I think there is actually a gentle path from Technical Writer » Information Architect » IxD because I see it as a journey from structured content to structuring content (organization, flow), to flow and behavior (creating the dialogue between people and system, people and people, people and environment). I agree that you don't need a fancy degree - but taking a few HCI and interaction design classes would certainly help in the "Why" and "How" but if you do it on your own - start with the What. Decide on something you want to design for yourself, a blog, personal site, whatever - spend alot of time on well designed sites (web might be the easiest medium to start with), and COPY. That's right - just find some well designed sites - like Boxes and Arrows - and plagiarize (for yourself - don't actually post someone else's design as your own) - the more you design like that - it will be like muscle memory - and eventually you will be creating your own things.
On Feb 11, 2008 11:55 AM, Robert Hoekman, Jr. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I am a technical writer, and I want to be an interaction designer. How > do > > I > > get there from here? > > > At my last in-house position, the Documentation team and the UX team > shared > a suite. And there was one guy who would have made an excellent IxD. > Making > him part of my team would have been as simple as moving his desk to the > other side of the room. > > Of course, if you do it on a consulting basis, it's a simple matter of > putting "interaction designer" on your business card. ;) > > But seriously. It's all about the portfolio. Prove you know what you're > talking about, and it doesn't matter where you went to school (or if you > went to school at all, for that matter). > > -r- > ________________________________________________________________ > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- ~ will "No matter how beautiful, no matter how cool your interface, it would be better if there were less of it." Alan Cooper - "Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems" ------------------------------------------------------- will evans user experience architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
