37 UX Design Memes to Cure/Curse Your Soul
Whether you laugh or cry, at least you’ll feel something
Reading Time: 18 mins
UX ain't easy.
Some days, I want to toss my laptop into the canal. That’s when I turn to memes for relief.
I designed these 37 memes to work through some of my UX trauma.™️ They’ve helped me become a more “me-centric designer.” Maybe they can dispel the dark patterns in your soul as well.
So please sit back, pour yourself a cold one, and join me on a UX meme journey to the depths of hell and back.
UX Memes
1. “Straight to Hi-Fi Designs”
O.J. thought he could get away with it, but the process always finds you…no matter how fast you jump into Figma.
2. “I fight for the user”
We’ve all said this at some point in our UX career, but the user doesn’t have any loyalty for you. And do you really think the business cares if you’re not making them money? None of this UX stuff is worth getting stabbed.
3. “Yes…the UI Work”
I’m convinced that if we let UX/UI designers practice UX design, the world would look different. Until then, you’ll have to beg for the time to do UX just to live up to your job title.
4. “UX Design Starter Pack”
If you haven’t done one of these clichés, are you really a UX designer? C’mon, a Don Norman shrine would look great next to your desk.
5. “The Same Portfolio”
First of all, friends don’t ask friends about the state of their portfolio. Unless you want to give someone instant depression, just don’t ask.
6. “Karen’s Artists”
Karen from HR can’t figure out why the company is paying so many graphical artists when the company already has a logo. Let her call you whatever she likes. You can save the other title for your Linkedin profile, but please no more than two titles at a time. Looking at you, UX/UI Product Designers.
7. “Interstellar Senior Promotion”
Either you’re forced to design faster than the speed of light or your boss is a black hole where fun goes to die. Either way, you’re going to need some more money or a new title to stay grounded.
8. “Things UX Designers Say on Linkedin”
Maybe it’s the fact that your boss can see your comments on Linkedin or maybe it’s the fact that the whole social network feels like off-brand vanilla ice cream. Either way, it’s a fertile ground for cringe UX conversations. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
9. “Sad Dog Design Tools”
I’ll never master motion design. Does that mean I’m not a good boy anymore? Please, somebody tell me I’m a good boy. (whimpers softly)
10. “Resumé Jail”
No regrets. The system is broken.
11. “Ok, Society”
Can we normalize design being patronized by wealthy donors like artists used to be? I call Britney Spears. I can see the jealousy from here.
12. “Geordi La Forge, Designer”
I recommend that you print this out and put it up at the border between product and sales. Watch the arguments ensue.
13. “Design, the job: part 1”
I genuinely thought that most of this was true when I was a kid. Boy, was I wrong…
14. “Design, the job: part 2”
I still don’t know what analogous colors are. Maybe my zombie-level eye strain prevents me from seeing it.
15. “Ideal User Flows?”
Somehow, users always manage to use the product differently than your user flows. This should be a principle of UX.
16. “UI Designer Starter Pack”
I mean, who hasn’t designed their apartment using an interface design tool? Nerds. We are all nerds. Embrace it.
17. “The UX Orbit”
I like to use this one to help the simpletons understand what UX is. Try it on the sales team.
18. “Design Process Trainwreck”
“Double Diamond? (laughs in head of design voice) Obviuosly, I’ve come up with my own process. It’s called pile of steaming iron and coal.”
19. “Distracted Designer”
When they said, “trust the process,” This is not what they were talking about.
20. “UX Career Grandson”
You might need a check from ‘ole Granny to survive all of those unpaid internships. What is the minimum these days for an entry-level job? Three to five years of experience? Back in Granny’s day, that was enough to make her the CEO. Just take the money.
21. “How Your Brain Actually Learns”
Ok, this is an instructional design meme rather than a UX meme. At the Fountain Institute, this concept is crucial to our work. We may think that our brains are like a hard drive, able to store information ideally. But in reality, it will require multiple sessions to learn something effectively. Keep this in mind next time you think you’re mastering something with only a book.
22. “Vision Pro vs. AI”
Who wants to look creepy wearing VR goggles while managing three full-time jobs from a coffee shop? Anybody? You’ll need all the coffee you can get because AI never sleeps.
23. “UX Waterfall + UX Researcher”
You thought you had the full meme, but we can finally zoom out to see the complete picture behind this classic UX waterfall meme. The UX researcher was always there, silent, judging everyone…which feels painfully accurate.
24. “Microsoft Notion”
I bet I almost gave you a heart attack just reading that headline. Remember when Adobe tried to buy Figma, and we thought all of our favorite tools would sell out? Well, imagine if this abomination would have happened. (shudders)
25. “UX Rabbit Hole”
Ok, this is more of a concept than a meme, but this is great to share with your team after a project that took twice as long as it should have because nobody properly explored the concept initially. You will make so many friends.
26. “Figma as Atlas Holding the World”
One day, someone like Adobe will buy Figma and turn off that fantastic free trial. Most designers I know will be out of luck then. I’d quit design before going back to Adobe tools.
27. “Design Sprint Microphones”
Raise your hand if you’re sick of hearing about the Design Sprint. It’s almost as if designers don’t care about methods or tools unless they can make them lots of money. Wait—it’s exactly like that.
28. “Saturn Devouring In-House Design Budgets”
This one is slightly spicy, but you have to “empathize” with in-house designers to understand it. Basically, it sucks watching companies blow all their budgets to help senior executives pretend to do design in Design Thinking workshops instead of hiring actual designers to do the work they’re trained for.
29. “Is this UX Strategy?”
Somebody who has a “seat at the table” just noticed me. Does that make me a strategist now?
30. “Portfolio Pills”
Sometimes, I think about how, if I charged myself my hourly rate, keeping my portfolio up to date would be a very expensive endeavor. Now, that’s a thought that is hard to unthink.
31. “Product Discovery Duo”
This is the most wholesome meme ever and the best meme to share in your product team’s Slack. When the devs ask you why they are omitted, ask them why they didn’t join the last interview. Crickets.
32. “Life of a UX Researcher”
Nobody reads, especially when the research report is ninety pages long without pictures. You gotta respect the amount of clickbait going on here, though. It would work on me. I would have clicked when I saw the “cute puppy edition.”
33. “UX Sorcery vs. Layer Mayor”
AI makes this meme a bit outdated, so I’ll catch up any future designers: So layers are this annoying aspect of design tools. Some people used to get annoyed if they had to use your file, but the layers weren’t appropriately named. Usually, this was a UI designer, and they would redo those layers anyway (maybe you can tell which one I am here). But they still needed to tell you loudly that you did it wrong. It was a weird time.
34. “Scooby Doo Design Thinking”
Ohhhhh, so that’s what is behind all those cute hexagons and media budgets! If you thought Design Thinking was universally loved, welcome to the new club of people who have been designers long enough to realize that Design Thinking is toxic for designers.
35. “The Design Promotion Loop”
It’s a neverending cycle. What can you do if you’re stuck in this loop? Besides taking on extra work, there is another way. I think it’s time you met with your manager and told them about your career goals. I promise you will not regret it.
36. “Help with User Interviews”
Everybody wants to talk about product discovery until it’s time to do it. Sadly, most people are too bored or think they’re too important to sit through customer interviews. That’s a shame because they’re always fascinating!
37. “The Ron Norman Quote”
Ron Norman, Don Norman’s evil twin is quite the rascal. Check out the full article to see more Ron Norman quotes: Fake Don Norman Quotes to Depress Your UX Friends
You know what they say, “A meme a day keeps the depression away.”
Hopefully, you’ll be good for at least a month now. If not, you can follow me on social media for more memes like this.
Which one was your favorite?
