User experience design — the practice of enhancing the usability, functionality, and aesthetic value of a website or product — is a growing industry. And as such, the online community of user experience designers and those interested in UX design is growing too. A simple Twitter search for UX designers yields thousands of results, and while you might learn something from following a few at random, you’ll get the most out of following the designers who will keep your finger on the pulse with industry news and resources, informed insights, and thoughtful conversation.
So just who are those designers? We’ve chosen 7 of the best to follow now.
1. Patrick Neeman – @usabilitycounts
Patrick Neeman is a UX designer, once Product Manager, and Director of Product Design at Apptio in Seattle, WA. He has a ton of industry experience, having worked for companies like Microsoft, MySpace, Disney, eBay, and more, and he shares his insights on his very active Twitter feed. He has strong opinions about UX design, but he also enjoys making UX-centric jokes, his most famous being his #uxdrinkinggame tweets.
2. Laura Klein – @lauraklein
Laura Klein is a Lean UX expert and consultant based in Silicon Valley, and the author of UX for Lean Startups. Her feed is a great resource for Lean UX advice, resources, and retweets from other industry professionals. The information she shares is relevant and timely, and will help you keep up with the latest trends and refine your UX skills. A definite must-follow.
3. Jared M. Spool – @jmspool
Jared Spool is the founder of User Interface Design, a usability research, training, and consulting firm that helps clients develop useful and intuitive websites and products. With over 25 years of experience, he’s a real expert, and his Twitter feed is loaded with industry news, advice, and anecdotes. He’s also a bit of a jokester and enjoys discussing current events, so his feed is fun and engaging.
4. Crystal Ehrlich – @cbehrlich
Crystal Ehrlich is a freelance UX designer with over 12 years of award-winning experience working for giants like AT&T, Honda, Pepsi, Verizon, and more. She is the owner of the The Los Angeles User Experience Meetup group, which is the largest UX meetup group in the U.S., and she is also on several UX advisory boards. She lives and breathes UX design, and her Twitter feed is filled with valuable information, including lots of links to UX articles and podcasts.
5. Andy Budd – @andybudd
Andy Budd is a UX designer and partner at UX design agency Clearleft. He is also a regular speaker, UX event organizer, and the creator of Silverbackapp, a low cost usability testing tool for Macs. He is a voracious tweeter, sharing not only his own opinions but those of fellow designers. His passion for design is contagious, and his tweets have a bit of snark, which keeps things interesting.
6. Catriona Cornett – @inspireUX
Catriona Cornett is a UX designer for RelateIQ. She has over 6 years of design experience, and as her Twitter bio states, she has “a passion for making people’s lives better through design.” Her feed is smart, witty, and useful; she shares her own UX blog posts, article links, quotes, and more.
7. Josh Brewer – @jbrewer
Josh Brewer knows something about UX design and Twitter as the company’s principal designer. He is also the co-creator of 52 Weeks of UX, an incredible UX resource. His posts are thoughtful and thought-provoking, and he links out to informative articles, shares tools, and invites discussion.
Want to learn more about user experience design? Sign up for an upcoming info session at a General Assembly campus near you.