I feel the UI/UX space is so full of zero skill people.
From a couple of days ago on HN [1], it's possible to have over 1,000 layers on Figma just to create a button [2] and over 10,000 layers on an entire website. And that's just for creating a design on Figma. Then there is the field of UX research to gather data on the design, the sense behind choosing colors and typography for UI, a familiarity with working with shadows to create a sense of depth on the page, and even working with sound and audio for feedback.
I don't even see how it's possible to hold a UI/UX position and not do anything, because there are very clear deliverables that can be asked for, and a manager can soon tell if a person isn't completing the work. It's plausible that low-skill people can exist in the field, but I genuinely can't imagine how one could stay low-skill yet keep the position.
Really proves the no skill point.
Design makes or breaks a product. Not sure where you got the impression that it's useless and professional designers gets nothing done.
I'm just trying to understand what makes you think that in the field of design, 99.99% of the professionals are clueless? What about in the marketers? Are they also 99.99% clueless?
Trying to learn how non-designers think of the profession/professional designers.
The difference between him and the other ones I have run into since, he watched users use the product, he would ask users how they might operate low fi paper mock ups, before us developers even saw the design. He tried his best not to project his own preferences and idiosyncrasies on the interaction design.
On the other hand, I have not seen this since. Compared to him, in my anecdata 90% are not clueless, but pretty bad.
That said, talented designers can arguably be a company's most valuable employees. Product design is the axis on which many tech companies compete, not technological innovation. Technical competency is table stakes.