Steven, A development background is not by itself a hindrance to entering the field (many people on this list, myself included, come from one). However, depending on the kind of position you are applying for, it may be more or less relevant. In an agency environment, where ideas/concepts are usually more important than driving a design to successful execution, a development background may be seen as limiting your creativity. In a product development environment (especially in a smaller company or one practicing agile development), it could be invaluable.
I would also suggest focusing your portfolio on the practical design aspects of projects you've worked on rather than their academic motivation or presentations you've given on them. Do this on the first page - never assume that a potential employer has the time to look at your portfolio in depth. As Dan so succinctly states it, "Your portfolio has to say: I am a person with good ideas and skills you can use." Best of luck, Dmitry On 10/30/07, Steven Pautz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm also trying to "break into" the field. I've haven't been searching > nearly as long, but I'm having some similar experiences. > > For my portfolio, I left out nearly everything I did as coursework, except > for one "ooh, shiny" project, but the remainder of my work was either > school-contexted (extracurricular stuff, but not commercial) or was for > smaller projects/teams that didn't need and couldn't justify formal (ie, > non-whiteboard) wireframes or other artifacts/communicables. So far, it > seems as though those things haven't helped my "interest or ambition in the > field" score, though. (Although they don't count as "same type of work I'm > aspiring to get", either.) > > I'm working on a very large personal project to demonstrate (and practice) > process and artifacts and such. Would it be preferable to de-emphasize > several minor and tangentially-related items in order to promote one huge, > unfinished, very relevant project? Or is it more likely that I'm just not > presenting the less-relevant work effectively or appropriately? ;-) > > I'm also coming from a more development-oriented background, which doesn't > seem to resonate with many people. (Anybody want > IA/IxD/UX/PHP/SQL/C++/OpenGL/OMGWTFBBQ?) In a few cases, it seemed as though > mentioning development experience actually hurt me more than it helped -- > which makes sense given the number of developers who don't seem to discern > between solution and implementation. I'm steadfast in my belief that > technical knowledge can add value to design (when applied appropriately, > just like any other discipline or tool,) so I don't want to just omit it > from my resume/portfolio, but it seems as though some employers/people > almost consider it a negative.... Has anybody else experienced this? > > --------------------------- > Steven Pautz > seeking junior- to mid-level IxD/IA/UX/UCD work > http://stevenpautz.com/portfolio/ > ________________________________________________________________ > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
