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, UX 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 25 UX Influencers
Below we have listed the top 25 influencers that you will definitely be interested in. They are divided into categories: Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and those who have their own website or podcast. (Btw the order is random, these folks are all equally great and worth a follow.)
Twitter UX influencers
1. Erika Hall – Co-founder of Mule Design
Twitter – https://twitter.com/mulegirl
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikahall/
Since the latter half of the 20th century, Erika Hall has worked as a design consultant. She helped customers ask challenging questions and collaborate more effectively to find the answers as the cofounder of Mule Design Studio. Erika encourages designers to consider the ramifications of their work more carefully by speaking and writing about subjects that go against the grain of the profession. Just Enough Research is one of her previous books. She co-hosts the podcast Voice of Design and can be frequently found on Twitter.
2. Luis Ouriach – Designer Advocate at Figma
Twitter – https://twitter.com/disco_lu
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisouriach/
Luis Ouriach is a Designer Advocate at @figma who also manages the Milk, No Sugar newsletter, contributes to a number of design-related publications, and hosts a podcast for his side project @8pxmag. Luis has more than ten years of experience testing presumptions and pressuring pixels. His humor is typically delivered dry. In the name, the “s” is silent.
3. Elle Mahoney – Founder and Creator of SoSplush & Elleven
Twitter – https://mobile.twitter.com/ellevenio
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyreneemahoney/
Elle started her immersion in design through hackathons where she learned everything about design, product, and how to iterate fast. There she also built a foundation of frontend development. Since then, she’s managed a number of design departments at various businesses, while frequently serving as a project manager. She is passionate about finding solutions to issues and developing better designs for the public. She shares useful information and great life experiences on her Twitter, so don’t forget to follow.
4. 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. His Twitter account is constantly updated. 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.
5. 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.
6. Paul Boag – Customer Experience Consultant
Courses: Boag‘s Courses
Blog: boagworld.com/blog
Twitter: @boagworld
Paul knows how irritating it can be to deal regularly with stakeholders who deliver unhelpful feedback and also that being a designer is not only about creativity. That is why he runs courses and mini classes, teaching attendees how to produce a successful design project. When you are on his web already, look over his blog with his remarks on Digital Marketing.
Web UX influencers
7. 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, surveys, 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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 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.
LinkedIn UX influencers
11. Jan Ahrend – UX researcher at Youtube
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janahrend/
Newsletter: https://www.userweekly.com/
Many will know Jan Ahrend as the curator of the amazing UserWeekly newsletter, which you should definitely check out if getting those weekly notifications in your email is your thing. If you prefer soaking up information through social media, following Jan Ahrend’s LinkedIn is most certainly worthwhile. On his account, he shares news, articles, and tips and tricks from the UX research world.
12. Jacob Nielsen – UX pioneer, co-founder of the NNGroup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakobnielsenphd/
Web & books: https://www.nngroup.com/people/jakob-nielsen/
NNGroup, a user experience consulting firm, is a well-established authority in the UX world. Its co-founder Jacob Nielsen is a person that you want to follow. He has a wealth of knowledge to share as a usability pioneer and you will want to soak up any information he has to share.
13. Sarah Doody – UX researched, designer and CEO
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdoody/
Web: https://www.sarahdoody.com/
Sarah Doody is a great researcher and designer in the UX field and shares many valuable insights. She is also a founder of the Career Strategy Lab and shares tips on how to make a successful career in the world of UX design.
14. Russ Wilson – UX Designer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russwilson/
With 20+ years of experience, Russ Wilson is a successful UX designer. He has worked with well-known names such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, and many others. Shares valuable information related to his work, inspiration, news that impact UX designers, and tips and tricks.
15. Kristin Arnold – UX researcher and manager
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinarnold/
Experience player in the UX field Kristin Arnold has worked with companies such as Motorola, Facebook or Google. She is a well of knowledge when it comes to UX research and managing UX research teams.
Instagram UX influencers
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. Jan Mraz – Co-Founder of Atheros
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/janm_ux/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-mraz/
Jan started publishing educational content and stories from his design journey on social media in 2019. Over the years, a large community of more than 180 thousand people around the world has formed. Then he created an online course and an e-book to help people start a design career. He was also responsible for creating the the Atheros Learning platform, which helps other industry experts to offer their training materials.
19. Ruben Cespedes – a multidisciplinary designer specializing in UX and Visual Design
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/uiuxcreative/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@uiuxcreative
Ruben began his journey in design back in 2004 while studying in college. In 2007 he discovered UX and since then he has been studying it himself and helping others. Ruben has worked with such companies as Pfizer, Crayola, Bic, and others. By visiting and subscribing to his Instagram you will find exclusive content and deepen your knowledge in the field of design.
20. Sara Brunettini – Product Design Contractor at Meta
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/saretta.ux/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabrunettini/
Sarah started her journey in UX design in 2018. At that time, she worked in a co-working space and most of her friends there were developers and they just asked her to make a website for their clients. After the first three projects, she got acquainted with UX design. Since then, she began to develop in this direction, studying all its principles and processes. In her Instagram, she shares her everyday life and handy tips.
YouTube UX influencers
21. 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.
22. Kevin Liang – Founder of ZerotoUX
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@zerotoux
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cosmicquandary/
Kevin discovered UX in 2014. After taking various courses and reading books, he was able to build a resume and get his first job with Volkswagen on their self-driving vehicles. He has since worked on a range of hardware and software, B2C and B2B goods and services at Google, Unity Technologies, and Uber, receiving patents for his accomplishments. On his YouTube channel, you will find useful videos on UX topics that will be interesting regardless of whether you are just starting your way in this direction or you already have experience.
23. Rachel How – Product Designer, Solopreneur
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@rachelhow/featured
Web – https://www.rachelhow.com/
Rachel is an independent product designer, creator, web developer, and entrepreneur. She also believes in the power of the digital economy and is confident that every day you can become 1% better. If you are interested to learn more about UI/UX design and discover that you can start your way as a designer without prior education and experience, then you are welcome to visit her YouTube channel!
24. Gary Simon – Owner of DesignCourse
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@DesignCourse/about
Twitter – https://twitter.com/designcoursecom
Gary Simon has spent more than 15 years working solely as an independent designer and design educator. Gary has a thorough knowledge of numerous technologies and talents related to the development and design sector and has worked with over a thousand clients on identity and web design projects. On his YouTube channel, you can find the latest information related to the world of UI/UX design.
25. Patricia Reiners – Senior Innovation Designer
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@ux.patricia/featured
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ux.patricia/
Patricia has been in UI/UX design for over a decade, developing websites, apps, and digital projects. She works with her clients on everything from the initial concept to the production of the first interactive prototypes and wireframes, to the creation of the precise screen design and the technical implementation of animated websites. She also runs her own YouTube channel where she shares tips and shows how she lives as a UI/UX designer.
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, that might come in handy, UX influencers are an excellent source. We chose just 25, 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.
In case you wish to soak up UX information in another way than following the top UX influencers, take a look at our curated lists of the best:
Or read more articles on our UX design and research blog.
If you are interested in UX research yourself, why not create an account on UXtweak and begin right away?
