What kind of designer do I want to be? This is a question I have been thinking a lot about especially with the push to find an internship for the summer. Last week’s Interaction Theory class was a helpful step in my pursuit to find a clear answer to this question. I was fascinated by the variety of areas of expertise with in the field of interaction design we discussed. It was really enlightening to hear how each of the three guest speakers, Brian Hoffer, Bjorn Hartmann, and Tristan Harris, have found their own spaces of success with in the same field. The conversation in class left me with a few thoughts I will keep in mind as I try to figure out what kind of interaction designer I want to be.
Here are the thoughts that are helping to clarify my pursuit to figure out where I fit in the field of interaction design. First thought is really a point made by each of the speakers, and that is figure out what I am passionate about and pursue it, and while I pursue my passions I should figure out how these interests contribute to my interaction design. My passion will help me reach people, understand people, and design for people. The second it is similar to the first, take the strengths I have developed through professional and life experience to figure out access those areas of strength while working in the interaction design field. It is okay to be not good at everything, but knowing my limits and enhancing my strengths is imperative to my design practice.
Keeping these thoughts in mind, my answer to the question poised at the beginning of this blog is, I would like to be a craft or trades person. I am a graphic designer, so the guest speaker I found most interesting was Brian because he called himself a craftsman. He had little technical computer programming ability, but he contributes to his clients’ projects through his beautiful aesthetic, his strong design technique and critical thinking. These skills have led him to be a master in the field, and someone for me to admire professionally. He also helped me realize that it is okay to not be a computer programmer because I can contribute in ways that a computer programmer cannot and if I do it well then I too can be a successful interaction designer. This is my answer for now but I am open to it shifting and evolving as I get to know the field better and I follow where my passions and strengths take me.
thanks for the post, Aaren. I wish I had known about the guest lecturers in interaction design - would have loved sitting in on that talk! I think your strategy is sound as long as you realize the need to keep evolving. You're planning to enter a field that is changing at a phenomenal rate. To succeed, you will need to anticipate where it is headed.
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