Friday, 14 October 2011

Dan Saffer: 'Interaction design is an applied art' DP3 discussion task. (DD)

I came across this article when I was creating my visual essay last year, so it's nice to know that Dan is quite well known & people are picking up on how good he is at his job.

The article can be found by clicking here

This interview really highlights how important it is to learn as much as possible while I have the chance to. When he was at university, he talked about how all of the technical language & knowledge was taught to him, and he found it useful as he never would have imagined himself piecing something so technical together. It seems as though Dan is really focused and passionate about what he does, which is a really good vibe to have especially when I will be applying for jobs soon. Following his path by attending all of my lessons and doing my own personal studies, I think I will get just that little bit further than others and will hopefully be successful when it comes to job interviews/working with clients.

With the current explosion in the smartphone market, applications have become more and more widely used within today's society. Applications are linked to interface & interactive design which seems to be a key area to concentrate on, as Dan highlights they are very intertwined. Without good interface & interaction design, I would probably fail as a web designer.

By the time I have completed my course at NTU, web design aspects would have probably changed dramatically. Technology is forever sprinting forward and it can be hard to keep up if you're not being taught what's new & current. Dan said this at the end of the interview:

"The way to become a great designer is to learn as much as you can and put what you've learned into practice by designing a lot. That's all!"


I think this just shows that in order to be successful I need to take my time and learn what it is people want so I can create websites that people would love & use often. There isn't really any point in me going into this design field if I wasn't prepared for a challenge.

I really like how Dan gives a few tips as to what you shouldn't do. People tend to think that web design is really easy & anyone can do it. Dan clearly states that there is more to interaction design than just sitting there and sticking something together. It will take a lot of time, effort, creativity, perseverance, endless cups of tea & possibly putting up with some awkward clients. Obviously it isn't that easy to do, becuase one of Dan's principles he follows is "If it was easy, then everyone would do it". Well said Dan! 

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