Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
I totally disagree. I've worked with a few interaction designers that had reputable university degrees specific to interaction design and they were as you say 'worthless'. I asked one what web sites applications etc..she thought were well done and she said she didn't do that. Another had never heard of Tufte. Those were just the 2 examples off the top of my head. I would expect more from any breathing life form that had a pulse and the nerve to throw the title around. In my experience past and current never seeing the people and conveying the message remote is ideal. I've seen more quality from 2 people in sync from a far than entire teams holding 2 weekly whiteboard sessions. I've learned more from reading your books than anyone ever taught me in class or by example. I would never want to monopolize the work place with my school crownies either. Just my thoughts, nothing personal. I'm taking a relational database theory class online right now and it is way better than any tech class I've ever taken and had to sit and listen to the most often slanted political speech of the instructors personal preferences accompanied by slides. FYI, I was a high school continuation student; but, I was also in geometry when I was in 6th grade. It was all down hill from there. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 7:58 AM, Dan Saffer d...@odannyboy.com wrote: On Jan 20, 2009, at 9:03 PM, Ben Vaughan wrote: However, I must respectfully disagree that the only way to benefit from a program is by personally attending. Based on what exactly? Is there anyone on the list who has attended design school who thinks it can be taught remotely? If so, that's an opinion I've yet to hear. It wasn't quite design school remotely, but I did take the postgraduate module on user centred design from Open University which is a highly respected institute of distance learning in the UK. It gave me a good foundation in the basics of UCD, though it has a IS/engineering bias (lots of use cases, etc.). I did that so that I could work full-time while studying - none of the UK HCI or IxD postgraduate programmes in the UK have evening classes. Even part time, they assume you will only work a few days a week. A few years later, I took a year off and completed an MSc in HCI from UCL. Although I learned a lot from the OU course, the UCL one was much more in-depth, partially because it was a whole MSc instead of just one module that was part of another MSc, but another was the fact that it wasn't distance learning and we had lots of design and other kinds of workshops. On the other hand, the basics/foundations of the course could probably be taught by distance learning. So maybe the solution is to create more programs that combine distance learning with workshops later in the program or more infrequently - i.e., 1-2 intensive weeks of workshopping that allow students to use their holiday time to attend full-time but can more easily keep their jobs while doing the rest of the study. It might take longer to get the course done that way, but it always does if you're attending part time. As for getting a job without a degree or considerable experience, it's very hard in the current market, at least in London. Before I had the MSc but with the OU course and some experience (plus years of industry experience as a producer/front-end developer), I got interviews. After the MSc, I got job offers and now work as a User Experience Architect. I think the KU course sounds like a good idea with evening classes for professionals in Lawrence and Kansas City. If I still lived in the area and didn't already have a degree, I'd seriously consider it, especially since Masters programs are 2 years full time in the US instead of just 1. (KU is my undergraduate alma mater, though I studied totally unrelated fields to what I do today.) -- Renée Rosen-Wakeford rene...@gmail.com Twitter: @lilitu93 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
I have to agree with Dan here. A remote learning program in interaction is not a great solution regardless of its convenience. You can certainly access texts and publications from nearly anywhere, but immersion and social learning is an important component of the experience. I am sure that you can learn the principles and guidelines of the field from books, but the discourse, collaboration, debates and even the arguments are what crystalize the foundations for your passion and expertise. I will go a step further and say that while having a source for direct application of what you learn (a job) is great, the experience for me was optimal when I could devote 2/3 of my time in research, theory and classwork rather than 1/3. The evening classes are a great option to expand reach of the discipline and this program... but immersion is well worth the price of admission. Mark btw: I am amongst a couple of dozen masters graduates from the University of Kansas that studied in this program prior to the formal degree now offered. Of those graduates... most found employment almost immediately at firms like adobe, microsoft, motorola, etc. I highly recommend the program and am happy to discuss it offline. On Jan 21, 2009, at 5:06 AM, Renee Rosen-Wakeford wrote: On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 7:58 AM, Dan Saffer d...@odannyboy.com wrote: On Jan 20, 2009, at 9:03 PM, Ben Vaughan wrote: However, I must respectfully disagree that the only way to benefit from a program is by personally attending. Based on what exactly? Is there anyone on the list who has attended design school who thinks it can be taught remotely? If so, that's an opinion I've yet to hear. It wasn't quite design school remotely, but I did take the postgraduate module on user centred design from Open University which is a highly respected institute of distance learning in the UK. It gave me a good foundation in the basics of UCD, though it has a IS/engineering bias (lots of use cases, etc.). I did that so that I could work full-time while studying - none of the UK HCI or IxD postgraduate programmes in the UK have evening classes. Even part time, they assume you will only work a few days a week. A few years later, I took a year off and completed an MSc in HCI from UCL. Although I learned a lot from the OU course, the UCL one was much more in-depth, partially because it was a whole MSc instead of just one module that was part of another MSc, but another was the fact that it wasn't distance learning and we had lots of design and other kinds of workshops. On the other hand, the basics/foundations of the course could probably be taught by distance learning. So maybe the solution is to create more programs that combine distance learning with workshops later in the program or more infrequently - i.e., 1-2 intensive weeks of workshopping that allow students to use their holiday time to attend full-time but can more easily keep their jobs while doing the rest of the study. It might take longer to get the course done that way, but it always does if you're attending part time. As for getting a job without a degree or considerable experience, it's very hard in the current market, at least in London. Before I had the MSc but with the OU course and some experience (plus years of industry experience as a producer/front-end developer), I got interviews. After the MSc, I got job offers and now work as a User Experience Architect. I think the KU course sounds like a good idea with evening classes for professionals in Lawrence and Kansas City. If I still lived in the area and didn't already have a degree, I'd seriously consider it, especially since Masters programs are 2 years full time in the US instead of just 1. (KU is my undergraduate alma mater, though I studied totally unrelated fields to what I do today.) -- Renée Rosen-Wakeford rene...@gmail.com Twitter: @lilitu93 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Yes, I have to disagree with the argument about remote design education being worthless. I've been involved in online collaborative design teaching for ten years via the Omnium project (and platform) at the College of Fine Arts in Australia - http://www.omnium.net.au. Australia has a long history and expertise in distance education because of the size of the place in relation to the population size. I used to teach face-to-face at COFA when I was head of the school of Media Arts and the Digital Media program there. I also taught online for students who were either not in Sydney or Australia or on another campus. Now I'm back in Germany I still teach online from here. Teaching online requires a lot of preparation, which is a good thing pedagogically speaking. It's far too easy to walk into a room and wing it if you know your subject. Sometimes that is a good thing too, but it doesn't structure the learning experience very well usually. The 'low bandwidth' of communication also forces you to think about what it is you are trying to teach and break it down and explain it very carefully. Books are low bandwidth too - usually just text and pictures - but deep content. As Angel mentioned, I have learned an enormous amount from reading books, and that's without any direct interaction with the authors (usually). Online learning and teaching allows that interaction and discussion. It also slows discussion down, which is an excellent way to get students to consider different views and processes (it's not just the loud ones that hog the floor) and allows for broader peer feedback and collaboration in ways the often don't happen in real life (because friends sit and work with friends, etc.). On top of that you get an archive of the whole thing to refer back to. COFA Online offers a Masters in Cross Disciplinary Art and Design that also includes a sculpture course. Of course, it is different from studio work, that's for sure, but not better or worse. A large part of teaching sculpture students about form, light and shade, volume, etc. is done through examples which are photographs anyway. You can't drag all your students over to Europe to quickly look at a Henry Moore, you show them a photograph and talk about it. For interaction design, the online learning experience makes even more sense because, at least for the digital versions, so many examples are online to use, 'handle', critique, etc. So you're at an advantage over some other traditional disciplines. Most of the time I work remotely too for clients in the UK, often with other people working on the projects in the USA. That's not uncommon, so it's not a bad idea to teach students how to work this way because it will play a large part in their futures. The only thing I haven't really found a good online substitute for is brainstorming. There are ways to come close, but it's not quite the same process. We've written and presented quite a bit about this - http://omnium.net.au/research/papers/ %u2013 and I have some more recent papers/examples if anyone is interested. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
As someone who wants to pursue a graduate degree in interaction design, I'd like to say that I could only imagine something like design being taught in a studio/lecture environment. As a person with an education background, in-person education is optimal. Giving the concept some thought, while it's probably not the best way to learn something as kinesthetic as interaction design, I think to throw out the baby with the bathwater with the blanket statement of only in the classroom, imo, is unfair. I mean, isn't a large part of what we do as interaction designers to make interactions thought impossible on the web or computer possible? Perhaps, instead of saying that it's just not possible and to forget about it, we should be brainstorming ways to make learning something like interaction design online a plausible (maybe even preferred) experience...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
The fact is, people learn different ways: 1. Audio (listening) 2. Kinesthetic (touchy-feely) 3. Visual (reading, seeing) As long as the curriculum accommodates for these different ways of learning, and it's of great quality, it's worthwhile to take. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
On Jan 21, 2009, at 1:53 AM, Angel Marquez wrote: I totally disagree. I've worked with a few interaction designers that had reputable university degrees specific to interaction design and they were as you say 'worthless'. I asked one what web sites applications etc..she thought were well done and she said she didn't do that. Another had never heard of Tufte. Those were just the 2 examples off the top of my head. I would expect more from any breathing life form that had a pulse and the nerve to throw the title around. Design school doesn't necessarily make you a good designer: it only increases the probability that you are. In my experience past and current never seeing the people and conveying the message remote is ideal. I've seen more quality from 2 people in sync from a far than entire teams holding 2 weekly whiteboard sessions. There is a big difference between getting trained (school) and working on a project. I've learned more from reading your books than anyone ever taught me in class or by example. I would never want to monopolize the work place with my school crownies either. You cannot learn interaction design from books alone. I say this as the author of two of them and as someone who has taught design for several years. You can have read every book in the field and still be a lousy designer. The opposite is also true for a rare few. Dan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] St. Louis IxDA Happy Hour - Jan. 26th
It's that time again for interaction designers, user experience practitioners, and web developers to meet and share ideas. The first meeting of the new year will be held at Bar Louie in the Central West End. Bring yourself, a friend, and ideas to share with the group. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Brad Nunnally ( bnunna...@gmail.com) or Nathan Verrill (nathanverr...@gmail.com). The first round of tater tots is on us! Bar Louie - 14 Maryland Plaza • St. Louis, MO 63108 Monday Jan 26th 6:00PM - 8:00PM Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=53786481072 -- Brad Ty Nunnally Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
On Jan 21, 2009, at 7:08 AM, Kevin Doyle wrote: Giving the concept some thought, while it's probably not the best way to learn something as kinesthetic as interaction design, I think to throw out the baby with the bathwater with the blanket statement of only in the classroom, imo, is unfair. I mean, isn't a large part of what we do as interaction designers to make interactions thought impossible on the web or computer possible? Perhaps, instead of saying that it's just not possible and to forget about it, we should be brainstorming ways to make learning something like interaction design online a plausible (maybe even preferred) experience...? This is true. However, one of the things we should know as a designer is what we can replace with a technology solution, and what we cannot (or should not). The interactions with instructors (masters) and other students (apprentices) on a day-to-day working level is invaluable, and given our level of technology currently, I do not think it could be replicated effectively. Critiques, for instance, which are such a large part of a design education, would be difficult to conduct remotely. This is not just true of education, but of business as well. There's a reason consultants fly all over the place to meet face to face with clients or why distant teams occasionally still meet face to face: because nothing yet technologically is as high-bandwidth as being together in person. The nuance that happens via body language, gesture, expression, tone of voice, physical location, etc. is nigh impossible with our current technology. Dan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
There's a reason consultants fly all over the place to meet face to face with clients or why distant teams occasionally still meet face to face: because nothing yet technologically is as high-bandwidth as being together in person I am presenting in front of stakeholders tomorrow. I could easily present all the wireframes, visual designs, stories in the format of an open narrative via WebEx and conference call - but I would miss the most important thing - the looks on stakeholder's faces as they are walked through the first iteration of the application - I can see frustration, confusion, cluelessness as well as excitement and elation - Without having videocams trained on every person and displayed in 10 different cam windows on my desktop could I get that most important of feedback. Same thing with design critiques - I would not say it HAS to be face to face - I just dont know if anything is available that brings about that level of intimacy which is important. ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Jan 21, 2009, at 10:43 AM, Dan Saffer wrote: There's a reason consultants fly all over the place to meet face to face with clients or why distant teams occasionally still meet face to face: because nothing yet technologically is as high-bandwidth as being together in person Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
I like your description of high-bandwidth interactions. In what ways are interaction designers incorporating this into their designs? Rich, multi-media experiences? Video? Has anyone else tried out Adobe Connectnow? I'm thinking that the in-person and distance versions of these design courses and workshops probably have their own distinct advantages over the other. Yes, learning styles should come into play when deciding on the best route to take. I also wonder if another consideration might be what kind of work you're looking to get into. Is there such a thing as a telecommuting Interaction Designer? Why not! :) I think this could be relevant, especially for web designers. My personal preference is actually a mix of both distance and in-person interaction, both for learning, and for working. I like the high-bandwidth benefits, but also understand the value of distance and loosely-coupled communication. I bet a pint that a handful of curriculum designers are having this very conversation, as we speak! /derail Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
Good question. My aspirations are to work collaboratively with other designers to design products and services that change the way people live and work work, of course for the better! Kevin On Jan 21, 2009, at 9:17 AM, mark schraad wrote: There was a discussion recently that noted how much bad interaction design exists in the world and that this org needs to do more to establish competency. Slightly related... was an announcement that education is one of the top priorities for the ixda in the coming months and years. some quick positional takes (or working assumptions) on my part: every product gets designed... relatively few things are designed well or by professional designers with millions of web and software developers working in the world... and only thousands of IA's and IXd folks... we are spread quite thin it seems reasonable that those of us participating in this online conversation are pretty motivated. I personally can't recall knowing or working with a designer who's aspirations were to be 'competent'. So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? To be competent. ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Jan 21, 2009, at 11:24 AM, Kevin Silver wrote: So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Interesting to see the various opinions. Probably necessary to explain that our current graduate programs rely on regular student-instructor and student-student group interaction. The co-located courses are offered evenings simultaneously between two campuses in KC and Lawrence, with the professor alternating between locations every week. We currently rely on Polycom systems. Not ideal, but a workable, fairly low cost solution for now. Blackboard offers useful asynchronous course backup for information sharing: readings, discussion boards, lecture material, etc. Lecture material can be videotaped and archived for reference. Ideally, we'd prefer having all students together at same time/place, but we've found that the benefits of this delivery channel outweigh most of the obvious limitations. This model contrasts from conventional distance learning models in that there's still plenty of face-to-face in a lecture/studio format. But it's been surprising how adaptive the learning experience can be without sacrificing qualities that make it meaningful and useful to people. We are getting requests to make these programs available remotely in a more conventional distance learning mode. It appears doable for the Design Management MA, but not well suited to the serious study of Interaction Design--at least with current commercially available technology. Hope this clarifies... Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
Having been a web designer of 12 years, and having experienced only that aspect of interaction design, I feel my aspirations are limited. I fear I may be missing out in the world of IxD! What are some ways you might suggest for me to remove the blinders? This list has been a wonderful and engaging channel for me, to learn more about the specialty/practice of IxD in-general, but where else can I turn? Thanks! Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Will Evans wrote: So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? To be competent. ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Jan 21, 2009, at 11:24 AM, Kevin Silver wrote: So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
As a developer / designer for about the same amount of time, all I can really say is, What he said. Ben Vaughan On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 9:54 AM, Mike Caskey m...@casadev.com wrote: Having been a web designer of 12 years, and having experienced only that aspect of interaction design, I feel my aspirations are limited. I fear I may be missing out in the world of IxD! What are some ways you might suggest for me to remove the blinders? This list has been a wonderful and engaging channel for me, to learn more about the specialty/practice of IxD in-general, but where else can I turn? Thanks! Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Having attended design school, completed a doctorate in HCI, taught graduate students in design, and being currently in a part-time MBA program, I believe there are few technical skills that you can't learn from books or online nowadays with some self-discipline. Granted, putting yourself in a classroom gains you access to a priceless network of classmates and instructors and the nurturing aspect of classroom collaboration as already mentioned. Yes, you can look forward to getting great feedback during design critiques from talented peers along with some motivation thrown in by grades and competition. These things cannot be replicated by an online program currently. But if they don't matter to you and your primary goal is to improve your technical skills or simply claim a graduate degree as a job qualification, then it'll probably make more economic sense to seek self-learning options or a distance program. The proof is in the pudding -- there are many famous designers who did not have a traditional design education (e.g. David Carson). Disclaimer: this is coming from someone who loves school. :-) From: Will Evans wkeva...@gmail.com To: Dan Saffer d...@odannyboy.com Cc: IxDA Discuss disc...@ixda.org Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 10:50:31 AM Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas There's a reason consultants fly all over the place to meet face to face with clients or why distant teams occasionally still meet face to face: because nothing yet technologically is as high-bandwidth as being together in person I am presenting in front of stakeholders tomorrow. I could easily present all the wireframes, visual designs, stories in the format of an open narrative via WebEx and conference call - but I would miss the most important thing - the looks on stakeholder's faces as they are walked through the first iteration of the application - I can see frustration, confusion, cluelessness as well as excitement and elation - Without having videocams trained on every person and displayed in 10 different cam windows on my desktop could I get that most important of feedback. Same thing with design critiques - I would not say it HAS to be face to face - I just dont know if anything is available that brings about that level of intimacy which is important. ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Jan 21, 2009, at 10:43 AM, Dan Saffer wrote: There's a reason consultants fly all over the place to meet face to face with clients or why distant teams occasionally still meet face to face: because nothing yet technologically is as high-bandwidth as being together in person Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
I'm one of the few mentioned, who has made a successful time of it, without any degree, let alone a specialized Master in IxD or Ux. I have practiced interaction design on a daily basis, but again, only within the context of the web. I also feel a lot of the web marketing and optimization I do has given me insights to aspects of the user/designer/organization relationship that perhaps emerging graduates have yet to realize. But I can't help but wonder what landscapes would be revealed by some quality coursework facilitated by a generalist. I enjoy the web like crazy, but having recently been downsized into a new round of resume-flinging, I'm reminded of my curiosity about the wider world of IxD. I hope this helps to explain my humble questions to the group. :) Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Ben Vaughan wrote: As a developer / designer for about the same amount of time, all I can really say is, What he said. Ben Vaughan On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 9:54 AM, Mike Caskey m...@casadev.com wrote: Having been a web designer of 12 years, and having experienced only that aspect of interaction design, I feel my aspirations are limited. I fear I may be missing out in the world of IxD! What are some ways you might suggest for me to remove the blinders? This list has been a wonderful and engaging channel for me, to learn more about the specialty/practice of IxD in-general, but where else can I turn? Thanks! Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
I like your mixed-media, multi-channel approach. I think you only increase the richness of your courses by using this approach. I used to work at Regis University, where I evaluated and implemented existing technologies for things like distance learning. One of the gems I found for course facilitation was Moodle. It was quite nice for those loosely- coupled interactions and collaborations. At the time it didn't carry many features for live collaboration, but it was a very nice piece of work. And drumroll it's free open-source. Regis didn't end up using it officially, but a handful of professors ended up with their own instances of it for their own courses, since they preferred it (which speaks to me). Adobe ConnectNow is an interesting service for live presentation and collaboration. Mike Caskey Denver, Colorado Michael Eckersley wrote: Interesting to see the various opinions. Probably necessary to explain that our current graduate programs rely on regular student-instructor and student-student group interaction. The co-located courses are offered evenings simultaneously between two campuses in KC and Lawrence, with the professor alternating between locations every week. We currently rely on Polycom systems. Not ideal, but a workable, fairly low cost solution for now. Blackboard offers useful asynchronous course backup for information sharing: readings, discussion boards, lecture material, etc. Lecture material can be videotaped and archived for reference. Ideally, we'd prefer having all students together at same time/place, but we've found that the benefits of this delivery channel outweigh most of the obvious limitations. This model contrasts from conventional distance learning models in that there's still plenty of face-to-face in a lecture/studio format. But it's been surprising how adaptive the learning experience can be without sacrificing qualities that make it meaningful and useful to people. We are getting requests to make these programs available remotely in a more conventional distance learning mode. It appears doable for the Design Management MA, but not well suited to the serious study of Interaction Design--at least with current commercially available technology. Hope this clarifies... Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Corporate website redesign, where to put intranet access?
Hi Elizabeth, Experts, like the people reading ixda discussions are a good source for best practices. However, I think you need to get your users involved in this process, even if you have no budget for it yet. It%u2019s a great way to counter-balance the previous owner%u2019s opinions with the voice of the people. First identify the broad categories of people using the Intranet: Executives, inside sales, field sales, marketing, managers, product development specialists, etc. Invite a representative of each of these groups to a working lunch where you do a traditional card sort exercise, which will result in a good set of terminology for the links, and a hierarchy of how things should be organized. If you don%u2019t have info about card sorts, please email me and I%u2019ll find some for you to work with. Then create a profile on each of the user types you have identified. With their input, create some realistic scenarios of how these user types will use the Intranet. (For more info how to create user scenarios for employee portals see the related link on the home page of my web site, usography.com.) Step through each of these scenarios and see if the structure you came up with after the card sort makes sense. Make adjustments as necessary, and then socialize this to the stakeholders to get their buy-in. This approach will give you an organic, bottom-up organizational structure and nomenclature system that will be authentic to your organization. Kind regards, /pb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37401 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB: User Experience-Interaction Designer; Chicago; Recruiter; Contract/Freelance
This is a 3 month, or longer, contract job, on-site in Chicago As one of the designers on the User Experience team for this major corporation with a very well-known brand, you will help define the online shopper's user experience, including visual concepts and ideation, presentation to stakeholders, and execution of the designs. Requirements: --At least 4 years of work experience --You must be into social networking, Web 2.0 and be able to critically evaluate these experiences in terms of brand and the future of the Web. -- High degree of creativity, interaction design and problem solving ability -- Uncanny drive to design the best user experience in the world -- Strong background in distributed content management and mashup approaches -- Ability to design widgets -- Ability to communicate one's ideas through their visual design -- Proven track record and a passion for designing compelling, award-winning user interfaces -- A great portfolio of work / samples of interaction design work is a must -- Expertise in visual design using tools like Photoshop, Illustrator is expected -- Prototyping skills using tools like Flash, Flex, Dreamweaver A formal education in Interaction Design, Product Design, Industrial Design, HCI, Architecture, or related field from NID / IDC or equivalent is desirable. Judi Wunderlich Director Interactive Recruiting Let’s network on: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JudiWunderlich Facebook: http://profile.to/JudiWunderlichAtAquent Twitter: http://twitter.com/JudiWunderlich Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Interactive-Design-Development Chicago New Media Summit: http://chicagonewmediasummit.ning.com/profile/JudiWunderlich A Q U E N T 500 W. Madison St., Suite 2600 Chicago, IL 60661 Main Phone: 312-869-3000 Direct Line: 312-869-3004 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
On Jan 21, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Phil Chung wrote: Having attended design school, completed a doctorate in HCI, taught graduate students in design, and being currently in a part-time MBA program, I believe there are few technical skills that you can't learn from books or online nowadays with some self-discipline. Interaction Design is MORE than technical skills. Technical skills/craft is extremely important, but do not a designer make. Best, Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com It's not about the world of design; it's about the design of the world. - Bruce Mau Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Agreed, but the point was that anyone with motivation can pursue alternative paths to become a good designer if the cost-benefit analysis makes sense for them. To revisit the debate brought up by AIGA back in 2005: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/myths-of-the-self-taught-designer-the-first-conversation-between From: Jack Moffett jackmoff...@mac.com To: IxDA Discuss disc...@ixda.org Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 1:28:11 PM Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas On Jan 21, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Phil Chung wrote: Having attended design school, completed a doctorate in HCI, taught graduate students in design, and being currently in a part-time MBA program, I believe there are few technical skills that you can't learn from books or online nowadays with some self-discipline. Interaction Design is MORE than technical skills. Technical skills/craft is extremely important, but do not a designer make. Best, Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com It's not about the world of design; it's about the design of the world. - Bruce Mau Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
My aspirations fall into three realms. 1. Professional Aside from the typical goals of making good stuff, making customers and users happy, and making my company successful, I aspire to increasing the recognition of design's value in my clients and my co- workers. Whereas I am currently the single interaction designer in a small company, I would like to, as the company grows, build and lead a design group. 2. Educational I've been teaching design as adjunct faculty for four years now. I see myself eventually teaching full-time. 3. Communal I aspire to be a valuable contributor to the design community—hence my active participation in IxDA. I suppose there is a race condition between 1 and 2. :) Best, Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Albert Einstein Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Here is the funny/ironical part of the whole discussion: Interaction Design is MORE than technical skills. Technical skills/craft is extremely important, but do not a designer make. I would ad that design school is neither a sufficient nor necessary requirement to be a designer, though the more pedagogically inclined may disagree with me simply to be disagreeable. Um - yes- a design studio work is good too, in addition, though I don't necessarily believe the hype, I mean orthodoxy, that Only by means of a formal design education with studio work/formal critical/ community of practice like mentor/apprentice structure can a great IxDer emerge, Further - those that would argue can only from a place of a false premise based on Faith, for there is no substantiated research that backs up their gut feeling) But all that misses the point because very few people/very very few - do all the things that they could possibly do that doesn't involved formal/meatspace training in a school or design studio. We talk a bit about all that can be learned from books, etc (and how key skills are missing) - but the fact remains - most people don't even do that (read all there is to read), which is of course the easiest way to at least augment the day by day practice of actually doing it. I highly recommend for many reasons getting formal design education, or training in a studio environment, but if thats simply not possible - are you doing everything else that really is possible first? Really? ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Jan 21, 2009, at 1:33 PM, Phil Chung wrote: Interaction Design is MORE than technical skills. Technical skills/craft is extremely important, but do not a designer make. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Will, You raise a super point that I hadn't really thought about. Am I really doing all I can? In the clear light of day, no. I'm not. While a studio program isn't readily available to me, I'm also not doing anything else to further my education on my own.. I'll go back through the IxDA archives to find suggestions for books, tutorials, case studies, etc. I appreciate the intellectual kick in the pants. Ben Vaughan On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 11:46 AM, Will Evans wkeva...@gmail.com wrote: Here is the funny/ironical part of the whole discussion: Interaction Design is MORE than technical skills. Technical skills/craft is extremely important, but do not a designer make. I would ad that design school is neither a sufficient nor necessary requirement to be a designer, though the more pedagogically inclined may disagree with me simply to be disagreeable. Um - yes- a design studio work is good too, in addition, though I don't necessarily believe the hype, I mean orthodoxy, that Only by means of a formal design education with studio work/formal critical/community of practice like mentor/apprentice structure can a great IxDer emerge, Further - those that would argue can only from a place of a false premise based on Faith, for there is no substantiated research that backs up their gut feeling) But all that misses the point because very few people/very very few - do all the things that they could possibly do that doesn't involved formal/meatspace training in a school or design studio. We talk a bit about all that can be learned from books, etc (and how key skills are missing) - but the fact remains - most people don't even do that (read all there is to read), which is of course the easiest way to at least augment the day by day practice of actually doing it. I highly recommend for many reasons getting formal design education, or training in a studio environment, but if thats simply not possible - are you doing everything else that really is possible first? Really? ~ will Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
I believe that at a graduate level, online design education should be possible online. Many people will be going back for a masters degree after several years working in the industry and already have a foundation built. Yes, being able to collaborate in person is an experience that cannot be replicated, however, that is something many of us are used to at work as well. So many companies have teams collaborating across cities, states, and across the globe. Learning remotely supports the education of designing on a cross-cultural team and collaborating with people via email, content management systems, and video conferencing. Several years back, I both attended and worked for SCAD. When they introduced online learning, I signed up for a few courses and my experience was only slightly different from the classroom experience. Yes, there wasn't any face-time with students and professors, but I actually spent more time communicating with them via email and AIM and found the experience more positively challenging than in an in-person class. Later I went to CMU and took an online course in the software engineering department, and while not a design studio class, I felt the same about that experience as I had about the SCAD experience. For people who are already experienced in the discipline, I'm all for online education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
We have a group of K-12 teachers interested in introducing students to experience design. Do you have any recommendations on how to begin and what to include? Thanks. Check out our magazine at http://andDESIGNmagazine.blogspot.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
As a long time system designer/BA/PM/SA/generalist type guy trying to transition my career to IxD/UX I've been struggling to find a remote curriculum because there shockingly seems to be no program in New York City (at least that I'm aware of) -- never mind a program for people working full time. While I see the benefits of studio design study and the apparent inability of such a group activity to be available virtually, I have a big problem with the idea that we can't find a way to use technology to impart the necessary skills and education that qualify someone to perform these design activities. Unfortunately I don't yet have a solution to that problem, but I certainly resist the idea that it is insurmountable. Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
Good question. I'm sure everyone has the same aspiration that Kevin S. does, to design products that make someone's life and work easier and perhaps even more enjoyable. Come to think of it, I think that's why I got into IxD, because I thought it would make my life and work easier and more enjoyable than my previous career. As for Mike Caskey's question, I'd say: What formal education did for me was to give me a foundation for the field, communication theory, information design, empirical traditions. Personally, I loved it, but a lot of people saw those classes as necessary evils to get beyond in their quest for a Masters degree. My aspirations include not only seeing tangible results of my work, but also to increase my understanding of how design communication affect our everyday lives. I think ultimately I am an academic at heart because the more esoteric aspects of the field are what appeal to me most. And I love doing field studies ;-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37446 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Will, it is never about absolutes, but about critical mass. There will always be people who excel outside the directed path, but I'll take 100 years of education history that has gone through several generations of critique to (still) evolve into what it has achieved today towards creating designers, and use THAT as my model for creating design education than blow it up and start from scratch due to and i'll be blunt here: laziness, impatience, free market bullshit and lack of passion. 1. if you don't have it in your neck of the woods, stop looking for hacks, and build it or move. This is EXACTLY what China has done. They saw that being a manufacturing giant left them exposed and what did they do, put out a mission to have 400 design schools within the near future. 2. Find REAL alternatives. When formal education doesn't make sense, maybe it means you have to take a few steps backwards in your career to move forward. This is a model that many people including myself have done. I left the comfort of 2D design to work in an industrial design studio and the last 2 years were better than going to conferences, reading and remote learning for sure. Find your alternatives and don't be afraid to move backwards for a spell. To the educators. Don't pretend. Let's see the portfolios that come out of UK's hybrid program and then decide. In the end the proof is in the pudding and the portfolio quality is all that matters to future recruiters. I'm pessimistic of the program's ability to really transform people into designers with creative stamina that comes out of a 24/7 studio environment, but hey! let's see what happens. Employers/Recruiters: Get real about your expectations and hiring practices. Is the paper what you are looking for, or are you looking for great designers? Can you create programs and practices that build designers inside your current institutions? or are you just creating a carousel factory that people come in young, leave and new people come in at senior levels. What about building from within? this isn't just about tuition re-imbursement, but about moving past stupid rigid corporate policies around $2k limits for conferences, not creating in-house libraries, and having rigid requirements for management positions to have masters level education. The reason I point to the employers is that b/c of these stale philosophies educators really can't innovate correctly. they create remote education b/c of the lack of available market to support better and more practical education alternatives due to corporate rigidness and short-sightedness. Just sayin' Last point, it all depends on what you want to be when you grow up. If you want to work with other design disciplines studio as a language will be important. It was s hard for me culturally to fall into an ID studio and still I'm learning more teaching within an ID department at SCAD. Leaving behind my more rational and analytic thoughts and linguistic modes of constructing the world around me is taxing and wonderous. This won't happen for you unless you dive into a true design environment. Very few of us are going to be great, just b/c we are. We have to earn it, and we have to be open to change to reach for it. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
What a great idea! Probably the most important thing is to make the discussions relatable to the kids. Talk about the design of devices and websites they use (iPods, cell phones, MySpace, etc.). Get them thinking about what aspects they like or don't like and exploring the reasons why. Maybe do group exercises where the kids have an opportunity to design something for the school, like a homework depository, or other features on the school intranet. Perhaps a senior project could be to create an online yearbook? Maybe use Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think as reading material to get the wheels turning? Good luck and let us know what they end up doing. Kind regards, Angel Anderson On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 8:48 AM, Rayala, Martin ray...@kutztown.edu wrote: We have a group of K-12 teachers interested in introducing students to experience design. Do you have any recommendations on how to begin and what to include? Thanks. Check out our magazine at http://andDESIGNmagazine.blogspot.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? I just want to lead a life of doing meaningful work. And for me, the notions of making things better for people, being continually challenged to find new ways to accomplish that goal, and then passing my experiences on to others makes my work incredibly meaningful. In the future, the things I do to make my work meaningful may change, but ultimately, that's what I'm after. I think that's what we're all after. For some of us, achieving deeper meaning means endlessly pursuing perfection at the cost of much else. For others, it means doing what we can and leading more well-rounded lives. But in the end, the what that we're all aspiring to is meaningful work. -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
1. Get through my first quarter of teaching 2. codify a curriculum that finally ads interaction to the foundation requirements of design education (undergrad grad) 3. Design the next minority report interface. Meaning be a designer on the team for a movie that presents a new interface so impactful that it is the point of discussion for the next 5 years (Minority Report, Iron Man, etc.) 4. Be a part of a team that brings about change towards improving the human condition (pick a context) 5. Help finally solve the semantic puzzle that is User Experience Design I don't understand why what you've been doing in your career for any period of time has anything to do with what you aspire to be. Ok, everyone, time to re-look at Randy Pauch's last lecture: http://tr.im/bguv 6. this one is new b/c of the above video. Find a project, job, otherwise be associated that combines my love for designing systems and whales (or other oceanographic study); forcing me to finally get certified in scuba and get over my fear of dark deep ocean. ;-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37446 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Quick survey on 6 prototyping tools
Apologies for the cross post... I'm wrapping up the final stages of my prototyping book and put together a short (1 page) survey on 6 of the tools I'm covering. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to answer and I'll be randomly drawing one person to win a copy of the book. All you have to do is head to http://tinyurl.com/8v6z6j and rate the 6 different tools against 13 characteristics. Make sure you include your contact info at the bottom of the survey so I can get a hold of you if you're selected. I promise not to sell it to spammers or anything :). Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
Find a project, job, otherwise be associated that combines my love for designing systems and whales I never thought about it before now, but you know, I'd also like to design whales. ;) -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
I'm going to be speaking to my niece's high school web design class in March, so I'm really glad someone brought this up. Probably the most important thing is to make the discussions relatable to the kids. Talk about the design of devices and websites they use (iPods, cell phones, MySpace, etc.). Great ideas! -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
That is a great idea. I have a friend who is a grade school teacher in Northern California and she asked her students what they wanted to do when they grew up and she said they all went ape for video games. You might want to use PS3, XBox, Nintendo, DS, etc...as a model. Maybe have the students define their goals and design an interactive game that achieved the goal. -A Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
I aspire to create awareness of well-designed products, services, experiences... A story: I had neighbor who had quite the green thumb. One day when I was about 15 I started hanging out with her and learning about gardening. She offered to bring some hostas from her yard to ours. I didn't know what a hosta was until she showed me. Once that plant had a name, I saw them EVERYWHERE. Hostas didn't suddenly grow. They had been there all along, I just didn't have the vocabulary or the vision for what they were. And then I started to notice all of the variation of hostas. Once you give people even a taste of the vision and the vocabulary of good design, they see it (or more importantly don't see it) everywhere. And they want more. They demand it. Which makes us in demand. I also hope to constantly improve my craft by learning from my peers and continuing to be observant of people using technology in the wild. I feel like I just made some kind of secret club pledge or something... Janna On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 11:17 AM, mark schraad mschr...@gmail.com wrote: So as an interaction designer, what are your career aspirations? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] what do you aspire to?
At a place I worked ,S*NY, the director of our department did a one on one with all of his people and asked the Where do you want to be in 5 year? question.. This guy I worked with came out of the directors office and I asked him how he answered and he was all I said I want to be on MTV!. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Dan wrote: However, one of the things we should know as a designer is what we can replace with a technology solution, and what we cannot (or should not). The interactions with instructors (masters) and other students (apprentices) on a day-to-day working level is invaluable, and given our level of technology currently, I do not think it could be replicated effectively. Critiques, for instance, which are such a large part of a design education, would be difficult to conduct remotely. I'm so surprised that you think this way Dan because it's exactly looking at it from the wrong end of the telescope. The mistake is to think about replacing one thing with another on a simple one-to-one mapping basis. You have to look behind to the purpose of why anything is being done (or taught, in this case) the way it is. Certainly a face-to-face interaction between student and teacher is different from an online one, but both have positives and negatives. The reality of many programmes is that the student numbers have grown enormously in relation to staffing levels. That means that a student's face-to-face contact is often very minimal and, for some, non-existent. Face-to-face can also be dominated by a few enthusiastic or outgoing students, reducing the face time for the others even more. Online is much more even in that respect and the entire relationship is much more one of mentoring and guidance on a journey as teacher and student together than a top-down dynamic which, regardless of your style and personality, standing up in front of a roomful of students encourages. Crits are, in fact, one of the easiest things to do online, but you have to go back to basic principles and think what is the purpose of it? Why are we doing crits at all and are they the right way to help the student? The answer is probably yes, they do help, but you can give critique and guidance online very easily in text and/or voice (and video if you really want, but it's probably less useful than people imagine). The disadvantage is that it's not as speedy (see my previous post about brainstorming), but that's an advantage too. Other students can take time to think about their critique, harsh criticism is less embarrassing than in a face-to-face context and that makes it both easier for the student receiving it as well as easier for those giving it to be more honest because the social borders are slightly more distant. Is it the same as a face-to-face crit? No. Some kind of group video chat crit probably wouldn't work very well either because the technology is still too much in the way. But written and/or audio crits can work extremely well because they suit the online space much more %u2013 and that's the key to using the appropriate approach to the technology, which is why I was surprised at your take on all of this. It's easy to underestimate the amount of emotion a narrower bandwidth medium can convey just as its easy to forget just how much we miss in a face-to-face context. When Will wrote about seeing the face of the stakeholders and how critical that is, I agree. But I bet everyone on this list has also had the experience of hearing the tone of their partner's or friend's voice on the phone %u2013 or even in a text message - and knowing something is up as well as having the experience of being completely oblivious to the emotional state of someone even when they're in the same room. There are pros and cons to both face-to-face and online education when the approach and learning and teaching structure is misaligned. I've been to terribly dull face-to-face lectures and have read tedious online lectures, just as I have experienced brilliance in both. There are some approaches that I wouldn't use online just as I wouldn't (probably) get divorced via SMS. But then I wouldn't have as close a contact with my family (who live in another country) on a daily/weekly basis without the intimacy that e-mail and text messaging can bring. There is a tendency for everyone who is an expert in their own area to assume that their discipline is different and can't be taught online. I've seen it time and time again across universities. It's simply not true most of the time. The main problem is that we all are too close to what we do to be able to step out of it enough to look at the underlying principles of it and how we might teach them. There is no doubt that someone who has learned to be a designer via online education will be different from one who has learned on campus, but I would hesitate to say they are better or worse. They will, for example, be likely to be able to work independently and remotely better, which I wager will be an ever more important skill. In the end no design training really makes you ready for the pressure of a professional studio (or freelance life from home). That only comes when you actually have to do it - it's the pressure of the stakes that makes the difference. That said, there is a lot of terrible online
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Critiques, for instance, which are such a large part of a design education, would be difficult to conduct remotely. Constraints are the drivers of great design. We can always find ways to improve, but we first have to be willing to say it's possible. -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Quick survey on 6 prototyping tools
Hi Todd, FYI, you probably have 4-6 entries from me because the page doesn't do anything when you click Done. (Using Firefox on Mac.) I also wanted to leave some fields blank but thought that they were preventing form submission so I changed them all to 0's. Cheers, Liz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37471 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Quick survey on 6 prototyping tools
All you have to do is head to http://tinyurl.com/8v6z6j and rate the 6 different tools against 13 characteristics. It's kinda funny that the first thing you rate is how useful paper is for creating paper prototypes. I get what you meant, but it didn't translate literally—I had to sort that one out for a minute. -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Quick survey on 6 prototyping tools
Why is OmniGraffle missing from the list? -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
On Jan 21, 2009, at 8:21 AM, Andy Polaine wrote: The reality of many programmes is that the student numbers have grown enormously in relation to staffing levels. That means that a student's face-to-face contact is often very minimal and, for some, non-existent. That's an issue that should be addressed by administration (increase staffing or don't accept so many students). Besides, I don't see how distance learning fixes this issue. It takes more time and effort to communicate remotely. Face-to-face can also be dominated by a few enthusiastic or outgoing students, reducing the face time for the others even more. That's an issue that should be recognized and addressed by the teacher. Online is much more even in that respect and the entire relationship is much more one of mentoring and guidance on a journey as teacher and student together than a top-down dynamic which, regardless of your style and personality, standing up in front of a roomful of students encourages. I disagree. This really comes down to the teacher. There is nothing inherent in a studio classroom that disallows a mentoring journey as you've described it, and nothing inherent in the distance-learning technology to promote it. Crits are, in fact, one of the easiest things to do online, but you have to go back to basic principles and think what is the purpose of it? Why are we doing crits at all and are they the right way to help the student? The answer is probably yes, they do help, No probably about it. but you can give critique and guidance online very easily in text and/or voice (and video if you really want, but it's probably less useful than people imagine). The disadvantage is that it's not as speedy (see my previous post about brainstorming), but that's an advantage too. Other students can take time to think about their critique, harsh criticism is less embarrassing than in a face-to-face context and that makes it both easier for the student receiving it as well as easier for those giving it to be more honest because the social borders are slightly more distant. I'm sorry, but this sounds like you are saying it is okay for a design student to be introverted, fragile, and lacking in self-confidence. Critiques are DESIGNED to instill qualities in designers that will prepare them for the realities of the industry. Is it the same as a face-to-face crit? No. Some kind of group video chat crit probably wouldn't work very well either because the technology is still too much in the way. But written and/or audio crits can work extremely well because they suit the online space much more %u2013 and that's the key to using the appropriate approach to the technology, which is why I was surprised at your take on all of this. I would never say it is impossible to have a good, on-line critique. However, in the short amount of time I've been thinking about it, every solution that I know of or start to imagine is based on trying to support the activities that are natural in-person. They are substitutes. They are less effective. It's easy to underestimate the amount of emotion a narrower bandwidth medium can convey just as its easy to forget just how much we miss in a face-to-face context. When Will wrote about seeing the face of the stakeholders and how critical that is, I agree. But I bet everyone on this list has also had the experience of hearing the tone of their partner's or friend's voice on the phone %u2013 or even in a text message - and knowing something is up as well as having the experience of being completely oblivious to the emotional state of someone even when they're in the same room. Are you trying to say that an audio-only communication, or a text-only communication has an equal chance of being correctly interpreted as face-to-face communication? I don't buy it. There is a tendency for everyone who is an expert in their own area to assume that their discipline is different and can't be taught online. I've seen it time and time again across universities. It's simply not true most of the time. The main problem is that we all are too close to what we do to be able to step out of it enough to look at the underlying principles of it and how we might teach them. Again, I would never say that it can't be taught online. But I will adamantly argue that it can't be done as effectively. There is no doubt that someone who has learned to be a designer via online education will be different from one who has learned on campus, but I would hesitate to say they are better or worse. They will, for example, be likely to be able to work independently and remotely better, which I wager will be an ever more important skill. There are no absolutes, as has already been stated. Better or worse depends on many more variables than the quality or presence of education. Quality education, however, significantly ups your chances for being on the better side of things. And, as
[IxDA Discuss] [EVENT] Recap: Chicago January Event
Last week we had a nice full event and some exciting announcements about new UX-related events in the works. Here's a recap! THE TOPIC: *Campaign learnings of America for make benefit glorious movement of progress* Zack Exley and Josh Hendler of ThoughtWorks provided an introduction to the topic, along with some of the context of the Obama campaign's overall communication strategies. They highlighted the differences between Howard Dean's campaign in 2004 - in which small, mainly self-motivated groups used community-building tools to organize themselves - to Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, in which a framework for large scale community collaboration was put in place, providing a platform for groups to organize and extend their volunteer base. Then Billy Belchev and Paul Baker of Webitects described the methods they used to understand how campaign processes worked, from recruiting volunteers to sending them out to door-knock in neighborhoods. This presentation concentrated on how volunteers were being recruited, and volunteer events were organized. They conducted field design research in a variety of swing states, observing the use of several campaign tools. Billy and Paul watched volunteers adapt the tools available in order to make use of their strengths and work around their weaknesses. The information they gathered helped them identify areas of opportunity around data consolidation and usability, for use in designing better campaign tools in the future. A presentation note: Billy and Paul used mental models to present a gap analysis - representing the different steps of volunteer organization, and organizing their presentation of the results. For those who want to learn more on mental models, check out Indi Young's book Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior. *ANNOUNCEMENTS* Since the Interaction09 conference is next month (and February is so short) we've decided to move the next large event to March. That March event will be a recap of the conference provided by some of the attendees from Chicago. We also hope to have some highlights to show by then, such as photos or video. For February's event, we'd like to have an open meeting for those interested in joining the IxDA planning committee. Planning committee members have an active role in developing the local IxDA chapter - membership involves attending a planning meeting once every three months, coordinating the occasional meeting (helping find people interested in providing a topic or venue), and actively discussing how we can make the Chicago IxDA a vibrant professional network. It's a fun way to network with your peers - and looks great on a resume! If you're interested in finding out more, please send an email directly to this address and let us know. We'll be getting together mid-February after work hours. At the event we also announced two exciting programs starting up: Gabby Hon is starting a UX Book Club in Chicago. The first meeting is February 26th at Fado, discussing The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp. Here's the link to find out more: http://uxbookclubchicago.wordpress.com/ Rob Strickler announced the UX Mentorship program. Whether you're a mentor, a learner, or both, sign up for one-on-one sessions or group meetings here: http://tinyurl.com/ixdachicago-mentorship-program * JOB POSTING* INTERACTION DESIGNER This is a 3 month, possibly longer, contract job, onsite in Chicago (downtown). As one of the designers on the User Experience team for this major corporation with a very well-known brand, you will help define the online shopper's user experience, including visual concepts and ideation, presentation to stakeholders, and execution of the designs. Requirements: -- You must be into social networking, Web 2.0 and be able to critically evaluate these experiences in terms of brand and the future of the Web. -- High degree of creativity, interaction design and problem solving ability -- Uncanny drive to design the best user experience in the world -- Strong background in distributed content management and mashup approaches -- Ability to design widgets -- Ability to communicate one's ideas through their visual design -- Proven track record and a passion for designing compelling, award-winning user interfaces -- A great portfolio of work / samples of interaction design work is a must -- Expertise in visual design using tools like Photoshop, Illustrator is expected -- Prototyping skills using tools like Flash, Flex, Dreamweaver A formal education in Interaction Design, Product Design, Industrial Design, HCI, Architecture, or related field from NID / IDC or equivalent is desirable. If interested, please send resume/salary info to Judi Wunderlich at jwunderl...@aquent.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
Ask them to talk about the lunch room--how large numbers of students are able to get their trays filled in a short period of time, where the bottlenecks are, what does and doesn't seem logical about the current design. Since the the topic is experience design, you should stay away from technology until after you get a good list of principles on the board from a more physical experience like this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37463 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Andy, a few comments: re: scale (# of students) Education is not just a business. Yes, it IS a business. Or more aptly, it has to deal with financial realities like every one/thing else. But education is also a social contract. Keeping class sizes reasonable and not degrading methods for the purpose of increasing profits. Further, I'm severely worried that the way we as educators are responding to the new and heavy demands for post-graduate education. How do we respond to it? I know I'm not being clear, but it seems to me that the rush to remote education especially in the design context where knowledge is but a piece of the total of the education system. Here's my thought. A person gets a masters degree remotely. They have a diploma and a set of transcripts, but is that masters REALLY 1) a true masterery of the material, methods, practice, culture and philosophy behind the degree? 2) the same value as the same degree (in title) from another institution? Of course, we already have secondary methods of evaluating degrees, right? I.e. we prefer ivy league degrees over others, or we look at specific degree ranking publications, etc. etc. But my concern is that we are actually in this mad rush to educate ourselves and provide the service of education, and not thinking about the long term ramifications of the services we are offering. re: Critique Andy, my reading of what you suggest about critique doesn't make sense to me. critique is not something you offer, but something you facilitate as an instructor. Critique in the studio is about the students more than it is about you. For me this requires 2 things to work: 1) Real-time communication and 2) small groups. the reason is that it requires manageability and relationship building. For students to critique each other well they need to have that relationship that comes from the camaraderie of small group studio. This also takes time to develop. Now one might argue, suggest that studio is for undergraduate education. This is where design education teaches studio and critique (as it well should) and thus it is not needed in the masters level. I would love to think so, but way too many applying to interaction design programs have never gone through foundation studio courses of any kind, so the grad environment is where they'd be able to do just that. For example the ID program at Pratt is 2 years for people who have a design degree (bachelors) and 3 years for everyone else b/c they require a full year of foundation before you continue into the real degree program. At SCAD, I understand we do this based on portfolio review. if your portfolio doesn't demonstrate undergraduate abilities, we tell the student they have to do the undergrad version of the courses before they can continue at the grad level. (obviously, increasing their time in the program). I think the MBA has killed education. Seriously, the MBA has been crafted to be a cookie cutter degree, towards the purpose of going to the next step in the bank or consultancy practice. B/c it is this vocational requirement there is a mass economic system around MBAs all over the world. It feels like to me that we are expecting the same type of education system to take place in our design education and career paths and I feel this is a shame. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to introduce experience design in high schools?
I second Angel, Games are the best way to introduce students to interaction design. Not always video games, however. Having them develop a board, card, word, number, or other kind of game, perhaps is small teams or even solo, would be a great project. Let them chose. If they pick a video game, push for a mod of an existing game if you can, and if not, try a simple programing language like Blitz Basic, or a prototyping tool. There are many for a variety of kinds of games. Avoid letting them make an RPG. They won't learn anything about interaction design if you don't. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37463 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Long list with multi-select
Without really knowing what you are talking about, we can't offer a real solution. There is nothing that will work in all situations. It is going to have to be tailored directly to your problem. If you can't tell us what that problem is in enough detail to grok it, we can't solve it. We can just stab in the dark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37420 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Long list with multi-select
Hi Rachel, Have you thought of using the type of selector that LinkedIn has for managing your contacts? It would be a rolodex/address book style with alphabetical tabs along one side or the other. Within each tab would be each item that starts with that letter with a checkbox to the left of it. When selected, it would change the color of the tab for the letter a different color. If there were no items starting with that letter you'd want to indicate as much so the user would click it and find an empty list. Basically, you'd have 27 tabs, one for each letter and one with a # sign for numbers, running down the left side. Each tab would have three color-coded states: 1. Empty - white with light grey text 2. Items available - white with black text 3. Items selected - blue with white text There could also be a search box at the top to filter the list. Good luck! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37420 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
Interesting discussion. I'm really happy to see my undergraduate alma mater offering these degrees! Margaret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] business process analysis and interaction design?
We're on the verge of starting a new-ish project (some work done already, but that's another issue). The system is to be built using an SOA approach, which, it seems, means that it will be be highly dependent on business process analysis practices in order to define the Services. (In theory, there will be a BPA and a UX person on the team...although we're both actually interaction designers and will be covering both roles.) Have you successfully integrated business process analysis practices with interaction design practices? Have you worked on SOA projects as an interaction designer, and if so, how did your role change? If so, any advice or good references? (All I can find is a June 2007 IBM paper Integrate business modeling and interaction design.) tia, Judy Stern University of California, Berkeley Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Masters Programs in Interaction Design and Design Management at University of Kansas
This sounds like an amazing program. My only concern is, how well will KCU do in regards to keeping the curriculum relevant with an industry that is changing on a daily basis? That is the main reason I dropped out of college after I receiving my AS, the curriculum just was not relevant anymore, it was all out dated. I discussed this with one of my teachers and he told me Jeremy, don't let college get in the way of your education and he was right. I have often thought of going back but there just wasn't a degree I was interested in because, first; I was afraid that the same thing would happen again as far as the curriculum being out dated and second; no schools really offered a degree like this. I am willing to give it a shot though. Does anyone else share this same fear? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37349 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Living the Job Enterprise UX Research by Doing (vs. Observation)
Hi, Does anyone out there have the experience of actually performing a given job (for at least a day or three, perhaps longer) as a means of really researching context, tasks etc.? Specifically, I am thinking of an enterprise context, where the user doesn't have choice in tools, workflow and there are some highly developed skills (ie more than the basic web skills of an e-commerce user). Also, I am contrasting this approach to on-site observation, empathic modeling and user role playing. For example, working in a call center as a first line telephone customer care agent. Sitting down with call center agent, getting some basic training and having that person watch your back to prevent major catastrophes, You answer calls, use the system(s) to retrieve and enter information etc., essentially it is you performing the job. This was something I though of proposing ages ago when I wanted to analyze and model the work of a particular type of system analyst. It never came to fruition (due mainly to technical skills gap, but also legal issues with outsider using systems) and I ended up doing standard contextual observations. It was great for insight into high-level aspects of the product and job that had issues (most of which we were already aware of) but not much nuance. It is inspired by a story I heard (circa 2001?) about a financial analyst getting a job at an Amazon.com warehouse as a means of gauging their likelihood of hitting/exceeding their numbers. There are a myriad of reasons not to do this, namely resource/time constraints, but I am curious to see if other IxDers, particularly those with a research bent have experience with this and could provide some input on how it compares to CI. Of course input from people with no experience is also welcome. What context was this performed in? (Real vs. Realistic Simulation) Did you have some basic, prior understanding of the domain? Did you do training? What did you call it? (methodology) Was it disruptive to work setting? Does it provide a level of insight worth the time/hassle of setting it up? Cheers, Julian Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
