Up until now, I’ve explained UX design using various examples, but I realize that my explanations have often been a bit academic, filled with specialized terms. This might make some of you think that UX design is something difficult to grasp. While it’s true that mastering UX design requires a range of specialized knowledge, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s something anyone can learn. UX design can be applied to solving problems, creating new value, achieving goals, and more. It’s especially effective and profitable for those in management or executive roles within an organization.
Before becoming a UX designer, I spent six years working as a chef in a restaurant. You might think that being a chef has nothing to do with UX design, but in reality, learning to cook is a lot like learning UX design. So this time, I’d like to explain UX design through something we can all relate to: cooking.
Do you cook at home? When you’re cooking, what’s your main focus? You’re not trying to make the food taste bad, right?
Think of seasonings and spices as information (knowledge).
If you only have salt and pepper at home, no matter how many ingredients you have, your flavors are limited to those two options. Sure, you can enjoy the natural taste of the ingredients, but your flavor palette is limited. However, if you have a variety of seasonings and spices like soy sauce, miso, sugar, cumin, and turmeric, your options expand, and so does your enjoyment of the food. But here’s the catch: if you don’t know how to cook, you won’t know when or how to use those seasonings. Even if you have the best spices, there’s no guarantee the dish will taste good.
This is exactly what’s happening with the current state of learning about UX design. There’s a wealth of information online about usability, personas, user research, and more. Many people are already familiar with these concepts, but this information is just like seasonings—it’s only useful if you know how to use it. Without knowing how to design (or cook) with it, many people struggle to effectively apply UX design to solve problems. But if you know when and how to use these “seasonings” (information), you can create a dish (value) that truly delights.
Cooking with spices, especially in cuisines like Indian, opens up a world of flavors. But let’s be honest, if you don’t get the proportions and timing just right, you might end up with a dish that’s too spicy to enjoy instead of something truly delicious. It’s all about finding that perfect balance, right?
Expanding Your Culinary Repertoire
Sticking to one cuisine, like Japanese food, keeps you in a familiar lane. Sure, that’s great if your guests love Japanese food, but what if they’re craving something different? By learning to cook Italian, Spanish, or Thai dishes, you can impress a broader audience and cater to a variety of tastes. And when you mix techniques from different cuisines—hello, fusion!—you’re creating entirely new, unforgettable experiences.
This is just like in business. To reach a diverse group of customers, you need to offer something that resonates with each of them. If you only know how to cook one type of dish, you’ll only attract a small slice of the market. But if you can whip up a variety of offerings, you’ll draw in a much larger crowd. Just like learning different cooking styles, diversifying your approach in business helps you cater to different customer segments and create real value.
No matter how mouthwatering a dish is, if it doesn’t look good, people might pass it by. Presentation is everything, just like how UI design plays a crucial role in user experience.
The Universal Love for Good Food
We all want to eat delicious food—no one’s lining up for a bad meal. Once you’ve tasted something amazing, you’re hooked. That’s why restaurants gain regular customers; good service helps, but the food has to be top-notch. It’s the same in business: to keep customers coming back, you need to consistently deliver what they value. If your offerings fall short, they’ll move on. It’s that simple.
If you love good food, learning to cook it makes sense. Sure, you could dine out all the time if you’ve got the cash, but that means relying on others to create value for you—plus, you never know exactly what’s in your meal. When you learn to cook, you gain control over the quality and healthiness of your food.
The same goes for UX design. By mastering it, you can identify and solve a wide range of issues. Maybe it’s my background in the restaurant industry, but I see a lot of similarities between cooking and UX design. I hope this analogy helps you see the value in learning UX and inspires more people to embrace it.
Get a Free UX Consultation!
No matter the scope of your project, it’s advisable to consult a UX design expert early in the process. While not every situation may require a UX designer—sometimes a UI designer or even your existing team resources can suffice— recognizing this early can save on unnecessary expenditures. Engaging the right expertise from the start ensures that your project is not only cost-effective but also aligned with the best practices in user experience design.
Free Download
At Genki Brothers, we have initiated the startup “Connect” with the aim of exploring the integration of UX/UI design within business contexts.
For those interested in creating innovative and unprecedented experiences in your business endeavors, we encourage you to read our book. Please complete the submission form provided below. Upon receipt of your email, an automatic reply containing the download link for the book will be sent to you.
Other Open Sources
