Why (Real) User Research Is Becoming a Career Advantage for Designers (Feat. Sara Fortier)

Your stakeholders say research is a waste of time. Just ship it. We’ll figure it out later. But later never comes. The product misses the mark, teams scramble, and you end up doing twice the work fixing mistakes you saw coming weeks ago. Relatable? For many designers it is...In this episode, we’re joined by Sara Fortier, CEO of Outwitly and author of Design Research Mastery, to talk about just that, what design research really looks like today, and why it’s becoming more important as AI becomes bigger and bigger.We talk about why research is less about methods and more about influence, how junior designers can stand out in today's super competitive market, and why the future favors designers who can connect business risk, human behavior, and product decisions instead of just pushing pixels.In this episode you’ll learn:🔸 Why design research is an insurance policy against bad decisions🔸 How to introduce research in low-maturity teams without asking permission🔸 Why AI won’t replace research but will raise the bar for designers🔸 How junior designers can use research to stand out and get hired🔸 When research should be deep, lightweight, or skipped entirely🔸 Why UX generalists are becoming more valuable than narrow specialists⏱ Chapters00:00 Why teams say research slows them down03:18 Research vs taste, craft, and AI hot takes07:02 Finding champions inside low-maturity orgs10:22 Asking forgiveness instead of permission14:05 Research as risk reduction and ROI18:41 Why generalists are winning again23:12 AI, research, and the future of design roles28:10 What junior designers should focus on right now33:05 Tools that actually help researchers today41:02 The skills AI can’t replaceLearn more about Sara’s bookhttps://www.designresearchmastery.com/Connect with Sara on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sarafortier/Learn more about Outwitlyhttps://outwitly.com/Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribeMore about the hostsTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld