Luckily, there are some ways, which might help you to keep track of the latest transformations in the industry. One of them is paying attention to the top UX influencers. Spending a lot of time tracking down ideas, trends, and tools that really work makes influencers (in most cases) specialists in their respective fields.
Here is a list of UX professionals and designers, who could make searching for innovative ideas and motivation easier. Check these UX experts to find advice, or to get inspired by their own accomplishments!
Top 10 UX Influencers
1. Jen Romano Bergstrom – UX researcher at Google & Instructor at UC Berkeley Extension and University of Maryland
Web: romanocog.com
Twitter: @romanocog
In case you want to learn more about usability, eye tracking, survey and experimental design then you should check Jen´s web and follow her on Twitter. Jen is an established expert in UX – she teaches graduate-level classes, trains UX professionals, and mentors people who are entering the field. More detailed descriptions can be found in books like Usability Testing for Survey Research or Eye Tracking in User Experience Design, of which she was a co-author.
2. Jared Spool – Founder of UIE
Talks: Jared´s 7 highly rated talks
Twitter: @jmspool
Jared is the founder of the largest usability research organization of its kind in the world – User Interface Engineering. This success and extensive experience make him one of the well-known names in UX. If you are searching for strategic insights or tactical processes, then Jared´s 7 highly rated talks are something for you! Follow him on Twitter, to read his tips around UX topics, or watch video recordings from his presentations on youtube.
3. Jeff Veen – Design Partner at True Ventures
Twitter: @veen
Podcast: Presentable – Designing the future
Jeff Veen is a designer and Investor from California. Currently, he is a Design Partner and Head of the Platform at True Ventures. During his career, he also worked for Google, where he designed Google Analytics and led the UX team for Google’s apps. He helped to build many websites such as HotWired, Web Monkey, Wired News, and many others. You can follow him on Twitter or listen to his more than 90 podcasts, where he talks about tools, trends, and methods that are shaping our digital future.
4. Cory Lebson – Owner of Lebsontech LLC
Blog: Lebsontech blog
Book: UX Careers Handbook
If you find yourself as a blog reader Cory is an influencer you might want to check. In his articles on the Lebsontech blog, you can read about topics like UX and UX career development or information architecture.
With his more than 2 decades of experience and his own UX consulting firm named Lebsontech he undoubtedly has the knowledge to share. He put all of his wise thoughts into his UX Careers Handbook, where he describes career roadmaps as well as the basics from interaction design to user intersections.
5. Chris Messina – Product Therapist
Medium: chrismessina.medium.com
Talks: chrismessina.me/speaking
Twitter: @chrissmessina
A man famous for inventing the hashtag, product designer, and technical expert, that’s Chriss Messina. With his wide job portfolio, including companies like Uber and Google, he is a really skilled UX influencer. Check out his educational articles on Medium or track down Chriss’s schedule of upcoming talks, where you can watch him speaking about various techniques on how to keep people coming back for more on your website.
6. Elizé Todd – General Assembly Mentor & Educator at Adobe
Facebook: Elize UX
Instagram: @elize_ux
Youtube: Elize UX
Elizé shares her expertise mostly through simple and entertaining visuals either on Facebook or Instagram, which are easy to understand and great if you are new to UX. Along with educating and content creating she has spent the past 5 years leading UX teams. Visit her Youtube channel to see more details about her journey of becoming a UX Director.
7. Anfisa Bogomolova – UX Design Trainer
Instagram: @anfisign
Web: uxforfreelancers.com
Anfisa, known under the name Anfisign, is one of the Instagram influencers. On her account, she discusses everything from early-stage activities to different types of testing tools. If that‘s what you are interested in and you aren‘t a total beginner you can try these tools from UXtweak to move your usability testing to another level. To widen your knowledge and gain confidence in UX, you can take a course on her web. We asked Anfisa a few questions about UX. Be sure to check the full interview with Anfisa Bogomolova.
8. Ioana Teleanu – UX Designer & Educator
Instagram: @uxgoodies
Podcast: Honest UX Talks
Behind the well-known Instagram profile UX Goodies stays dedicated and passionate User Experience Educator – Ioana Teleanu. Her posts have mostly educative purposes, but in addition to that, she also writes recommendations for useful podcasts, blogs, or UX tools, and recently, together with Anfisa they launched their own podcast called Honest UX Talks, where they discuss everyday struggles that designers encounter in their career. Check out our interview about Ioana’s impressive UX career.
9. Paul Boag – Customer Experience Consultant
Workshop: Boag‘s Workshop
Blog: boagworld.com/blog
Twitter: @boagworld
Paul knows how irritating it can be to deal regularly with stakeholders who deliver you unhelpful feedback and also that being a designer is not only about creativity. That is why he runs a workshop, teaching attendees how to produce a successful design project. When you will be on his web already, look over his blog with his remarks on Digital Marketing.
10. Laura Klein – Principal at Users Know
Medium: medium.com/@lauraklein
Twitter: @lauraklein
Podcast: What is wrong with UX?
Laura might not look like a typical influencer, but with her different point of view on things, she provides her readers with interesting content. With her many articles and lots of regular tweets, you definitely have something to choose from. If you prefer listening over reading check her podcast.
Conclusion
Whether you are searching for some guidance, you are curious to learn new skills, or you are just looking for some tips and tricks, which might come in handy, influencers are an excellent source. We chose just 10, who we think are the best ones, but there are plenty of them, talking and writing about user experience. Are you following everyone from our list, or are some of your favs missing? Give us a tip and we might add your favorite influencer here. Check out our blog for more articles about UX.
