Jeff, here's my take on that. The need to distinguish between UCD and UX is not, I think, felt in the day-to-day work we do. Instead I think having clear terminology is important when we reflect on what we do.
Although I am a user experience designer, there are times when I am not actually focused on user-centered design (gasp!). The user is always near-to-mind, but I may employ a different approach to get to a design concept or prototype (or even suggest some sanity into a database design). Though not UCD, it still ends up benefiting users' experiences. I used to think of myself as a usability specialist, but then I realized that focusing on usability alone hindered me from pursuing great designs. Now I think of myself as a UX designer, and I can use all that usability, information architecture, design research, information design, interaction design, writing, visual design, coding, et cetera stuff to get the job done better. When we get a chance to reflect on our work, clear terminology leads to clear thinking, which helps unify and free-up the creative work we do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47132 ________________________________________________________________ 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
