I have often struggled with the fact that I've only been in this industry for a little over 2 years, and will probably not say anything that someone else hasn't already said or has spoken about. I decided that this blog is for me to have a chance to really think about design on my terms and because by writing, I'm able to expose thoughts I hadn't necessarily realized I've been thinking about.
My first job as an interaction designer focused on the interactivity and engagement of the user but in the marketing context. Most of the pages I worked on were short lived and very marketing-ish. After leaving that job, I started working on more traditional UI design, which tended to focus on task completion and form design and all the specifics of where to place a button on a page and how that influences user behavior.
After working in this industry for a relatively short time, I've learned that there is almost always two different ways to influence user behavior:
1. To support the business goals
2. To support user goals
This tension exists and it is up to the designer to weigh out the options and design with these in mind. I often find that I literally cannot sleep at night if I design something that I know will piss off or irritate users. Often times, our business partners will want a solution which is great on the bottom line, but will alienate users over the long run. As a designer, it is up to us to make sure our business partners know that good design will still support business goals, but it may not be the cheapest option from the top.
I've also learned that its okay to make mistakes as long as you can learn from them, which is a philosophy which applies generally to life.
I'm excited to start this blog which has been something I've wanted to do for awhile, but felt I wasn't seasoned enough to do so. I have start somewhere I figured, might as well be now.
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