[Sigia-l] Everything is Miscellaneous -- Titles

[Karl Fast]

> The 'larger' discipline is Design. 

I have always disliked this concept of Design as a discipline and
the ultimate description of what we do. I'm not against the idea of
capital D Design. I'm not suggesting the term should be dropped. I
just don't like it very much. I'm not comfortable with it. 

To my mind, saying that Design is the larger or broader discipline
for IA, ID, UX, and so on, is like saying that "Health" is the
broader discipline for doctors, nurses, first responders,
lifeguards, nutrionists, vegans, witch doctors, and the people who
sell me running shoes. It's true, in a sense, but it strikes me as a
bland and unhelpful perspective. It strips away the distinctiveness
of various groups without uniting them in a meaningful way. These
groups are largely defined in relation to the concept of health, and
all seek to promote good health and health living. That doesn't make
them part of some larger and broader discipline called Health.

I think it's similar with design. Information architects, usability
engineers, interaction designers, and graphical designers all do
design. At the same time, engineers design bridges, architects
design bridges, economists design policies, and managers design
organizational processes. I know some people disagree with that
point of view (engineers engineer, they say, and architects
architect) but this always strikes me as semantic hair-splitting.

That's not to say there isn't such a thing as design and Design.
It's just that I'm comfortable saying I design information
structures and environments. I'm not comfortable with saying I am a
Designer in some broad, general, hand-wavy kind of way, as though
the word itself will magically usher us all into some kind of
professional nirvana.




-- 
Karl Fast
http://www.livingskies.com/