Episode 45 | June 21, 2022
UX 2050: Jakob Nielsen on the future of user experience
Jakob Nielsen predicts 100M UX pros by 2050. Discover how UX will evolve and why small improvements drive massive impact.
UX 2050: The future of user experience, according to Jakob Nielsen
What if the future of work wasn’t just shaped by artificial intelligence or automation—but by user experience professionals? That’s the bold vision shared by Jakob Nielsen, co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, in his recent appearance on Insights Unlocked.
In Episode 45, Jakob breaks down how the UX profession is poised to grow from 1.5 million to 100 million people over the next few decades, and what that explosion means for businesses, innovation, and the global economy.
The rocket trajectory of the UX profession
“From 1950 to 2050, we’ve seen and will continue to see exponential growth,” Jakob explained. While UX may have started with a handful of pioneers building interfaces from scratch, today it’s an established discipline with frameworks, best practices, and a tangible impact on business outcomes.
He attributes part of the recent acceleration to the pandemic. “So many more things became virtual,” he said. “E-commerce is the number-one clear-cut case for user experience ROI. It’s stupendously obvious and high.” While the explosive spike may not continue indefinitely, the upward trajectory remains strong—and, he argues, inevitable.
Guide
Keys to impactful designs that drive goal conversion rates
Iteration over invention
Jakob is clear-eyed about what really drives progress in user experience. It’s not flashy innovation or moonshot ideas. It’s the daily, deliberate work of simplifying, refining, and improving existing systems. “There’s not that much revolutionary innovation,” he said. “Most of the value comes from doing things right and integrating things.”
He compares bold new ideas to rough sketches—impressive from afar but often missing crucial detail. A small change, like rewriting a button label, can lead to massive gains in conversion. This mindset of continual improvement echoes the Japanese principle of Kaizen—steady, incremental progress that leads to breakthrough results over time.
A growing UX workforce means growing responsibility
As the field expands, it must welcome new talent with empathy. Jakob emphasized that if UX is to scale to 100 million professionals, the industry must support those at every skill level. “You’ve got to accept that we cannot only have top super-genius talent,” he said. “And you’ve also got to welcome new people with the recognition that in the beginning, they’re not going to be as good as they will be in five or ten years.”
Thankfully, unlike the early days of UX where practitioners had to invent guidelines themselves, today’s professionals have a wealth of intellectual tools to draw on—frameworks, research methods, and design systems that accelerate learning and execution.
UX as a driver of business impact
The ROI of UX is no longer a mystery to executives. As Alfonso de la Nuez, co-host of Insights Unlocked, noted, “Companies that are making a big investment in UX, we’re having those conversations with them about the ROI and measuring the impact.”
Jakob added that the growth isn’t just about more UX people per company, but more companies investing in UX. “It’s 100 times more companies that have UX people,” he said. “Almost everything shifts when the return on investment is there.”
He also spoke about a broader economic shift: as societies mature, people seek more than functionality—they seek delight, clarity, and emotional resonance. That’s exactly where UX shines.
Building a culture of continuous improvement
In the end, Jakob believes the biggest transformation won’t be a single invention or product, but a mindset. A commitment to systematic, iterative enhancement of digital experiences.
“It’s not one change that makes the difference,” he said. “It’s the cumulative effect of 1,000 improvements.”
As we look ahead to 2050, that philosophy may well define the future of user experience—and the organizations that embrace it will be the ones leading the way.
Episode links:
- Emerging trends and tools in UX: Explore the latest trends and strategies in UX to future-proof your design teams in a rapidly evolving landscape.
- Calculating and communicating the ROI of product design: Learn how to effectively communicate the ROI of product design within your organization, align design activities with key business metrics, and overcome internal challenges.
- Embracing change in UX: Insights from Jakob Nielsen: In this episode, Jakob Nielsen discusses AI’s role in UX, the commoditization of UX, and offers career advice for UX professionals navigating an evolving industry.
- How to measure UX ROI and impact: Discover how and why you should calculate the ROI of your UX, UI, CX, and design research, and learn how UX teams can prove the business value of UX improvements.
