Comments on: Thoughts on Interaction08

By: Jeremy Yuille Explores IxD Education at Adaptive Path | jamin.org

Jeremy Yuille Explores IxD Education at Adaptive Path | jamin.org — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:16:32 +0000

[...] Adaptive Path hosted a brown bag lunch with Jeremy Yuille regarding interaction design education. I skirted up from my Nokia office a few blocks away to take advantage of AP’s open invitation. It took me a while to realize that Jeremy is on the IxDA board, and that I had met me at the IxDA conference last February during a discussion about future IxDA conferences. [...]

By: jet

jet — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:24:05 +0000

caveat: I have no dog in this fight, I’m just interested in the process.

“Most people, me included, are sick of that discussion.”

I note that you didn’t say “the discussion is over and X is [obviously] the answer”. Are you bored with the discussion and tired of having it? Annoyed that people don’t agree with you or that they agree with someone else? Is it the case that there possibly is no answer, and that Interaction Design is simply a component of, say, Graphic Design and not actually a field unto itself? Claiming that you are “sick of the discussion” implies that you either don’t care about the outcome or that you think the outcome should be obvious.

By: Rafa

Rafa — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:42:23 +0000

I think that defining Interaction Design, more than being interesting from a *philosophical* point of view, would be a great thing to do in order to better “promote” the field among “outsiders”.

Try explaining to my boss that when I say we need to *design* something before thinking on how to implement it, I do not mean using Photoshop.

We too often forget that we are so immersed in a field that we end up discussing small details while the rest of the world does not even understand the field as a whole.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:45:28 +0000

Jamin, I am enjoying this blog. It was nice meeting you at IxDA. Personally, I think there needs to be more design doing rather than talking. I am writing that as an academic. I ran across this the other day . . .
http://experiencematters.criticalmass.com/2008/02/13/less-talking-more-doing/

By: Jamin

Jamin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:30:44 +0000

I realize that in practice there is a greater focus on doing than philosophizing about definitions. That does not mean that definitions aren’t important to practitioners. I see much evidence on the IxDA list of passioned debate around the definition of interaction design. With as much attention as it receives, I wouldn’t be quick to dismiss it. My point is that rather than avoid the issue because it feels tired, why not take the opportunity of the conference to have constructive debate and perhaps advance the argument to a point where it is not tiresome.

Again, while the definition may not serve an obvious role for the practitioner, I believe keeping the theory and the practice in close proximity can only be good for the designer and ultimately the discipline.