Who makes a good interaction designer?

I'm personally not too sure if there is an answer really. Karel Thönissen tried to answer it in this article but unfortunately the article has a stereotypical view of the various professionals/skill sets. Taking this topic to the other extreme is a discussion on Joel’s Discussion Board. But while all these points of view are quite interesting, im my opinion, to be an interaction designer you need a few important soft skills.

For example, it's imperative that and Ix Designer is able to understand the user goals in order to design according to their needs. But at the same the Ix Designer should have their feet grounded in reality by understanding the constraints of Marketing and Engineering.

It's a thin line to walk on, and in my opinion, one needs a balanced approach to work as an interaction designer. And while soft skills are great, they are of no use if they are not complimented by design skills. After all, that is what you will be paid for at the end of it...

Posted by Navneet at March 24, 2004 09:06 PM | TrackBack | Comments disabled due to spam