I'm stunned no one has commented on this Core77 article yet:
<http://www.coroflot.com/creativeseeds/2009/03/five_things_interaction_design.asp
>
"I went to Interaction09 in Vancouver with an intense personal mission
to nail down a clear definition of Interaction Designer, and what
abilities are needed in order to be one. Almost every time I asked
(and I asked a lot of times), the answer was "I have no idea." Which
is funny, because several hundred people with that title gathered
together in rooms every day of the conference to agree that the work
they were doing was necessary, and worthy of attention and
responsibility (much as people do at any other professional conference).
Playing devil's advocate, this raises the Wizard of Oz question: are
they really doing something new, unique, and especially useful, once
you pull back the curtain? Or are Interaction Designers merely the
beneficiaries of a fad, like so many mediocre Seattle bands that got
snapped up by labels in the early 90s, by virtue of where they
happened to live (I'm talking to you, Candlebox)? It's easy to read
things like the IxDA website's definition of the field with a cynical
eye, and conclude that intentional obfuscation is part of the
profession's appeal:
Interaction design (IxD) is a professional discipline that
illuminates
the relationship between people and the interactive products they
use.
While interaction design has a firm foundation in the theory,
practice,
and methodology of traditional design, its focus is on defining the
complex dialogues that occur between people and interactive
devices of
many types -- from computers to mobile communications devices to
appliances.
Ah, they define complex dialogues. Got it. About time someone started
doing that."
Another piece of what I would consider bad PR for our profession.
Dan
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