I have been listing IxDA events for a while, met Joel Flom of Elavision a few times at events but have never really a) fully understood what IXDA is (I know that it has something to with design) and b) what happens at these IxDA events. I caught IxDA in Cloudland for a bit to talk more about IxDA!

Could you tell us more about what IxDA stands for, just for the readers.
IxDA is an organisation that originated in the US called Interaction Design Association and the whole idea is that it's a discipline that is part of the user experience umbrella, concentrated on the interaction that someone has with an interface, how that interaction occurs with the interface.  [Read more from their site here]

How does design come into?  What's your concept of the term design - there's architecture, graphics, sound, 3d, interior design.
Interaction design is another design discipline but I think that the idea of interaction design, the most interesting component of the user experience, is really trying to understand that there are two humans trying to deal each with other through some sort of mechanism.  It needs to be consistent, useful and meet the best number of users.  You use development, design, information architecture, UI (user interface) design and testing as part of a family of design services for your site.

photo by david mastersWhat is the industry like in Brisbane, in Australia in general?
It's small, organic.  Especially in Brisbane you wear a lot of hats - research, user testing, prototyping, design, UI, maybe even coding.  Depends on your client.  Sydney and Melbourne communities are larger but the actual concepts and challenges are the same. 

It sounds fairly cross-disciplinary - what are the collaborative opportunities with sectors within the creative industries?
A lot of my work [Joel is the MD of Elavision] in terms of information and architecture design, a lot of what I do doesn't happen unless there's a really good interface designer.  There are people who understand colour balance, tone, visual heirarchy and visual weight..they really make information matter more. 

For any interaction design readers out there, what final pointers do you have?

• There are immense opportunities out there. 
• Try to understand it from a business perspective. 
• Make sure that there's an outcome (usually financial). 
• You want to have the altruistic behaviour of helping the customer and it has to make sense to the business. 
• See it as part of a family of different design services.
• Holistically look at it wider. 

Go to the IxDA site, follow the forum and get an understanding of what people are talking about in the mobile, medical and all other areas where the same type of design concepts are being applied in different ways.

Thanks Joel! 

Cloudland isn't their usual venue, IxDA have been doing meetups at various venues.  Make sure to get on the announcements list for future events.

You can read more about interaction designers in the field via this site.   Check out the Australian CRC for Interaction Design and a very cool flash site, Design Lab Gallery, by the students of Sydney University of Technology!

If you loved this entry, check out: Design Institute of Australia: Care Factor - Socially Responsible Design, Design Strategy 2020, Ulysseys: Transformation through Design, Interview // Georgina Lewis {Argent Australia} {Georgi no e please}, Behind the Scenes with Typography.