I've been straddling a few of those fences for quite a while, and
still not sure what my title should be. Plus my roll shifts from
project to project, and client to client. Back in the 90's when I
worked at Hotwired everyone invented their own titles because we knew
they were trivial compared the the work that we were doing. Actual
roles within an organization are defined more clearly by how you
integrate with your colleagues. For me the title is not paramount, but
only a convenience at the point of hiring.
For me, the complete point of Interaction Design, User Experience,
Information Architecture, etc, is to be multi-disciplinary. And in the
web industry you will survive a lot longer if you don't over-
specialize. Critical thinking, problem solving skills, and
collaborating well with others to me are the most important skills
that endure. The medium is still evolving rapidly, and today's hot
specialist today can easily be tomorrow's unemployment recipient.
In my experience if you are looking for a role that crosses
disciplines, generally you will have better luck in smaller
organizations (or newer entrepreneurial ones) which are less
bureaucratic, and by nature can't afford to put everyone into pigeon-
hole.
. . . michael kay
. . . buenos aires / http://www.peep.org
On 19/05/2009, at 01:26, Craig Melbourne wrote:
"So, I'd say, don't look for a position as a dual designer/coder.
Look for a position as a designer or as a programer but just *BE* the
designer/programmer that you are! "
As someone in similar shoes to yourself I completely agree with Dave
here. Although advertised positions requiring both are rare that's
not always the case once you're inside. I often go into contracts as
either a IX/UX designer OR a UI developer and, because of my
background, find myself getting involved in the other. I usually take
these roles because I see an opportunity to get involved in both when
doing a bit of background research on the company. These days I tend
to sell myself as a IX/UX designer (major) with a solid UI dev
(minor) skill set as thats how I want the balance to be.
And yes, it is possible to be great at both.
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