If I Was A Better Interaction Designer
by DanAdaptive Path founder Mike Kuniavsky was in the office yesterday talking about his new company ThingM and what they are up to and the interaction design trends they see in the future. After he left, I thought to myself, Man, is there is a lot I need to get cracking on. Not just the ubicomp stuff that ThingM is up to, but so much more — probably so many areas that it’s impossible for one person to know it all. (See Andy Clarke’s Super Team theory.) To really be a well-rounded interaction designer today, the set of skills is pretty enormous.
Start with the four major areas/platforms for interaction design right now (mobile, web, consumer electronics, desktop software). Each of them has specialized knowledge about the platform to know and understand. And then, if you are forward-looking, you can see new platforms emerging: Ubicomp, robotics, wearables, intelligent agents. Not to even mention services and distributed interactions that span multiple platforms and environments.
Then there’s the tools of the trade that span most platforms: Drawing, illustration, writing, modeling, research, public speaking. And the software to then visualize designs more fully: Adobe’s Creative Suite, Visio, OmniGraffle, Keynote or Powerpoint. (Add your tool of choice here.)
Add on to all the the burden of keeping up with the latest methods and techniques, the new books, conferences, the mailing list, and the RSS Feeds, well, it’s amazing anyone can do this job at all, much less be well-rounded and deeply skilled.
And yet, I still feel like I would (or should) know it all…if I was a better interaction designer.
What would you know if you were a better interaction designer?
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January 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
If I was a better interaction designer…I would know how to hand off a lot of those things so I didn’t have to do them all myself.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Good one Bob.
I think to be a better interaction designer one should have familiarity with the implementation (as in practical experience). Architects know their materials. So to add to those tools I’d say at least one programming language, web technologies and perhaps a lego mindstorms kit if you’re designing robots. =)
January 24th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
* Have a good common sense about people
* Have some courage to make choices and simplify
January 24th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Suggest keeping up with the latest trends and “managing information” is a challenge for most today. What tools or methods do people use to help manage, digest and then use information for something?
Tough question.
Expect everyone has their own “special sauce”
January 25th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Really interesting post…
I see a connection here to choices and constraints. Topics we often discuss in relation to a project or audience. For example, making sure there aren’t too many choices for a user so they don’t get overwhelmed in a process.
In order to have a sense of ‘keeping up’ I have had to choose an area of focus. For me, it’s the Web. Constraining myself, which hasn’t been comfortable, has sort of been a lesson for me in ‘living out’ what I expect users to do. It’s hard to do!
The same goes for my reading and learning due to the sheer volume of good stuff out there. Every once in a while I revisit what I’m currently looking at and what I’m not and make changes if I feel I need to. But it’s way to easy to start adding more (blogs, books, techniques, etc.) without taking away and getting in the same situation of being overwhelmed with too many choices.
January 25th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I’d know how to convince management to invest in
me, us.January 25th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I’d also know how to turn off the outside influences (blogs, competitors, trends) and design more creatively to really solve user needs.
January 26th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I’d learn to read in my sleep, or at least do some sort of book under my pillow/ osmosis trick.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:34 am
I’d learn to read in my sleep, or at least do some sort of book under my pillow/ osmosis trick.too