As strategic UX designers, we're witnessing a disturbing pattern across the tech industry: the complete absence of design leadership and process discipline at precisely the moment when it matters most.
The AI bubble is bursting. Companies are scrambling to hire (and retain) designers. Products are failing at unprecedented rates. And through it all, we're seeing the same root cause: companies abandoned UX strategy and design leadership when they needed it most.
This isn't just another trend piece about industry challenges. This is a diagnosis of a systemic crisis—and a roadmap for UX design agencies, fractional design officers, and product design consultants who want to help companies recover before it's too late.
Remember the hype? AI was going to revolutionize everything. Natural language models would read our minds, automate our jobs, solve problems we didn't even know we had.
The reality? Companies rushed to adopt AI without basic UX research, without validating use cases, without understanding whether their users even wanted what they were building.
As UX consulting firms working across industries, we're now seeing the consequences:
Here's what's happening: AI models generate content (the "slop" we've discussed before). That slop gets published online. Other AI models scrape that slop for training data. The models become increasingly recursive, trained on their own outputs rather than original human-created content.
The result: Models that replicate each other, lose accuracy, and create less useful outputs over time.
The deeper problem: Nobody with UX leadership stopped to ask "should we be doing this?" before companies committed millions to AI infrastructure.
Studies are now showing that AI tools are increasing cognitive load on workers rather than reducing it. Developers report being less efficient because they're debugging AI-generated code. Writers spend more time editing AI outputs than writing from scratch. Designers waste hours correcting AI design suggestions.
Product design consultants could have predicted this. In fact, we did. We told clients: "Validate that this actually helps users before you build it."
Most didn't listen. They saw competitors adopting AI and panicked into conformity.
People are now turning to AI for:
The problem: These models aren't experts. They're predictive text engines trained on internet data of wildly varying quality.
Here's a real story that illustrates the danger:
A parent attended Bible study where the priest discussed narcissism (apparently a trending topic). The parent went home and diagnosed family members as narcissists based on this newfound "knowledge."
Meanwhile, their daughter—an actual clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience—had never once diagnosed family members because that's not how expertise works.
But AI and social media are creating a world where everyone thinks they're an expert after a 5-minute search. Pop psychology replaces actual psychology. WebMD diagnoses replace doctor visits. Legal advice from ChatGPT replaces consultation with attorneys.
Remember the Cracker Barrel logo redesign controversy? It consumed social media for a week. Fox News and CNN covered it. Design professionals weighed in with passionate opinions.
Then we found out it was mostly bots.
Automated accounts arguing with each other, amplifying controversy, wasting everyone's attention on fabricated outrage.
This is the "dead internet theory" playing out in real-time: a significant percentage of internet activity now comes from bots, not humans.
What this means for UX:
As UX consultants conducting research and testing, we now implement verification steps we never needed before. We can't assume the person responding to our survey or participating in our study is human.
The leadership failure: Where are the C-suite executives and UX leaders calling for moderation? Where are the safeguards? Where's the investment in human verification and content quality?
They're absent. And users are paying the price.
Steve Jobs is dead. But every C-suite executive imagines themselves as the next Steve Jobs.
The problem: They're emulating the wrong traits.
What they copy:
What they ignore:
The result: Every company is building the same AI features, implementing the same engagement mechanics, copying the same competitors, and wondering why their products fail.
As fractional design officers working with companies across markets, we see this pattern constantly:
Executive: "Our competitor added AI chat, so we need AI chat."
Us: "Have you validated that your users want AI chat?"
Executive: "Everyone's doing it. We'll figure it out later."
Narrator voice: They did not figure it out later.
Before social media, online communities had message boards. Those boards had moderators—real humans who enforced rules, kicked out bad actors, and maintained community standards.
Then social media arrived and scaled beyond what human moderation could handle. Companies turned to automated systems.
Now we have:
The UX leadership question: Where are the designers and UX leaders pushing for better moderation systems?
The answer: Mostly silent. Either not given authority to push for change, or not willing to fight battles that might cost them their jobs.
UX consulting firms can provide air cover for these conversations. As external consultants, we can say things internal employees can't: "Your moderation is failing. Users are being harmed. This needs to be fixed."
One of us is CEO of a UX design agency in Nashville—a city that's growing rapidly but lacks the product design maturity of San Francisco, New York, or Seattle.
What we see:
This isn't unique to Nashville. UX design agencies in many other markets see the same patterns.
The problem: Our industry is still in its infancy. We haven't established:
The opportunity: Cities like Nashville, Detroit, and Chicago need product design consultants and UX design agencies to help companies build proper design practices from the ground up.
Here's an embarrassing truth: If you search for "UX design" logos or t-shirts, you'll find almost nothing. And what exists is terrible.
Why does this matter? Because we've done such a poor job explaining our discipline—even to ourselves—that we don't have clear, compelling ways to communicate what we do.
Ask ten UX professionals what "user experience design" means and you'll get ten different answers. Some will focus on research. Some on visual design. Some on strategy. Some on usability testing.
We lack:
The LinkedIn problem: People constantly conflate UX and UI. Real professionals fight this battle daily, trying to educate people about the difference.
Props to those fighting the good fight. But the fact that we're still fighting this battle decades into the discipline's existence shows how much work remains.
At previous companies, we've had to create internal "UX libraries"—documentation explaining:
This shouldn't be necessary. If we had strong professional organizations and standardized education, product managers and stakeholders would arrive with this baseline knowledge.
Instead, every UX design agency has to re-educate every client about what UX even is.
Compare this to other professions:
We have: A bunch of people arguing on LinkedIn about whether they're UX designers, product designers, interaction designers, or experience architects.
Mike Montero, author of "Ruined by Design" and "Design is a Job," has advocated for licensing UX professionals.
His argument: If you're a doctor or lawyer and do something unethical or harmful, you lose your license. You can't practice anymore.
UX professionals can create addictive dark patterns, manipulate users, enable harm—and face zero consequences. They move to the next company and do it again.
The controversial book: Nir Eyal wrote "Hooked" about creating addictive products. Then he wrote "Indistractable" telling people how to avoid addiction—while not allowing his own kids on social media.
The hypocrisy: These designers know exactly what they're doing. They're using psychology and behavioral science to hook users. They profit from it. They face no accountability.
Montero's solution: License UX professionals. Create standards for ethical practice. Revoke licenses when those standards are violated.
Our take as UX consultants in Chicago and beyond: This deserves serious consideration. The harm being caused by intentionally addictive and manipulative design is real and measurable.
Here's something fascinating: Gen Z—the generation that supposedly lives on their phones—is increasingly rejecting social media.
What we're hearing:
Why this matters: The generation raised on these platforms is rejecting them because they recognize the harm.
They're experiencing:
The designer's dilemma: We built systems that are so effective at capturing attention that the next generation is rebelling against them entirely.
Product design consultants should be asking: What does it mean when your target demographic actively avoids your product category?
Let's be honest about what we've created:
Infinite scroll that prevents natural stopping points
Notification systems designed to interrupt constantly
FOMO mechanics that punish users for not checking in
Like/follower counts that create social anxiety
Algorithmic feeds that show the most inflammatory content
Autoplay features that eliminate intentional choice
Variable reward schedules (slot machine psychology)
Social proof mechanics manipulating behavior through peer pressure
We know these work. We have research showing they drive engagement.
We also know they cause harm. We have research showing increased anxiety, depression, decreased attention spans, and addictive behaviors.
The question: Why aren't UX leaders pushing back? Why aren't UX design agencies refusing to implement these patterns?
The answer: Because clients want engagement metrics. Because boards demand growth. Because speaking up might cost you the contract or your job.
The solution: This is where fractional design officers and external UX consulting firms provide value. We can say no. We can refuse unethical work. We can educate clients about long-term harm.
Remember the Cracker Barrel logo redesign controversy? It consumed social media for a week. Fox News and CNN covered it. Design professionals weighed in with passionate opinions.
Then we found out it was mostly bots.
Automated accounts arguing with each other, amplifying controversy, wasting everyone's attention on fabricated outrage.
This is the "dead internet theory" playing out in real-time: a significant percentage of internet activity now comes from bots, not humans.
What this means for UX:
As UX consultants conducting research and testing, we now implement verification steps we never needed before. We can't assume the person responding to our survey or participating in our study is human.
The leadership failure: Where are the C-suite executives and UX leaders calling for moderation? Where are the safeguards? Where's the investment in human verification and content quality?
They're absent. And users are paying the price.
Steve Jobs is dead. But every C-suite executive imagines themselves as the next Steve Jobs.
The problem: They're emulating the wrong traits.
What they copy:
What they ignore:
The result: Every company is building the same AI features, implementing the same engagement mechanics, copying the same competitors, and wondering why their products fail.
As fractional design officers working with companies across markets, we see this pattern constantly:
Executive: "Our competitor added AI chat, so we need AI chat."
Us: "Have you validated that your users want AI chat?"
Executive: "Everyone's doing it. We'll figure it out later."
Narrator voice: They did not figure it out later.
Before social media, online communities had message boards. Those boards had moderators—real humans who enforced rules, kicked out bad actors, and maintained community standards.
Then social media arrived and scaled beyond what human moderation could handle. Companies turned to automated systems.
Now we have:
The UX leadership question: Where are the designers and UX leaders pushing for better moderation systems?
The answer: Mostly silent. Either not given authority to push for change, or not willing to fight battles that might cost them their jobs.
UX consulting firms can provide air cover for these conversations. As external consultants, we can say things internal employees can't: "Your moderation is failing. Users are being harmed. This needs to be fixed."
One of us is CEO of a UX design agency in Nashville—a city that's growing rapidly but lacks the product design maturity of San Francisco, New York, or Seattle.
What we see:
This isn't unique to Nashville. UX design agencies in many other markets see the same patterns.
The problem: Our industry is still in its infancy. We haven't established:
The opportunity: Cities like Nashville, Detroit, and Chicago need product design consultants and UX design agencies to help companies build proper design practices from the ground up.
Here's an embarrassing truth: If you search for "UX design" logos or t-shirts, you'll find almost nothing. And what exists is terrible.
Why does this matter? Because we've done such a poor job explaining our discipline—even to ourselves—that we don't have clear, compelling ways to communicate what we do.
Ask ten UX professionals what "user experience design" means and you'll get ten different answers. Some will focus on research. Some on visual design. Some on strategy. Some on usability testing.
We lack:
The LinkedIn problem: People constantly conflate UX and UI. Real professionals fight this battle daily, trying to educate people about the difference.
Props to those fighting the good fight. But the fact that we're still fighting this battle decades into the discipline's existence shows how much work remains.
At previous companies, we've had to create internal "UX libraries"—documentation explaining:
This shouldn't be necessary. If we had strong professional organizations and standardized education, product managers and stakeholders would arrive with this baseline knowledge.
Instead, every UX design agency has to re-educate every client about what UX even is.
Compare this to other professions:
We have: A bunch of people arguing on LinkedIn about whether they're UX designers, product designers, interaction designers, or experience architects.
Mike Montero, author of "Ruined by Design" and "Design is a Job," has advocated for licensing UX professionals.
His argument: If you're a doctor or lawyer and do something unethical or harmful, you lose your license. You can't practice anymore.
UX professionals can create addictive dark patterns, manipulate users, enable harm—and face zero consequences. They move to the next company and do it again.
The controversial book: Nir Eyal wrote "Hooked" about creating addictive products. Then he wrote "Indistractable" telling people how to avoid addiction—while not allowing his own kids on social media.
The hypocrisy: These designers know exactly what they're doing. They're using psychology and behavioral science to hook users. They profit from it. They face no accountability.
Montero's solution: License UX professionals. Create standards for ethical practice. Revoke licenses when those standards are violated.
Our take as UX consultants in Chicago and beyond: This deserves serious consideration. The harm being caused by intentionally addictive and manipulative design is real and measurable.
Here's something fascinating: Gen Z—the generation that supposedly lives on their phones—is increasingly rejecting social media.
What we're hearing:
Why this matters: The generation raised on these platforms is rejecting them because they recognize the harm.
They're experiencing:
The designer's dilemma: We built systems that are so effective at capturing attention that the next generation is rebelling against them entirely.
Product design consultants should be asking: What does it mean when your target demographic actively avoids your product category?
Let's be honest about what we've created:
Infinite scroll that prevents natural stopping points
Notification systems designed to interrupt constantly
FOMO mechanics that punish users for not checking in
Like/follower counts that create social anxiety
Algorithmic feeds that show the most inflammatory content
Autoplay features that eliminate intentional choice
Variable reward schedules (slot machine psychology)
Social proof mechanics manipulating behavior through peer pressure
We know these work. We have research showing they drive engagement.
We also know they cause harm. We have research showing increased anxiety, depression, decreased attention spans, and addictive behaviors.
The question: Why aren't UX leaders pushing back? Why aren't UX design agencies refusing to implement these patterns?
The answer: Because clients want engagement metrics. Because boards demand growth. Because speaking up might cost you the contract or your job.
The solution: This is where fractional design officers and external UX consulting firms provide value. We can say no. We can refuse unethical work. We can educate clients about long-term harm.
Here's a fundamental process failure we see everywhere:
Designers jump straight to high-fidelity mockups.
They drag and drop components from design systems. They create beautiful, polished interfaces. They present to stakeholders.
What's missing: Any thoughtful consideration of whether these are the right solutions.
The problem with working in high fidelity first:
The solution: Start in low fidelity. Sketches. Wireframes. Rough concepts.
Have conversations about:
Only then move to high-fidelity design that brings the validated structure to life.
UX consultants working with companies across industries help teams establish this discipline. It's not sexy. It doesn't look impressive in portfolio pieces. But it results in better products.
Nashville is a service-focused city, not a product-focused one. Most businesses provide services rather than build software products.
The challenge: Product thinking and UX processes are foreign concepts.
What we encounter:
This isn't unique to Nashville. Many growing tech markets lack product design maturity.
The opportunity for UX design agencies: Help these companies build foundations.
What that means:
This is hard, unglamorous work. It's not building the next viral app. It's creating empathy maps, documenting user personas, running workshops, and educating stakeholders.
But it's necessary. And it's where UX experts provide massive value—bringing enterprise-level design thinking to companies that could never afford full-time senior design leadership.
Many design professionals are calling for a UX guild or professional organization with real authority.
What this guild could provide:
Why we need this: Right now, anyone can call themselves a UX designer. There's no baseline competency required. No ethical standards enforced. No consequences for harm caused.
UX consulting firms and established practitioners should be leading this effort. We have the experience and credibility to build these systems.
If we were in charge of building UX leadership across the industry, here's where we'd start:
Stop working in high fidelity first. Establish discipline around:
This isn't revolutionary. It's basic design process. But companies skip steps constantly, and product design consultants spend enormous time correcting resulting problems.
No design without understanding users. Period.
Minimum requirements:
UX design agencies working with B2B and enterprise clients know: You can't shortcut research. Assumptions kill products.
Mature organizations need design ops:
Small companies need design foundations:
Everyone touches design. Product managers, developers, executives, sales teams, customer service—everyone influences user experience.
They need to understand:
We spend significant time on stakeholder education because without it, even great design work gets undermined.
Designers should be accountable for:
Companies should be accountable for:
We need spaces where:
Right now we have: Individual designers fighting individual battles at individual companies.
We need: Organized, collective action to raise standards across the industry.
If you're leading product teams, managing designers, or running a company building digital products, here's what you should do immediately:
Ask honestly:
If the answer to any of these is no: You have a process problem that's costing you money and harming users.
Evaluate:
If designers lack authority: You're not actually getting the value of design thinking.
Examine your products for:
If you find problems: Fix them. The short-term engagement loss is worth the long-term trust and sustainability.
For your team:
For the industry:
If you can afford full-time design leadership: Hire experienced directors or VPs of design/UX with real authority.
If you can't: Partner with UX consulting firms or hire fractional UX leaders who can:
Don't: Continue operating without design leadership. The cost of mistakes far exceeds the cost of expertise.
We're watching the AI bubble deflate in real-time:
The companies surviving are those that:
The companies failing are those that:
The lesson: Technology trends come and go. User-centered design thinking is timeless.
Here's a fundamental process failure we see everywhere:
Designers jump straight to high-fidelity mockups.
They drag and drop components from design systems. They create beautiful, polished interfaces. They present to stakeholders.
What's missing: Any thoughtful consideration of whether these are the right solutions.
The problem with working in high fidelity first:
The solution: Start in low fidelity. Sketches. Wireframes. Rough concepts.
Have conversations about:
Only then move to high-fidelity design that brings the validated structure to life.
UX consultants working with companies across industries help teams establish this discipline. It's not sexy. It doesn't look impressive in portfolio pieces. But it results in better products.
Nashville is a service-focused city, not a product-focused one. Most businesses provide services rather than build software products.
The challenge: Product thinking and UX processes are foreign concepts.
What we encounter:
This isn't unique to Nashville. Many growing tech markets lack product design maturity.
The opportunity for UX design agencies: Help these companies build foundations.
What that means:
This is hard, unglamorous work. It's not building the next viral app. It's creating empathy maps, documenting user personas, running workshops, and educating stakeholders.
But it's necessary. And it's where UX experts provide massive value—bringing enterprise-level design thinking to companies that could never afford full-time senior design leadership.
Many design professionals are calling for a UX guild or professional organization with real authority.
What this guild could provide:
Why we need this: Right now, anyone can call themselves a UX designer. There's no baseline competency required. No ethical standards enforced. No consequences for harm caused.
UX consulting firms and established practitioners should be leading this effort. We have the experience and credibility to build these systems.
If we were in charge of building UX leadership across the industry, here's where we'd start:
Stop working in high fidelity first. Establish discipline around:
This isn't revolutionary. It's basic design process. But companies skip steps constantly, and product design consultants spend enormous time correcting resulting problems.
No design without understanding users. Period.
Minimum requirements:
UX design agencies working with B2B and enterprise clients know: You can't shortcut research. Assumptions kill products.
Mature organizations need design ops:
Small companies need design foundations:
Everyone touches design. Product managers, developers, executives, sales teams, customer service—everyone influences user experience.
They need to understand:
We spend significant time on stakeholder education because without it, even great design work gets undermined.
Designers should be accountable for:
Companies should be accountable for:
We need spaces where:
Right now we have: Individual designers fighting individual battles at individual companies.
We need: Organized, collective action to raise standards across the industry.
If you're leading product teams, managing designers, or running a company building digital products, here's what you should do immediately:
Ask honestly:
If the answer to any of these is no: You have a process problem that's costing you money and harming users.
Evaluate:
If designers lack authority: You're not actually getting the value of design thinking.
Examine your products for:
If you find problems: Fix them. The short-term engagement loss is worth the long-term trust and sustainability.
For your team:
For the industry:
If you can afford full-time design leadership: Hire experienced directors or VPs of design/UX with real authority.
If you can't: Partner with UX consulting firms or hire fractional UX leaders who can:
Don't: Continue operating without design leadership. The cost of mistakes far exceeds the cost of expertise.
We're watching the AI bubble deflate in real-time:
The companies surviving are those that:
The companies failing are those that:
The lesson: Technology trends come and go. User-centered design thinking is timeless.
Since he personally has no time or social media experience to curate an online presence for it, EVE has helped to start the foundation for an online following onInstagram and Facebook to reach customers Faraj would previously have missed out on.
It is important to recognize that social media marketing is becoming the new norm. While the start up of a social media strategy can be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.
While you focus on your passion of running your business, EVE is here to focus on our passion of helping you navigate the social media world and digital business.
Since he personally has no time or social media experience to curate an online presence for it, EVE has helped to start the foundation for an online following onInstagram and Facebook to reach customers Faraj would previously have missed out on.
It is important to recognize that social media marketing is becoming the new norm. While the start up of a social media strategy can be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.
While you focus on your passion of running your business, EVE is here to focus on our passion of helping you navigate the social media world and digital business.
As UX consultants working in Nashville, Chicago, and beyond, we're committed to:
Maintaining ethical standards in our own practice
Educating clients about proper design processes
Pushing back on harmful or manipulative features
Building community among design professionals
Advocating for design leadership and investment
Sharing knowledge through writing, speaking, and teaching
Mentoring the next generation of designers
Holding space for difficult conversations about the state of our industry
We believe:
If you're a designer:
If you're a leader:
If you're building products:
If you're concerned about the industry:
The UX industry is at a critical moment. We can:
Continue down the current path:
Or we can build something better:
The choice is ours. But the window is closing. The longer we wait to establish standards and leadership, the harder it becomes.
Leadership isn't about having the biggest title or loudest voice. It's about:
Having the courage to say no to bad ideas
Possessing the expertise to guide toward better solutions
Building the relationships that enable collaboration
Maintaining the discipline to follow proper processes
Demonstrating the integrity to refuse harmful work
Creating the space for others to grow and learn
This is what fractional design officers, UX consultants, and strategic design leaders provide. Not just design artifacts, but the thinking, processes, and leadership that result in products that actually work for users.
We've diagnosed the crisis. We've outlined the solutions. Now it's time to act.
Need help establishing design leadership and process discipline? As strategic UX consultants, we help companies build the foundations for successful product design.
Whether you need to establish basic processes, educate stakeholders, hire and manage design teams, or provide strategic design leadership, we bring 35-40 years of combined experience building design excellence.
Looking for a UX design agency that will challenge your assumptions, establish proper processes, and build sustainable design practices? Let's talk about how strategic UX leadership can transform your product development—before the next bubble bursts and takes you with it.
This article is based on content from the UX MURDER MYSTERY podcast.
HOSTED BY: Brian J. Crowley & Eve Eden
EDITED BY: Kelsey Smith
INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN: Brian J. Crowley
MUSIC BY: Nicolas Lee
A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden
Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com
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