This didn't sit well with me. I don't see how these are exclusive unless you are in the NoUI camp. To disregard the structure and appearance is to disregard the most evident part of the user experience.

This is a much more eloquent response.

He makes good points, but the argument is a bit extreme, as if someone who designs can't be a designer because someone can use it in unintended ways.

I actually claim the opposite: that everyone is working toward a positive user experience, from non-design employees, to designers, to the customer/participant. Affecting experiences can be done accidentally or without consideration, but designers who address UX are providing a setting where expected experiences are made.

Consider an artist: Because of the fact that someone can't control how the art is received means that they don't create art (and aren't an artist)? It doesn't remove their claim of trying to produce art regardless of what the viewer reacts with it.

Is a chef not aiming for a delicious, pleasant meal at the right temperature? Sure, the user can wait 30 minutes to eat cold food that doesn't taste the same, but the intention and service would have also played a role in steering them to eat when it was fresh and ready. All components were to serve the experience. A chef deals with taste bud experience, nourishment experience, dinner experience, etc. A chef certainly deals with UX, just in particular realms.

The problem with the the term UX is its saturation. There are many contributions that alter or affect experiences, which makes UX ubiquitous. That's what makes the term so broad without defining the nuts and bolts of how or what UX professionals are doing.

I'd imagine you'd have to increase the font size of Garamond so that people with poorer eyesight could still read it in many cases, which might cancel out the savings. Those serifs are costing them too, so might as well go with a sans-serif.

Maybe a more practical approach would be to find a way to keep the typographic weight and contrast while using less ink. Possibly using less ink droplets per inch, just enough where legibility is still clear. Or adjust paper stock (something like newsprint should spread and bleed a drop of ink on more than a coated paper would).

Or print at the size of post-it notes and require everyone use a magnifying glass?!

Anybody have recommendations for books on lettering (instructive or not)?

I'm pretty versed in typography, and have a couple Speedball calligraphy books, but nothing else on lettering specifically.

I agree with you. It's impossible to please every single person though, even if the work is "good" or generally well designed.

For the sake of multiple opinions, I'd also like to hear about those who haven't pursued a degree, and and are not living the dream yet. What has been your biggest struggle (seen as too risky being an unschooled independent, companies skip over you on paper without education cred, small portfolio, etc)?

I went to a university, and personally, it definitely accelerated my potential. Back in the day, I couldn't get design jobs right out of high school, nor did I have many worthy projects under my belt. If I initially had industry connections or found a fruitful company to learn under, I may have never went to college. That route wasn't the right fit a t the time, so I went to a community college, then found scholarships for university.

My best friend (not a designer) didn't want to go to university, so he offered to intern for free somewhere he though would help out in his career. He's been climbing up the ladder for several years with the same company. So it definitely depends on both the person and the current opportunities. If you have enough dedication, you could make both paths work.

I think the slight increase in breathing room makes this drastically less claustrophobic and more pleasant to skim. But agree with others that a blacker weight and indentation would help with small print reading/scanning.

The design also breaks as soon as you have a 1000+ calorie item. But, I agree with your sentiment, and like the idea of making this label more friendly and palatable for everyday shoppers.

It does seem a bit accusatory. I'd sum up the article as an attack on the misuse/abuse of the term, and a rant on the lack of testing and evaluation by "unqualified" designers.

I think there are some implications regarding the designer/audience relationship, but the field UX design as a job or role isn't something that resides in its own silo, nor is it meaningless. I've written about this before: http://www.ekloff.com/2013/everybody-is-a-ux-designer/

Would it be worth learning quartz composer to help define and tweak animations and interactions for iOS? I've been using Edge animate for this purpose, but it's a bit limited and focused on HTML/js output.