Nick Iozzo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> We are in the midst of creating a new field. If we define this field as
> GraphicDesign + Computer Engineering + Usability Evaluations +
> UserResearch = Interaction Designer. Then no interaction designers
> would ever exist. No one can advanced in all of these equally (but for
> the occasional Leonardo).
I wouldn't say this is a recent event. This has been ongoing for a few decades.
But there aren't any rules that say one can't advance in more than one area,
especially over time. In general, it can only improve one's overall
effectiveness by trying to advance in more than one area.
> So, by my definition, to be a good interaction designer you need to:
> * Focus in on just the interaction design (the design of the functions)
> * Be able to work well with someone responsible for the look and feel (the
design of the form)
> * Be able to gain empathy with your users
> * Be able to validate your designs with your users
> * Be able to design something that can be built.
Your definition looks nice on paper. But to remain employable, the reality
check is any user experience "shepherd", whatever the title and using whatever
they have in their bag of skill goodies, needs to be flexible enough to tackle
whatever they feel needs to be done in within the organization/group/company to
assure the users' experience is as good as possible.
To be the most marketable, you should probably set your goals on getting as
close to da Vinci as you feel comfortable/necessary. Generally, the larger the
company, the more specialized the roles and responsibilities become. In small
companies, one needs to wear many hats. Your skill set may also heavily depend
on which work environment suits you.
Since creating a good user experience (usable , useful, etc.) involves many
areas:
- interaction design
- information design
- visual design
- prototyping ('lite programming')
- requirements analysis
- competitive analysis
- specification definition
- usability & usefulness assessment
- user research
- evangelizing UE,
- and probably a few more that I can't think of at the moment...
we have the blessing and curse of picking what we'd like to specialize in to be
effective in any given situation. A blessing because we have the freedom to
pick from a long list of options. A curse because so do companies and
recruiters. A curse because after all these years, we still struggle with what
to call ourselves and how to define that title.
desiree mccrorey
Desiree McCrorey
UI Architect/Web Producer
www.healthline.com
desiredcreations.com
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