I do contract work for both private clients and through an agent. My resume
and my bio say "user experience specialist." I am finding that "user
experience" has taken hold in mainstream business and so people to whom I
pitch proposals understand it. To them, of course, I describe the exact
tasks I will do for their project and these can include requirements
gathering, user research, information architecture, interaction design,
wireframing, and usability evaluation and testing.
I find that if I use the term "designer," people expect me to be a graphic
designer - to do the visual design of the product, all the icons, and such.
I am a poor graphic designer and I prefer to work with someone who
specializes in visual design to provide that component of the project.
My experience using "interface designer" has also lead people to assume I am
a visual designer, but in many IT departments and small companies, and
interface designer is the developer who creates the interface. When I look
at requests for contractors that say "web designer," they want someone who
does everything I do and does visual design and the coding.
I believe that because many of us do multiple tasks within the overall
design and development of a product, we have to find a term that encompasses
this breadth of skills and experience.
Mary Deaton
Manager, STC Usability and User Experience Community
Deaton Interactive Design
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Malouf" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 5:13 AM
Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Do you regard "Interaction Design" as good
namefor your design practice? else, what's your prefer?
Before I started doing hardware design, I said "software designer".
Like Josh I thought it helpful to focus on the product and found that
"interface" was too technical.
Now that I do hardware, I'm "stuck" with "interaction designer"
and the labor (of love) of explaining to people exactly what I do. In
a way, It is actually a great opening ...
"I'm an Interaction Designer"
"What's that?"
"Blah blah blah ... [chance to really teach people]."
What I learned from "software designer" is that many people were
left thinking I was a developer ... same for UI Designer, etc. This
way I get to explain my role more completely. Sometimes a vague
opening allows for a strong finish. :)
-- dave
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