Comments on: UX Origin Stories http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/ Encounters with designed experiences Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:28:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Christopher Fahey http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-805 Christopher Fahey Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:47:30 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-805 As a kid, I made things for me, my family, and my friends to play with, on, or in: airplanes, castles, plays, comic books, and games (board games, role-playing games, and computer games). For college I went to art school (Cooper Union, '94) and studied conceptual art, sculpture, and installation art, and built several awesome computer-controlled interactive sculptures in the very early 1990s. This interest got me a job, nearly right out of school, managing and soon designing CD-ROM computer games. As a game designer, I was making wireframes and flowcharts every day, collaborating with -- but effectively leading -- visual designers, animators, writers, and technologists. My jobs and projects eventually evolved from games to web sites, and now I run an interaction design firm. As far as I'm concerned, I've been doing the same thing for almost my whole life: designing and building experiences. As a kid, I made things for me, my family, and my friends to play with, on, or in: airplanes, castles, plays, comic books, and games (board games, role-playing games, and computer games). For college I went to art school (Cooper Union, ’94) and studied conceptual art, sculpture, and installation art, and built several awesome computer-controlled interactive sculptures in the very early 1990s. This interest got me a job, nearly right out of school, managing and soon designing CD-ROM computer games. As a game designer, I was making wireframes and flowcharts every day, collaborating with — but effectively leading — visual designers, animators, writers, and technologists. My jobs and projects eventually evolved from games to web sites, and now I run an interaction design firm.

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been doing the same thing for almost my whole life: designing and building experiences.

]]> By: Robert Cadena http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-796 Robert Cadena Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:27:47 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-796 I went to Stanford ('99) as a CS student, loving programming. I loved programming so much that I used to have dreams about program structure being actual physical structures you could see, touch, feel, and even navigate around. I still sometimes do. But, I didn't know CS was not just about programming. At the time all that theory in CS was just not my cup of tea, so I was disappointed and dissatisfied. I tried a few other majors and settled on Communication because of Reeves and Nash's HCI class and got a CS minor just so all those classes during my first year weren't a waste of time. I took a couple of other HCI classes, but I never really "got it". I graduated, went to work as a web designer, worked for startups, eventually got work as a programmer and just kept programming. One day I went to work for a nanotech startup, designing their entire nanotube synthesis automation system. I was still just programming with little regard to UX beyond making stuff look nice. This job was different because my co-workers were not programmers, they were scientists and engineers who used the product for their daily life. So I worked with them and developed the UI component using their input and feedback. I worked very closely with them so that the way the software behaved, not just the visual part, fit with their workflow and with the way all their other tools worked. One day we went to install one of these systems at a university physics department. I was there to "train" the people in how to use it. The system took no more than 5-10 minutes to learn, but would save hours of manual monitoring and work. When I was done with the demo, the look on their faces was an expression of joy and relief. That was my "aha!" moment. Since then my goal has been to work in UX while still "keeping my hands dirty" with development. I went to Stanford (’99) as a CS student, loving programming. I loved programming so much that I used to have dreams about program structure being actual physical structures you could see, touch, feel, and even navigate around. I still sometimes do. But, I didn’t know CS was not just about programming. At the time all that theory in CS was just not my cup of tea, so I was disappointed and dissatisfied.

I tried a few other majors and settled on Communication because of Reeves and Nash’s HCI class and got a CS minor just so all those classes during my first year weren’t a waste of time. I took a couple of other HCI classes, but I never really “got it”.

I graduated, went to work as a web designer, worked for startups, eventually got work as a programmer and just kept programming. One day I went to work for a nanotech startup, designing their entire nanotube synthesis automation system. I was still just programming with little regard to UX beyond making stuff look nice. This job was different because my co-workers were not programmers, they were scientists and engineers who used the product for their daily life. So I worked with them and developed the UI component using their input and feedback. I worked very closely with them so that the way the software behaved, not just the visual part, fit with their workflow and with the way all their other tools worked.

One day we went to install one of these systems at a university physics department. I was there to “train” the people in how to use it. The system took no more than 5-10 minutes to learn, but would save hours of manual monitoring and work. When I was done with the demo, the look on their faces was an expression of joy and relief. That was my “aha!” moment.

Since then my goal has been to work in UX while still “keeping my hands dirty” with development.

]]> By: Amanda Jahn http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-795 Amanda Jahn Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:28:43 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-795 Great post Sarah! It's nice to know that so many people fell into UX or realized what they were doing anyway actually had a name (of sorts). I originally did a graphic design qualification which briefly touched on web design (basic coding, design for web). I was lucky enough to get my first job out of school as a web designer (back in 2001) and then gradually progressed into UX. I was probably doing it for quite a few years before I learnt it had a name. Although it seems the more I learn about UX, the more I realize I don't know! Great post Sarah! It’s nice to know that so many people fell into UX or realized what they were doing anyway actually had a name (of sorts).

I originally did a graphic design qualification which briefly touched on web design (basic coding, design for web). I was lucky enough to get my first job out of school as a web designer (back in 2001) and then gradually progressed into UX. I was probably doing it for quite a few years before I learnt it had a name. Although it seems the more I learn about UX, the more I realize I don’t know!

]]> By: Mikkel Michelsen http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-794 Mikkel Michelsen Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:37:40 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-794 I drew a hotrod pixel-by-pixel in MacPaint in 1985. In that instant, my critical sense to any digital user experience was born. Then schools, then jobs. /@uxrockabilly I drew a hotrod pixel-by-pixel in MacPaint in 1985. In that instant, my critical sense to any digital user experience was born. Then schools, then jobs.

/@uxrockabilly

]]> By: Sarah http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-793 Sarah Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:28:04 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-793 Thanks, Heather! That definitely describes how I feel about the practice. And thanks for sharing your story, Iain! Thanks, Heather! That definitely describes how I feel about the practice.
And thanks for sharing your story, Iain!

]]> By: Iain Lowe http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-792 Iain Lowe Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:59:53 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-792 Like @fredbeecher, I was a technical writer before I got into UX. I had an English degree and a bit of technical savvy. I found that a lot of technical writing for software in the mid-90s required me to describe how to navigate through cumbersome UIs and workflows that were built by developers who didn't have a mandate to consider any user but themselves in the design. As I wrote more and more documentation that shouldn't have been required had there been a good design at the beginning, I found myself more interested in moving myself to the front end of the process. I've never looked back. Like @fredbeecher, I was a technical writer before I got into UX. I had an English degree and a bit of technical savvy.
I found that a lot of technical writing for software in the mid-90s required me to describe how to navigate through cumbersome UIs and workflows that were built by developers who didn’t have a mandate to consider any user but themselves in the design. As I wrote more and more documentation that shouldn’t have been required had there been a good design at the beginning, I found myself more interested in moving myself to the front end of the process.
I’ve never looked back.

]]> By: Heather http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/ux-origin-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-791 Heather Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:11:20 +0000 http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/?p=527#comment-791 Great post, Sarah. It's interesting to learn how people ended up in UX. Seems like a very engaging field w/ passionate people. Great post, Sarah. It’s interesting to learn how people ended up in UX. Seems like a very engaging field w/ passionate people.

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