Hi Lukeisha, I think you are starting off on the right foot. Having a Psychology background is a big plus because it allows you to look at things from a people perspective. Not sure where you live, but a good way to gain a little more IxD experience is to volunteer in your local community with projects that will give you that experience. If you live in a city where there's an active IxD chapter, I'd encourage you to get involved any way you can. This will help connect you with people in your area that do the things that you want to do. It will also give you the opportunity to absorb information from those around you (and perhaps even gain a mentor - one thing I think the IxDA could really use - a mentorship program).
That's just a start. Oh, another idea, if you have a product design program somewhere in your area, take a few classes. Get your hands dirty in a studio course... that will help you learn the design process (if you haven't already). Good luck! David On Nov 26, 2007 5:26 PM, Lukeisha Carr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi All, > > I'm trying to transition into the IxD area of IT. I > come from a backend web application developer background, approx. 7 > years. Although, I've done some minor CSS, JavaScript, etc., I'm not a > visual designer. My interest in IxD has come about over the last year > or so due to my having done tons of hard work, along with my teammates, > on the backend of web applications, only have the users who don't know > anything about all the backend stuff complain and not like the > usability of the system. I began to realize that, although we did have > visual designers on the team, the interaction design suffered due to > lack of time & effort spent on that portion of it. Not to mention > I majored in Psychology, so I've always been curious about human > behavior. And, what better way to combine 2 well loved interests, > right? HCI :-) > > I > have since left the environment described above, and I'm now working as > a Business Analyst. I thought this might put me closer to my goal, but > I realize that this particular position does not. I also know that > working in certain firms, IxD is not the companies' core concern. They > just want to get a quick application. So, I'm looking for a position > in which I would be allowed the opportunity to become more involved > with the IxD area of application design. However, every position I see > requires 3-5 years experience. Although, I have 7 years web > development experience, and I've been reading up on IxD, I've never had > the opportunity to actually create any of the deliverables to be able > to show a portfolio of any kind to a prospective employer. > > Can anyone give any advice on the following, and any more that you can > think of? > > -- What is the ideal background for someone entering IxD? > -- > How can one obtain some practical experience, even when that person is > in an environment that is not conducive to providing it? > > I appreciate any thoughts. > > Thanks! > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better pen pal. > Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how. > http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/ > ________________________________________________________________ > *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://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- w: http://www.davidshaw.info ________________________________________________________________ *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://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
