How is writing music like design work?

Writing a musical score is an exercise in collaboration and communication. As the composer, I was usually recruited towards the end of a project by creative types, who already had a vision in mind. My job was to create a brand new musical backdrop that matched the tone, mood, and setting they had already established.

Just as in UX, my own output was driven by external demands. In each project I worked through dozens of iterations in my pursuit a pitch-perfect response audiences, all based on regular feedback from the director. Additionally, since most film directors do not speak the language of music, I found it necessary to translate my domain knowledge into lay-language that they (and everyone else on the project) could understand.