Exercise
Read and comment on the following content in your online journal -
Dan Saffer: 'Interaction design is an applied art' August 13, 2008
http://www.designinterviews.com/interviews/interaction-design-is-an-applied-art
Joel Schafer: 'I'm into minimalistic clean design' January 15, 2008
http://www.designinterviews.com/interviews/599
My comments...
Dan Saffer Interview
Ive highlighted some points of interest in Dan's interview and will comment on each point -
Do you believe formal design education has more to offer than self-teaching?
'You need a (for lack of a better word) Master standing over you while you do your apprentice work.'
'All that being said, there is certainly value in learning things on your own ... You can read every book in the field and be a terrible designer. You have to practice it, live, preferably with a client and (eventually) with users.'
I agree with Dan's views on this question. It can be important to have a 'master' to teach you. Being taught by tutor or teacher helps you to develop your intake of information, helps you look at other points that you might not have seen and introduces you to new aspects that you might never known about before hand. Learning things on your own can also be useful. In my experience, being a self taught web designer, I like the controll that I have over how fast or slow I want to develop my skills, but can sometimes find it hard to have the drive to read up on things without being taught or shown it first.
Would you explain the difference between interface and user-centered design?
'Interface design is the physical expression of the interaction design: the skin over the muscles and bone. Interaction design says, 'We need a button to turn on the siren.' Interface design says, 'The button should be here and it should be red.' They are deeply intertwined, since you cannot have one without the other.'
Dan's explanation of Interaction Design and Interface Design has made it easier for me to note the differences between them both. Interface Design focuses more on aesthetics and apperance and Interaction Design focuses on what needs to happen/needs to be done.
What are the typical mistakes that interface design newbies encounter and how to avoid them?
'I'd say there are two mistakes that new designers make: one is not coming up with enough variations—or, more accurately, not being able to come up with more alternatives. Which is to say, falling in love with one direction and not being able to see others. Often, this is direction is something familiar, that the designer is comfortable with. It is hard to kill your babies, but sometimes you have to.
The second mistake is one of details and completeness. What separates a great designer from a good one is the ability to not only come up with great concepts but to also see those through down to small details. The details are hard; making sure every part of the products works well and works together into a pleasing whole is hard to do. Playing out what a concept means down to the details is an important skill to learn.'
Unfortunately for me, I have actually fallen into the first mistake on previous web design projects. Hopefully in actually acknowledging it in his interview it will help me to overcome this problem in future projects. Details are also important for me to work out in any and all designs. In working out details early on, it could ultimately save you time in your design process.
What is it you find most irritating and/or distracting while working?
'My own ignorance, lack of skills, or inability to grasp new concepts. My own limitations are always more frustrating than almost anything external. My work place is always cluttered, noisy, and chaotic. That doesn't bother me overmuch.'
In reading Dan's answer to this question, I find that I also feel the same about myself. My lack of skills and the inability to come up with new concepts has always played on my mind, but this only becomes a hinderance if you don't do anything about it. I personally, am always trying new things out to develop my skills and I'm now trying to look to different areas to find inspiration. An example of what Dan Saffer likes looking at is mechanical interfaces. I have also been recently inspired by 'Letterpool' to maybe create a collection of my own.. who knows maybe 'Letterham' (for Nottingham) will soon be popping up!
Joel Schafer's Interview
In 4 years Joel Schafer, from buying a html book in 1997, graduated as web & media producer in 2001 - A quick process! He states how important it is to always write down everything on paper before starting a project, which is something that I don't always follow. I prefer going straight on to computer to start creating ideas because I find my drawing skills can restrict my desgins - Maybe this can be an area to improve and develop? In reading about how he gets his images for his web designs he says its always good to know a good photographer! (A nice reference to networking as a designer) Joel says how web is going to develop it interactivity with 3d and movie clips. In reading this I wondered if I could design a 3D website. This would be a brilliant project to work on! So I started researching an found a flash webstie in 3D (http://www.lech.pl/) Trouble is I need to get myself some retro 3D glasses first! Wish me luck in finding some!
