I am still a university student, coming from the more technical
Management Information Systems field. During my studies we learned
about what can be considered the predecessor to IxD: traditional
Human Computer Interaction, with its roots in Computer and Cognitive
Science.
The more I read and learn about IxD, by reading books, blogs and
following discussion among experts like here at IxDA, it seems to me
more and more that IxD is actually nothing more than HCI reinvented
by designers.
I don't want to reduce the value of IxD practicioners with a
background in (visual) design, since proper design thinking and a
designer's eye are crucial to create the engaging and pleasent
interfaces that we have come to love nowadays. *But* it seems to me
that almost all theoretical and practical considerations that are not
directly related to visual design have been approached decades before
by HCI practicioners.
I may be completely wrong - still no practical work experience - but
if even the pro's like Jared Spool here say it...
Maybe the fragmentation of labels/terms under which the different
specialized fields were known is a reason for their contribution been
forgotten. I personally had no idea that there is actually a
special term for User Assistence, and probably many others had no
idea also. A lot of the really groundbraking work for HCI was done
under the term Human Factors or Software Ergonomics, and
about Navigation under Information Retrieval, just to state some
other examples.
If there is no authorative list stating the names under which
research relating to HCI / IxD has been done, and what each area was
concerned with, it is very difficult for new practicioners to
actually find something that has already been done. Maybe if such a
list would be created, it would help people to find such
forgotten wisdom.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42667
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