Overview
Reggie Murphy, Director of Research at Twitter and veteran in UX research, shares his journey into research, offers advice for beginners, and discusses the importance of human-centered approaches in design and research.
Reggie Murphy’s Background
- Reggie Murphy is the Director of Research at Twitter leading the Creation and Conversation Research team.
- His previous roles include leading research at Vanguard and Meta, particularly with Facebook's camera effects, groups, and workspaces.
- He has over 20 years of experience in research, focusing on human-centered design.
Journey into Research
- Reggie's research career began unexpectedly through his college experiences with a history major and communications minor.
- He worked as a news reporter at a campus radio station, enjoying the investigative and information-gathering aspects, which paralleled research.
- After college, he attended graduate school in communications, gaining formal research and management training.
- An internship at a radio station sales team introduced him to practical market research, collecting and analyzing audience data to support advertising sales.
Advice for Beginners in Research
- Following one's interests can lead to unexpected career paths in research.
- Foundational skills such as investigation, interviewing, and synthesizing information are valuable for entering research fields.
- Real-world experiences, even if outside traditional research roles, can provide useful transferable skills.
Human-Centered Research and Its Significance
- Emphasizes the importance of empathy, or seeing the world as others do, to inform human-centered research.
- Discusses frameworks and methods for understanding users deeply and ensuring research is impactful and accessible.
- Balancing art and science is crucial in research to capture nuanced, actionable insights.
Podcast and Series Information
- The episode is part of the "Notes of Design" podcast, which features creative leaders sharing insights on design-related concepts.
- New episodes are released every Friday.