I'm all for transparency too Jeff (it's really a main principle of the Designers Accord). I do think that sometimes complex problems require more nuanced and deep answers but they don't need to be alienating -- which is part of what I think you are getting at.
I have found that when I talk about sustainability to interaction designers, especially those who focus on web and software design, they tend to talk about design in general, and don't get specific about the craft. Philosophically, sustainable design is good design, and I am all for breaking down the silos of design (this is where AIGA and IDSA contribute so meaningfully to the Accord by evolving their definitions of the design disciplines). But where can interaction designers contribute specifically? I think of it basically like this: 1/ As providing the connective tissue between disparate concepts and geographies. Kiva is a great example of a system making enormous impact that is facilitated by the work of interaction designers. 2/ As enabling alternatives to traditional products. We often talk to clients about different service models that might supplant the traditional build-a-physical-product mindset. (This is something we do a lot at IDEO.) 3/ As creating forums for conversation. The richly woven conversations that we experience in online communities are provided for not just by the interaction designer who constructs the system, but by the engagements provided between people and their community, and ultimately their environment. This is a start %u2013 what else? - Valerie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24609 ________________________________________________________________ *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
