[I simply want us to agree on something and move on to bigger and better things.]
Isn't this exactly what this list is doing, trying to have lots of people agreeing? With moderate success. [It is realistic to think we can address this and solve it once and for all? I really don't know.] I personally don't think we can solve it by having all the people agreeing on a definition just as art experts can't agree on what art is. And my two cents then... (Good) Interaction design to me isn't possible to define unless you compare it with something, otherwise it's "just any other design" in the same way as anyone can say they are a musician or an artist. Moving on from this, I'd say that anyone calling themselves an Interaction Designer needs to prove that they indeed are good interaction designers, either by their track record or if they don't have any, by having the right mentors (people, companies or schools). I wouldn't say that our field needs to "scientifically prove" its existence in some sort of grand unification theory. Also, wouldn't it be boring to have a formula that anyone can use to make good design? The thing that drove me into this fields (and still entices me), is the simple fact that you just can't predict the outcome of a design to 100% since all people are different. All the tools we use are ways of minimizing the risk of it being way off. Still, isn't it wonderful that there are people that just get it right by daring to try out a new direction? This is why I love Apple products since they manage to create that magical desire for a product - simply to package things that people feel they need. I don't think there is a way of measuring desirability. Talking about MacBook Air, well, I wasn't all that impressed. It's sort of a half-way point to where we could be. Still, it makes me think of the possibilities I could use it for, and not to mention of the things to come. As for my track record, well, it's not superbly good, so I call myself a novice interaction designer :-) /tommy -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff White Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:21 AM To: Charlie Kreitzberg Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] MacBook Air Charlie and Robert, I couldn't agree more. I get equally as frustrated every time the list talks about what design is, or what interaction design is. I simply want us to agree on something and move on to bigger and better things. I've expressed this in the past, the response I got was that, hey, this is a discussion list, it happens. The conversation is valuable, even if it does happen frequently at an excruciatingly level of detail. It's not the destination, it's the journey type of stuff. I can see that point of view and I can the point of view that the 3 of us seem to share. I'm not sure what to do about it, or if we should do something about it. I know that the term "user centered design" isn't really technically accurate, as others have pointed out - it's not *just* about users, it's about other context - goals, technology, etc. But does it do us any good or the larger community we're trying to serve any good to debate endlessly about a definition? Does it do any good when consulting agencies spin off different terms for the same darn thing for competitive advantage or profit centric agendas? It is realistic to think we can address this and solve it once and for all? I really don't know. But I'd love to be a part of some effort to find out. Jeff On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:14:25, Charlie Kreitzberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well, I also find it frustrating. One of the problems with our field > is that it's hard to define. Key terms we use -- like design -- mean > a lot of things to people. I'm really bored with hearing how the term > "user" is terrible and only also used by drug dealers. > > Etc. etc. > > Frankly, I think it hurts us. > > All the way back in 2003, when I was editor in chief of User > Experience magazine, I wrote an editorial that said in part: > > "Can we collectively (and by this I mean all the players in our > human-centered universe) come up with a clear, shared, compelling > and, above all, actionable vision to present to the technology > community? To do this, we'd have to make a few concessions. We'd > have to put aside our love of arguing fine distinctions and reach for > the fundamental agreements that we all share. We'd have to agree upon > a common terminology even if some nuances are lost." > > My call to action was to suggest that get together and make it > happen. But it seems that we are not quite there yet. > > Charlie > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24564 > > > ________________________________________________________________ > > *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 > ________________________________________________________________ *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 ________________________________________________________________ *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
