What fossils teach us about design

Designers are, by nature, problem solvers. But what happens when we define the wrong problem from the start? That’s the quiet trap many UX teams fall into. We become so locked into our assumptions that we fail to notice the real opportunities sitting right in front of us.

There’s an unlikely but powerful story from paleontology that illustrates this: the case of the Essexella fossil. For decades, scientists believed it was a jellyfish. It wasn’t. And the reason they got it wrong has everything to do with perspective a concept every UX designer should internalize.

The Fossil That Fooled Scientists

Essexella fossils are abundant in the Mazon Creek region of Illinois. For more than 50 years, they were labeled as jellyfish because they looked like jellyfish. But something never added up. These fossils appeared in places jellyfish shouldn't have been. Their shape didn’t align with typical jellyfish anatomy. Still, the assumption stuck.

One turn of the fossil changed everything.

And just like that, we have a metaphor that applies directly to UX When we hold on too tightly to our first assumption, we risk misinterpreting the entire design problem.

You Are Not Your User

This might be the most fundamental truth in UX and yet it's so easy to forget. Designers, developers, and product managers bring their own experiences to the table. But those experiences are not universal. We design for people who think differently, act differently, and move through the world differently than we do.

Like the scientists who saw a jellyfish because they expected to see a jellyfish, we sometimes design features or flows because we assume we know what the user wants. We filter user behavior through the lens of our own understanding.

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User Research Is Our Reorientation Tool

In UX, user research is how we rotate the fossil. It's how we challenge what we think we know.

Research helps us uncover the hidden context behind user behavior. It reveals motivations, frustrations, and habits that wouldn't show up in analytics dashboards alone. Without it, we’re guessing. With it, we’re learning.

Here’s how that reorientation works in practice:

1. Discovery interviews help us identify needs users can’t always articulate
   
   
2. Usability testing shows us where friction lives in our product flows
   
   
3. Field studies or shadowing reveal environmental context that affects user decisions
   
   
4. Surveys and behavioral data confirm what we’ve observed qualitatively
   
   

Good research doesn’t just validate ideas. It corrects misinterpretations before they harden into product decisions.

Design Isn’t Static It Evolves

Another parallel with fossils is the idea of evolution. Just as species adapt over time, so should products. Your interface from six months ago might have worked then, but users evolve. Technology changes. Expectations shift.

Designing with an evolutionary mindset means recognizing that UX is never finished. We’re always learning, always testing, always adapting. We start with our best guess but we refine based on real-world behavior.

Just like Plotnick revisited old fossils with fresh eyes, UX teams should revisit old assumptions with new data.

Case in Point - Airbnb and Slack

You can see this principle in the origin stories of some of today’s most successful platforms.

• Slack wasn’t created to be a communication tool. It was an internal messaging system for a failed gaming company. But its creators noticed how much their team loved using it. Instead of sticking to their original vision, they flipped their perspective and turned Slack into a standalone product.
  
  
• Airbnb didn’t start with a grand platform strategy. Its founders simply rented out air mattresses in their apartment during a design conference. But by watching and listening to both hosts and guests, they realized they weren’t just offering a place to stay—they were creating experiences. The platform evolved to match that insight.
  
  

These companies succeeded not by following their original roadmap, but by shifting course based on what they discovered.

Seeing with New Eyes: How to Build Perspective into UX Practice

So how do we build this idea into our day-to-day design work? How do we make sure we’re not mistaking jellyfish for anemones in our own products?

Here are a few mindset shifts and practices to adopt:

1. Start with curiosity, not certainty
   Assume you might be wrong. Ask more questions than you answer in early stages.
   
   
2. Make research non-negotiable
   Even a few hours of direct user observation can reshape your entire roadmap.
   
   
3. Design to be tested, not admired
   Prototypes are not final products they are experiments. Use them to uncover truth.
   
   
4. Collaborate across disciplines
   Developers, marketers, and support teams often see patterns we miss. Invite their input early.
   
   
5. Return to problems periodically
   What you solved last year may no longer be relevant. Recheck assumptions often.
   
   

Final Thought

A fossil may look like a jellyfish. A design may look “good enough.” But surface impressions aren’t enough. UX isn’t about being clever it’s about being clear. And clarity only comes when we’re willing to challenge our perspective

At Meadowloop, we're more than a design offramp; we're an interstate linking clients' perspectives with user needs. Partner with us to transform user experiences and achieve your design goals.