convivio lecture 5 – joi roberts
design is everywhere
experience designers are renaissance designers
diagram from brenda laurel
which path should a budding experience designer choose?
academia – you get to think about interesting things just because you can, develop new methodologies and ideas, dig deeply into one or two areas, influence people. but your ideas will probably not be “productized”, and you have to deal with the politics of the academy.
design firms – you get to work on developing visionary design solutions, work with talented multidisciplinary teams, work on a variety of projects, and get high visibility. there are fewer politics to get people to accept work because you are being paid for it, but you are doing work that other people select, jobs are few and far between, your work may or may not actually be productized, and it is high stress.
consultancies – you have a methodology that the whole company buys into that you get to use in a variety of situations and really learn deeply, you work on a variety of projects, and become adept at communicating and justifying your design decisions, because the argument is often what people are hiring you to create. work is driven by what clients want and your methodology, and work can come and go.
big business – you get to build real things that go out into the world, and see your impact on what people use. you look deeply at users in specific market segments, work with a variety of people, learn about business and marketing, and have the benefits of a strong company. design is not always a strong part of company culture, however, and there are a lot of politics. you often have to convince and educate your colleagues about the importance of design before your work is taken seriously.
how to prepare:
build a toolbox
develop a portolio
keep up with blogs and articles
-www.nathan.com
-usabilityviews.com
-usabilitynews.com
-ixda, idsa, usabilityprofessionals.org, hcibib, hcirn.com
network
attend meetings
find a mentor – contact people who do things you are interested in, have a cup of coffee with them, ask them 20 questions, email them from time to time.
“design right now is the new black (sexy, hip, strategic), but i believe that, where we are headed next, it will be the new green (social change, sustainability).”