What is an Interactive Designer? »
Numerous designers have posted an entry asking how others explain what they do to someone where a knowledge gap is concerned. Halfway through one of my lengthy responses I realised that I was backtracking what I had written in order to explain what it is that I do — it was epicly ironic. However, would it have really been all that ironic? Interactive designers are still a relatively recent addition to the industry. Most people think I simply open Photoshop and smack out vectors, despite my contempt for creative software.
When I want to quickly brush curious minds off I quickly add that I do a form of web design for the internet, mobile phones and bus kiosks. If I had to try harder I would not be able to answer as concisely as I would like to. Whilst it is tempting to direct people to articles around the subject matter, it feels impersonal. It may be my tendency to be oddly pensive about the smallest details, but I still find most definitions of an interactive designer to be a bit stoic.
I could just ramble on about being on the verge of becoming a global village and how interactivity is becoming connectivity. Perhaps it is not that I cannot find satisfaction in an accurate definition of an interactive designer, but that I will not be satisfied with any one definition.
What does interactive design mean to you, even if you are not a designer or from an art background?