Supplement File For The Article Titled: "Industrial Designers In Ux Practice: Motivations, Professionalization, And Construction Of Designer Identity"

Abstract

<p>The journey through the designerly ways of &ldquo;knowing&rdquo; and &ldquo;being&rdquo; encompasses learning how to fulfill the requirements of a professional designer role within a given establishment. In light of the ambiguity, fluidity, and multiplicity surrounding design activities, the expected role of a designer is neither universally agreed upon nor static. As one of these blurred designing territories, user experience (UX) has gained popularity as a field of design specialization.&nbsp;The field is known to welcome professionals with diverse academic backgrounds, manifesting a truly multidisciplinary outlook.&nbsp;Acknowledging the dubious nature of design practice(s), we scrutinize a case of professional transition between two neighboring design fields&mdash;namely, industrial design&nbsp;and UX design&mdash;to seek answers to the following questions: (1) What are the motivations of industrial designers to continue their UX positions instead of taking jobs characterized more directly by their educational background? (2) And how does adaptation to UX practice mediate (re)construction of their professional designer identities? For this purpose, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 industrial design graduates working in diverse UX positions in Turkey. The ways they legitimize their motivations and perceived competence for UX hint at their construing of the UX as a field and their narratives on the formation of designer identity.</p>