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

[Dave Chiu]

On Feb 3, 2007, at 12:09 AM, Kevin Wong wrote:
> 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.

I was taught that good interaction designers are able to "bounce"  
between high level and low level tasks, and from that flexibility  
derive their value.

The interaction design program I graduated from had a curriculum  
which encompassed physical computing, graphical user interface  
design, and service design. These were general categories, as any  
single project might involve one or more disciplines. For example, a  
service design project (high level) would inevitably involve some  
kind of touch-point (low level) which would manifest itself in a  
screen design or an object of some sort. The lines were definitely  
blurred as designers developed working prototypes which in turn  
informed the designs in an iterative process.

The students at my school were from all kinds of backgrounds, ranging  
from industrial design to graphic design to architecture to computer  
science to english (that would be me). At the end of the program, we  
all had our particular interests and skills, so I don't think there  
is a particular template for Interaction Design. I realize that's not  
particularly helpful, but I think most of us left school more  
confused about the definition than when we entered, and we certainly  
all had our differing opinions.

So while I don't have any particular insight into what makes an  
Interaction Designer (and any that I might have are certainly not  
authoritative), I would agree that the characteristics of one would  
have to include ethnography. I personally believe that an Interaction  
Designer is more designer than developer, but that he or she must be  
able to interface with developers, which in turn requires an  
understanding of development to most effectively communicate design  
requirements/implementation, etc. (It's a bit of a vicious circle as  
far as I've found.)

I think that may be where the comments about hand-coding HTML come  
from, as understanding lies in the doing, which in turn may lead to  
better design around that particular technology's constraints.

Dave