担任UX设计角色还是为代理机构工作的人提供一个非最终的清单。

企业设计 (Corporate Design)

Many organizations today are trying to win a design battle to stay relevant. In addition to this, recent trends show that more and more midsize and large product companies are gaining their momentum. However, like in any corporate environment, being a part of a large organization comes not only with perks but also with challenges.

如今，许多组织都试图赢得一场设计竞赛，以保持相关性。 除此之外，最近的趋势表明，越来越多的中型和大型产品公司正在发展势头。 但是，就像在任何公司环境中一样，成为大型组织的一员不仅带来特权，还带来挑战。

优势＃1：深入的产品和品牌知识 (Perk #1: Deep product and brand knowledge)

In-house UX designers have the opportunity to dive in a single brand and truly invest themselves into each project from the start to the finish. Participating in a conversation early on, designers are able to get a valuable insight that allows them to truly nurture product execution. When designers work on a specific product long term, they are able to witness its growth and development over time.

内部UX设计师有机会潜入一个品牌，从头到尾真正投入到每个项目中。 尽早参与对话，设计师能够获得宝贵的见解，使他们能够真正培养产品执行力。 当设计师长期致力于特定产品时，他们能够见证其随着时间的增长和发展。

Pitfall: Focus on design within one brand and/or product

陷阱：专注于一个品牌和/或产品中的设计

Very often in-house teams are dedicated to working on a single product within a brand. For many creatives, this limited work variation opportunity represents a real challenge that may lead to creative stagnation. At the same time, I feel I need to mention that being responsible for the design of one product over a long period of time requires a real talent and creative commitment.

内部团队通常致力于在品牌中的单个产品上工作。 对于许多创意者来说，这种有限的工作变化机会代表着一个实际的挑战，可能会导致创意停滞。 同时，我觉得我需要提及的是，长期负责一种产品的设计需要真正的才能和创造力。

技能2：技能专长 (Perk #2: Skill Specialization)

Compared to most agencies, design departments in large companies are usually specialist in nature, being perfect for those who would like to grow their expertise in a particular part of the design field. Instead of going wide in their skillset, designers focus on perfecting their talents in one part of the design process.

与大多数代理机构相比，大型公司的设计部门通常是自然界中的专家，非常适合那些希望在设计领域的特定领域中增加专业知识的人。 设计师没有在技能上进行扩展，而是专注于在设计过程的一部分中完善其才能。

Pitfall: Narrow skillset

陷阱：狭窄的技能

On the other hand, despite the tendency to have specialized design forces, companies highly value when their design professionals have a wider knowledge of the design field because they see this as a precious asset. In this case, being an expert in one narrow area and fully devoting oneself to it could be seen as a drawback. Taking into account the pace at which digital design is developing today, user experience designers have to balance their skillset at the intersection of many areas (for example user research, information architecture, visual design, etc.) in order to stay relevant with their work.

另一方面，尽管倾向于具有专门的设计力量，但当公司的设计专业人员对设计领域有更广泛的了解时，公司却会高度重视，因为他们将其视为宝贵的资产。 在这种情况下，成为一个狭窄领域的专家并全力以赴是一种缺点。 考虑到当今数字设计的发展速度，用户体验设计师必须在许多领域(例如， 用户研究 ，信息体系结构， 视觉设计等)的交集处平衡技能，以与工作保持紧密联系。 。

特权3：结构化的工作流程和已建立的流程 (Perk #3: Structured workflow and established processes)

In mature and large organizations, workflow processes are in place and well-defined, which makes the design expectations clearer and easier to follow. Besides, with more structured processes comes more defined managerial structure with assigned supervisors or even mentors to learn from and grow.

在成熟的大型组织中，工作流流程到位且定义明确，这使设计期望更清晰，更易于遵循。 此外，随着结构化的流程的发展，管理结构的定义也更加明确，指定的主管甚至指导者可以向他们学习和发展。

Pitfall : Corporate red tape

陷阱：企业繁文tape节

The environment inside larger companies tends to be more bureaucratic and less flexible. Starting from endless meetings, rigid brand guidelines and communication standards to conservative mindset on experimentation with ideas and design strategies, UX designers often struggle to push their ideas through and introduce something new into their routine work.

大型公司内部的环境往往更加官僚化，缺乏灵活性。 从无休止的会议，严格的品牌准则和沟通标准，到对思想和设计策略进行试验的保守态度，UX设计师经常会努力将其思想发扬光大，并在日常工作中引入新的内容。

特权＃4：稳定性 (Perk #4: Stability)

Let us put it this way — large companies with established reputation are likely to stay here for a while. The work life within these organizations tends to be more balanced, with more predictable cycles of work and standard working hours. In terms of payroll and other benefits, large companies have multiple social perks, starting from medical care and additional vacation time to education reimbursements and annual bonuses.

让我们这样说吧-享有声誉的大公司很可能会在这里待一段时间。 这些组织内的工作生活趋于更加平衡，工作周期和标准工作时间更加可预测。 在工资和其他福利方面，大公司有多种社会福利，从医疗保健和额外的休假时间开始，到教育报销和年度奖金。

Pitfall: Challenge of staying inspired and motivated

陷阱：保持灵感和动力的挑战

Unless it is a company with design thinking culture, where the innovative spirit can be enjoyed together with the benefits of working for a large company, the lack of variety in work can truly undermine motivation of some UX designers. No one wants to sit for hours and do the same work or to be on the same project for years. In the end, it gets tedious and unchallenging. One of the ways for creatives to overcome this drawback and maintain their creative forces is to adopt a continuous proactive “seek-out” attitude and search for the ways to improve products, processes and procedures they are a part of.

除非这是一家具有设计思维文化的公司，在这种公司中可以享受创新精神以及为一家大公司工作的好处，否则工作的多样性会真正破坏一些UX设计师的动力。 没有人想坐几个小时做同样的工作，或者想多年从事同一项目。 最后，它变得乏味且无挑战性。 创意者克服这一缺点并保持其创造力的一种方法是采取持续主动的“寻求”态度，并寻求改善其所参与的产品，过程和程序的方法。

特权5：跨团队合作 (Perk #5: Cross-team collaboration)

One of the most rewarding thing in working as an in-house designer is the possibility to directly collaborate with people from various disciplines across one company and learn from the top professionals in other fields. This on-the-ground collaboration is equally important to streamline feedback and approval times as well as to help designers to find support in pushing their ideas forward.

内部设计师工作中最有意义的事情之一就是可以直接与一家公司的各个领域的人合作，并向其他领域的顶尖专业人士学习。 这种现场协作对于简化反馈和批准时间以及帮助设计人员在推动其创意方面寻求支持同样重要。

Pitfall: Corporate politics

陷阱：企业政治

Getting used to the corporate mindset and politics is a struggle for many creatives. At the same time, if one does not embrace it and learn the art of corporate diplomacy and how to navigate dodgy internal politics, one can get really frustrated and disengaged along the way. Understanding the corporate mindset and working around it is essential for success within the corporate environment.

适应公司的思维方式和政治状况对于许多创意者来说都是一场斗争。 同时，如果一个人不接受它，而是学习公司外交的技巧以及如何驾驭狡猾的内部政治，那么一路上就会感到沮丧和脱离。 了解公司的心态并加以解决对于在公司环境中取得成功至关重要。

代理商设计 (Agency Design)

Unlike corporate companies, agencies tend to be smaller. Depending on the clients and industries served, they could be strong UX generalists or have a particular UX design specialization. Here is an overview of the pros and cons of working for a design agency.

与公司不同，代理机构往往较小。 根据所服务的客户和行业，他们可能是强大的UX通才，或者具有特定的UX设计专业知识。 这是为设计机构工作的利弊的概述。

特权＃1：各种各样的项目 (Perk #1: Wide variety of projects)

The best part of working at an agency is the variety of projects one gets to work on. In comparison to one-product companies, working for an agency is a great way to expose oneself to a variety of UX design challenges in various industries and greatly enrich one’s professional experience.

在代理机构中工作的最好部分是可以从事的各种项目。 与单一产品公司相比，在代理机构工作是使自己面对各种行业中各种UX设计挑战并极大地丰富其专业经验的绝佳方式。

Pitfall: Lack of long-term influence

陷阱：缺乏长期影响

One of the major drawbacks is that you cannot influence what you are working on in the long run unless an agency you are working for is set up to offer extra services that facilitate a long-term project’s success.

主要缺点之一是，除非为您工作的代理机构设置为提供有助于长期项目成功的额外服务，否则从长远来看，您无法影响自己的工作。

特权2：创意多样性 (Perk #2: Creative diversity)

Generally speaking, agencies are more flexible in terms of trying new technologies, tools and design strategies to help their clients reach their design objectives. Such flexibility creates a constant flow of new creative opportunities for designers to expand their skillsets and go beyond expected design frameworks.

一般而言，代理商在尝试新技术，工具和设计策略以帮助其客户达到其设计目标方面更加灵活。 这种灵活性为设计人员提供了不断的新的创造机会，以扩展他们的技能范围并超越预期的设计框架。

Pitfall: Short-term deadline-driven culture

陷阱：短期期限驱动的文化

Creative flexibility is one of the positive and most important aspects of solving design problems. However, it is essential to stay focused and deadline-oriented, as thriving on accomplishments and observing project deadlines provides structure, based on which success is measured and reputation is built.

创新的灵活性是解决设计问题的积极且最重要的方面之一。 但是，至关重要的是要保持专注和以截止日期为导向，因为成就的蓬勃发展和遵守项目截止日期可提供结构，以此为基础衡量成功和建立声誉。

特权3：与客户直接沟通 (Perk #3: Direct communication with clients)

Direct communication with clients is a great way to expand your professional network, build connections and develop relationships that eventually may lead to long-term engagement and multiple projects.

与客户的直接沟通是扩展专业网络，建立联系并建立关系的好方法，最终可能导致长期的参与和多个项目。

Pitfall: Quick client turnover and bad clients from time to time

陷阱：快速的客户周转和不时的不良客户

Sometimes clients can be indecisive and demanding, continuously asking for alterations. This means that you really need to be patient and ready to accept criticism. Another drawback is that sometimes after accepting your work, clients will change or ruin it, ignoring your suggestions.

有时，客户可能会优柔寡断，要求苛刻，不断要求更改。 这意味着您确实需要耐心并准备接受批评。 另一个缺点是，有时接受您的工作后，客户会更改或破坏它，而忽略了您的建议。

特权4：与各种各样的客户同时工作 (Perk #4: Simultaneous work with an assortment of clients)

It is not an uncommon practice for agency designer to work on various projects simultaneously, interacting directly with clients. One of the advantages it offers is the opportunity to build connections and to develop the skill of good communication and collaboration with external teams on a short-term basis.

对于代理设计人员来说，同时与多个客户直接进行各种项目同时工作并不罕见。 它提供的优势之一是有机会建立联系，并在短期内发展与外部团队的良好沟通和协作技能。

Pitfall: Need for high adaptability and high-speed creative performance

陷阱：需要高适应性和高速创意表现

The high client turnover can have a negative side as well. Due to the short-term engagement with clients, UX designers need to quickly adapt to new clients, understand their needs and instantly dive into the design challenge the client is trying to solve, efficiently utilizing time. This could be stressful and exhausting for those who are more introverted.

高客户流失率也会带来负面影响。 由于与客户的短期合作，UX设计人员需要快速适应新客户，了解他们的需求，并立即投入客户正在尝试解决的设计挑战中，从而有效地利用时间。 对于那些内向的人来说，这可能会让人感到压力和筋疲力尽。

特权5：更多机会扩展可转让技能 (Perk #5: More opportunities to expand transferable skills)

Beside creative diversity and flexibility, work for a design agency also offers a great way for UX professionals to improve their “portable skills”, such as the ability to persuade the client on the relevance of the design choices and to demonstrate the business value of the design solutions.

除了创意的多样性和灵活性之外，为设计机构工作还为UX专业人士提供了一种绝佳的方式来提高UX专业人员的“便携式技能”，例如说服客户注意设计选择的相关性并展示其业务价值的能力。设计解决方案。

Pitfall: More personal responsibility

陷阱：更多的个人责任

More creative freedom goes hand in hand with more personal responsibility. At an agency, it is nearly impossible not to notice a job well-done or failed. Therefore, UXers need to be more focused and dedicated to their work to avoid letting down their team in front of the client.

更多的创作自由与更多的个人责任并驾齐驱。 在一家代理商，几乎不可能不注意到一项工作做得很好或失败了。 因此，UXer需要更加专注和专注于他们的工作，以避免在客户面前放任其团队。

结论 (Conclusion)

Just like in any workplace, there are pros and cons to each particular design work environment. Depending on whether you value structure or creative flexibility, there are many ways to keep your job interesting and advance your career. Do not let preconceived expectations about particular work environment hamper your experience. No matter what your personal work preference may be, with an open mind, a proactive attitude and a willingness to work hard to execute your creative ideas, you will be able to develop your creative potential and succeed in any environment.

就像在任何工作场所一样，每种特定的设计工作环境也各有利弊。 根据您是重视结构还是创意灵活性，有很多方法可以使您的工作变得有趣并促进职业发展。 不要让对特定工作环境的先入为主的期望妨碍您的体验。 无论您的个人工作偏好是什么，只要拥有开放的胸怀，积极进取的态度和愿意努力工作以执行创意的意愿，您都将能够发挥自己的创造潜能并在任何环境下取得成功。

想了解更多？ (Want to learn more?)

Want to get an industry-recognized Course Certificate in UX Design, Design Thinking, UI Design, or another related design topic? Online UX courses from the Interaction Design Foundation can provide you with industry-relevant skills to advance your UX career. For example, Design Thinking, Become a UX Designer from Scratch, Conducting Usability Testing or User Research — Methods and Best Practices are some of the most popular courses. Good luck on your learning journey!

是否想获得UX设计，设计思维，UI设计或其他相关设计主题的行业认可课程证书？ Interaction Design Foundation提供的在线UX课程可以为您提供与行业相关的技能，以促进您的UX职业发展。 例如， 设计思维 ， 从零开始成为UX设计师 ， 进行可用性测试或用户研究-方法和最佳实践是一些最受欢迎的课程。 祝您学习愉快！

(Lead image source: Negative Space — Creative Commons)

(主要图片来源： 负空间-知识共享 )

Originally published at UsabilityGeek by Yegor Tsynkevich. He is the founder and creative director at 415Agency, experience design studio based in San Francisco, CA. His expertise in the tech field spans design, development, and IT business consulting.

最初由Yegor Tsynkevich在UsabilityGeek上发布。 他是位于加利福尼亚州旧金山的体验设计工作室415Agency的创始人和创意总监。 他在技术领域的专长涵盖设计，开发和IT业务咨询。