Learning experience design (LXD) is often compared to and sometimes confused with other disciplines like instructional design, user experience design, experience design or design thinking (and the list goes on!) So, how does LXD compare to these disciplines and how is it different?

Disciplines like user experience design, instructional design and experience design are part of the foundation of LXD. They are also very different from each other. For example, a user experience designer has a totally different education, approach and skillset than an instructional designer. So, how is it possible that one person might claim LXD is the same as instructional design, while another claims it is closest to user experience design? Or that LXD is design thinking for learning professionals. Or that LXD is simply a form of experience design.

While there’s some truth to all of these claims, none of them are completely true. There is no single discipline that can be considered the origin of LXD. It is an interdisciplinary field which fuses elements of all of kinds of disciplines into a new design discipline.

It sounds logical enough, but why do these comparisons and misconceptions keep popping up? The answer is simple: people define LXD based on what they are familiar with. They go with what they know. Let’s dig a bit deeper into the two fields that LXD is compared to most frequently: instructional design and user experience design.

What is the difference between learning experience design and instructional design?

Instructional designers see LXD through the lens of instructional design (ID). They wonder “how is learning experience design different from instructional design?” On the surface, LXD and ID might look similar, but when you dig deeper, they are fundamentally different.

These are some of the key differences between instructional design and learning experience design:

The main difference lies in the origin and subsequent approach of both disciplines. LXD is a creative discipline with a design approach while ID is a learning discipline with a scientific approach. That’s not to say that instructional designers can’t be creative or that learning experience designers can’t use science. In fact, that’s highly recommendable. It’s about the origin and corresponding perspective, methods, skills and tools that gives each discipline it’s own characteristics. In short, these are two different approaches for similar purposes with different results.

The idea that LXD comes from outside of the world of learning is rather disruptive and causes a mix of enthusiasm and resistance. Learning professionals who feel limited by what ID has to offer are often happy to embrace LXD and change their way of working. While other instructional designers who who are doing just fine may feel threatened by designers coming into their field. Fortunately, the general response is positive as we all understand the power and importance of human experience.

What is the difference between learning experience design and user experience design?

User experience designers can see learning experience design as user experience design (UXD) for learners. However, there is a big difference between designing for a learner instead of a user. Each has their own needs, challenges and goals and creating a suitable design for them requires very different solutions. Obviously, the focus on learning requires an understanding of how people learn and an adaptation of some design methods and tools.

It's not a huge step from UXD to LXD. There are more similarities in their overall approach than differences. Transferring to learning experience design isn’t that straight forward though. Designing for a different audience with completely different needs requires an adaptation and addition of certain skills. For example, you would ask different questions to a user than a learner in an interview. Not having a background in learning is the biggest hurdle. Gaining foundational learning expertise is essential if you want to ensure your learners get to the desired learning outcome. At the same time, being able to design products like apps, websites and online platforms is a huge plus that can be applied perfectly in the field of learning.

How is learning experience design different from other fields?

We’ve just covered the differences between learning experience design, instructional design and user experience design. There are several other disciplines that are relevant to LXD, like:

• Interaction design
• Design thinking
• Experience design
• Game design
• Service design
• Graphic design

I won’t go into each discipline right now, that’s simply too much. What I’d like to point out is that LXD has been influenced by all of these fields in different ways. As an interdisciplinary field LXD incorporates elements of several design- and learning disciplines like the ones listed here. It also means that it’s hard and not very useful to dissect and trace back individual elements and contribute them to specific disciplines. Mostly because there is overlap between different disciplines. For example, cognitive psychology is applied both in interaction design and instructional design.

Keep in mind that the combination of elements can be more than the sum of it’s parts. For example, the combination of game design and learning science has led to the creation of serious games. A serious game isn’t just a game and it isn’t just educational. It’s the combination of play and learning that makes it so powerful. The same applies to LXD, where combining elements from a variety of disciplines makes is so powerful.