The Why is more important than The How

I almost called UX Hero the “WhyOfDesign.com”. A dreadful name, but one I considered because I couldn’t stop thinking about how “the Why” of things is far more important than “the How.”

Then I discovered this quote from David Lee Roth:

“He who knows how will always work for he who knows why.”

Click. The Why is the gulf of responsibility between the carpenter and the architect, the grunt and the general. It’s the difference between tactics and strategy.

That’s why in your own career you should get out of The How business and get into the The Why business as soon as you can. Stop being a programmer who merely executes other people’s blueprints. Stop being a web designer who makes useless sites look pretty.

You might have guessed that I’m really writing this post for myself. I’m exploring my own career and aspirations because to me the nuts and bolts of design are no longer interesting, while the biases, behaviors, and human factors that drive user experience are fascinating.

Now the challenge is to get from here to there.