David, I'm in the same boat as you, having started off as a web/graphic designer before moving into UX. I changed around my portfolio and titles as you did, and have been boning up on all the literature. I think you are what it says on your biz card/LinkedIn page, since there's no vetting degree or guild. The trick is backing up whatever your title says with your experience and education, and thereby meeting expectations.
There's enough people out there at mid-to-high level with clear UX portfolios that I'm competing for low-level which is tough to pay the bills. If I could afford it, I'd even push for an internship at an agency like Cooper or Huge. That said, I have been able to get freelance projects as a web art director who is UX-oriented and then apply UX principles and processes even though I'm not getting paid for it. I'm documenting the hell out of everything, and I hope to turn those into true UX case studies to prove I know what I'm blathering on about. The main thing is that I can win over clients to being user-focused in their sites & apps. That's half my title, right there. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39914 ________________________________________________________________ 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
