Three reasons why interaction design is so much more democratized than other design disciplines are
1. The end result is not always tangible.
2. Interaction Design is a relatively new design discipline.
3. A lot of interaction design revolves around the web/user experience so people believe that they are inherently good at designing for such an experience if they are a. human and b. can use the world wide web.
Interaction Design is a fairly new discipline; very few Interaction Designers are actually beyond the age of forty. Not all interaction design lends itself to a tangible concept which makes it a bit more difficult to critique and being such a new discipline with comparatively little academic study and history to base itself upon, the field invites a lot of people who believe they are qualified enough to call themselves Interaction Designers. However, those who are actually studying and pursuing Interaction Design in a thoughtful and informed way have an understanding of the theory behind the discipline, a clarity of thought when discussing the heuristics of Interaction Design, and an incredible facility for storytelling.
When I was in college I took a critical theory class on photography and one of my favorite lectures concerned the introduction of digital photography into the art world. A lot of the art that was being created by the digital photographers at the time was relatively silly and was being utilized more as a tool to demonstrate the capabilities of digital manipulation rather than actually producing good art (whatever that means!). A period existed when many people considered themselves talented and innovative photographers because they were able to use the computer to digitally manipulate their work (I wouldn't say that this time has quite passed but I think we have a better grasp on the fact that a digital camera does not a professional photographer make.) The computer has certainly allowed for a greater number of people to pursue design and art, i.e. everyone is a photographer now, but mass access to tools and technology does not make one a successful artist and/or designer. I think this is also seen in the world of blogging, where everyone blogs, but relatively few bloggers achieve success through the medium. As educated Interaction Designers, we must possess the ability to communicate and engage without putting discouraging others, particularly when it comes to discussing and implementing ideas. We are the thought leaders who have the amazing opportunity to expand and lead the field of Interaction Design, but to do so successfully, we must guide kindly and positively and encourage others to lead Interaction Design in a thoughtful and innovative direction.
Very nice post Kristin. I think you're absolutely right that being pioneers in a field means we should strive to be as inclusive as possible, and educate people as well as we can.
ReplyDeleteYour analogy to photography offers good insight about the reverse experience - a very specialized field becoming accessible to everyone. Lots of fields have experienced this phenomenon in the past fifteen years or so, such as travel agencies. Sadly with travel agents, most of them have now disappeared, so there is some bitterness at having lost their specialized roles. We need to tread kindly as we gently take interaction design away from the general public who used to play that role.