[IxDA Discuss] Old guard vs new guard designers

[Katie Albers]

Mark brings to light the issue that I find really
depressing about this list....despite the fact that
this is an interaction design list, the discussion
constantly proceeds from the assumption that
Interaction Design is Visual Design in the service of
interaction. 

As Mark wisely invites us to recall, design is much
larger than visual craft. Design itself is strategy,
it is the conception of an overall plan, and visual
design is an element of design. 

Each time we use the term "design" to mean "visual
design" we minimize and marginalize our own field. We
also dismiss many of the practitioners within the
field of interaction design on the basis that they do
not proceed from, or base themselves in, a visual
design paradigm.

I, for example, have a background in usability, user
experience, and information architecture. My visual
design background is limited to introductory-level
classes intended to provide me with enough
understanding to work credibly and reasonably with a
visual designer. My critiques of visual design are
based on how they function within the use, not my
preferences. Just as with programming, my
understanding is limited to knowing whether or not the
proposed solution meets the stated requirements. 

One of the things I think would actually be useful is
if we all avoided using the word "design". It would
force us to really define our own thinking and I think
it would provide all of us with a better understanding
of what we're really talking about.

And if this really is a visual design list for
specialists in visual design working in applications
then I - among others - have no place here.

Katie Albers
User Experience Specialist



--- Mark Schraad <mschraad at mac.com> wrote:

> I am very glad that somebody out there is trying
> something different. The d.schools success will take
> some years to meaasure. They certainly are in a good
> location with plenty of funding. It is well past
> time that design schools stopped cranking out visual
> craftspeople. Problem definition and strategy are
> important components. Design has much more to offer.
> 
> 
> On Tuesday, May 08, 2007, at 01:34PM, "David Malouf"
> <dave.ixd at gmail.com> wrote:
> >Also, what do people think of the d.School concept.
> A school that
> >claims it doesn't teach design, but "Design
> Thinking"?
> >
> >-- dave
> >
> >-- 
> >David Malouf
> 
> 
>
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