The New Makers

James Lang is Head of User Research at YouTube/Google, a former Product Manager at eBay and founder of Together By Design, a volunteer action research collective that helps people create healthy communities using the tools of experience design. He has also noticed a shift in his own field. In his talk "The new makers" at uxcon vienna 2026, he looks at a growing number of UX researchers who are building things directly, not just influencing what others build. They ship apps, found organisations and create frameworks. But what happens when researchers trained in rigour have to ship something imperfect, or when "researcher" no longer describes what you do? The talk is an honest look at the tradeoffs of this shift, based on interviews with researchers who made it. It introduces five modes of making to help you locate yourself on the spectrum from advising to owning. Want to watch more talks from uxcon vienna? Get access to all recordings here: https://www.uxcon.io/#pricing Together By Design: http://www.togetherbydesign.org/ More about uxcon vienna: https://www.uxcon.io