[IxDA Discuss] What sets the 'best' interaction designers apart?

[Kevin Wong]

When do you draw the distinction between "designer" and "developer"  
if there is such a different. If not, then should there be one?  Are  
Ruby programmers who have a keen eye for the "user" and centering  
their design around their needs more of a designer or developer?  
Maybe they should be called Interaction Gods =)

In any case, I'd like to hear more opinions about the characteristics  
of an Interaction Design.  I feel like ethnographers and  
anthropologists are Interaction Designers as well. Just from a  
different perspective bringing in different deliverables that could  
still very well be creative.

Kevin



On Feb 2, 2007, at 4:56 PM, Alder Yarrow wrote:

> The best interaction designers?
>
> Know how to hand-code HTML or possibly other programming or UI  
> languages.
>
> That's the single best predictor of strong interaction design  
> skills or
> capabilities in my experience hiring and training IAs and IDs for  
> the past 8
> years.
>
> The best interaction designers have a visceral, hands-on  
> understanding of
> how technology systems are built, and they use this knowledge to  
> design
> interactions that:
>
> 1. actually work
> 2. can be implemented
> 3. are less prone to technology driven errors
> 4. are documented in ways that developers can understand
>
> Alder
>
> ``````````````````````````````````````````
> Alder Yarrow, Founder & Principal
> HYDRANT
> M:415.730.3209
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>
>
>
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