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

[Gabriel White]

It's interesting that many of the responses here have been about skills.

The skills people have listed here are instructive and useful, but
they are what my philosophy lecturers would have called "necessary but
insufficient conditions for greatness".

Here's a stab at a description that doesn't include things that can be
evaluated by 'hard' measures, and hopefully sets the bar a little
higher.

A great interaction designer is someone who:

- is fanatical about making the world a better place

- can synthesise understanding and creativity to produce magical insight

- can inspire others to share their vision

- whose leadership infects others so much that together they create
amazing things

- can extrude opportunity where others only see status-quo

- creates things that engage and amaze

- creates things that forces people to shift their expectations and world view

- who remains true to their vision and authentic to themselves

In my mind there is also a subtle but important distinction that needs
to be made about to what end you are evaluating a designer. There's
one way of evaluation that looks at a person's design output.

But a great designer (for me) is often someone who inspires me to
think about design and the world differently. Every time someone
shifts my perspective is a magical moment.

Gabe