I think another key attribute that Josh didn't discuss is that the discipline of interaction design is different from how those with the job title may be practicing it.
Putting that broad statement to the side for a minute the way I think of it historically and within practice is that ... 1) SIGCHI is primarily (though for reasons I still don't understand) is an academic organization. Their parent ACM is truly an academic organization, and it focuses on the academic research and practice of Human-Computer Interaction. Its history is one of computer science and cognitive psychology and only recently has added social sciences to the mix. It's practices and methods in industry tend to be quantitative in nature, and follow the usual line of scientific methods of analytical and linear thinking. 2) UPA is actually a splinter group from SIGCHI. Back in the early 90's when CHI was even more academic than it is today, a group of industry folks splintered out and formed their own organization around the industrial evaluation of usability of products and systems. This organization has not taken on "design" per se they way CHI has, but has taken on "User Experience" as their new thing. 3) IxDA is not so much a splinter from these groups (Oy! I do love Life of Brian so) as much as it is a coming together of lost souls who looked at those 2 orgs, IAI, IDSA, and AIGA and shrugged and said, this isn't working for me anymore (or ever). What I believe was missing was 2 things: a) "DESIGN" b) looking at interaction as its own point of aesthetics Now in practice and discussion it doesn't always look this way, but this spirit of "interaction design" as first a "design" discipline and that as such brings in a new order of aesthetics while also maintaining a relationship to functional usability, permeates this community subtlety but absolutely. I think the lag of other lists could be contributed to the fact that people were going to those lists b/c their real area of interest wasn't being represented until recently, but there is also an air of "hype" around Interaction Design as well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=33952 ________________________________________________________________ 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
