You’re definitely on to something I’ve felt for some time, and to me the naming conventions is at the very core of the problem.

UX exists, but UX designers doing “the UX” only exist because we allow it. It’s completely fucked up that one small part of the company get to define the UX of the end result. And as you point out, this isn’t even the case.

Nope. UX designers shouldn’t exist. UXers shouldn’t exist. That title creates way too much confusion.

UI architect works for me, if UI designer might feel too much hands on visual design and neglect the research and strategy. In the end it’s about the UI, one way or the other.