Andrew -- here are a few thoughts... You confusion is understandable. I've been in the field for over 30 years and I'm still confused as well. Part of the reason is that the field is in flux, but another reason is that we have grown up as a collection of small specialties (UI, Ux, IA, IxD, etc.) based on distinctions that seem relevant to us as practitioners but may not be relevant to the outside world.
At the risk of pushing my own ideas, you might want to look at the thread I started called "My View of Interaction Design" and look at the brief paper I created. It is my own attempt to lay out my view so that I can learn from others who might have different but equally valid perspectives. (You can see the essay at www.cognetics.com/papers/IxD.pdf) I wanted to also comment on your point about not being a coder. I know that many people will disagree with me, but I feel it is important for Ix designers to have a technical background. To the extent that we need to work with developers who will implement our designs, I think it important that we be able to understand the work they do and respect their issues and difficulties. Many years ago I earned my living as a programmer. Today, I could not "program my way out of a paper bag" but I work hard to stay current so that I can interact with developers using their language and with some understanding of their world. Beyond that, I think the more you can immerse yourself in the milieu, the better. Do not worry about titles so much as connecting with others who work in the human-centric design profession. This would include human factors engineers, usability professionals, information architects and so forth. There is a lot of good writing on the web as well as a number of good books out. I wish you lots of success in your career. Best, Charlie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=25492 ________________________________________________________________ *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
