Glossary

Design Thinking

Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success. Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the “building up” of ideas. There are no judgments early on in design thinking. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phases. Outside the box thinking is encouraged in these earlier processes since this can often lead to creative solutions. In organization and management theory, design thinking forms part of the A/D/A (Architecture/Design/Anthropology) paradigm, which characterizes innovative, human-centered enterprises. This management paradigm focuses on a collaborative and iterative style of work and an abductive mode of thinking, compared to the more traditional practices associated with the traditional M/E/P (Mathematics/Economics/Psychology) management paradigm.

Graphic Designer

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.

Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.

Information Architect

Information architecture (IA) is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming, technical writing, enterprise architecture, and critical system software design. Information architecture has somewhat different meanings in these different branches of IS or IT architecture. Most definitions have common qualities: a structural design of shared environments, methods of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, and online communities, and ways of bringing the principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

Interaction Designer

Interaction design (IxD) is the study of devices with which a user can interact, in particular computer users. The practice typically centers around “embedding information technology into the ambient social complexities of the physical world.” It can also apply to other types of non-electronic products and services, and even organizations. Interaction design defines the behavior (the “interaction”) of an artifact or system in response to its users. Malcolm McCullough has written, “As a consequence of pervasive computing, interaction design is poised to become one of the main liberal arts of the twenty-first century.”

Interface Designer

User interface design or user interface engineering is the design of computers, appliances, machines, mobile communication devices, software applications, and websites with the focus on the user’s experience and interaction. The goal of user interface design is to make the user’s interaction as simple and efficient as possible, in terms of accomplishing user goals—what is often called user-centered design. Good user interface design facilitates finishing the task at hand without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. Graphic design may be utilized to apply a theme or style to the interface without compromising its usability. The design process must balance technical functionality and visual elements (e.g., mental model) to create a system that is not only operational but also usable and adaptable to changing user needs.

Interface design is involved in a wide range of projects from computer systems, to cars, to commercial planes; all of these projects involve much of the same basic human interaction yet also require some unique skills and knowledge. As a result, designers tend to specialize in certain types of projects and have skills centered around their expertise, whether that be software design, user research, web design, or industrial design.

User Experience Designer

User experience, most often abbreviated UX, but sometimes UE, is a term used to describe the overarching experience a person has as a result of their interactions with a particular product or service, its delivery, and related artifacts, according to their design. As with its related term, User Interface Design, prefixing “User” associates it primarily (though not exclusively) with digital media, especially interactive software. It most commonly refers to the result of a planned integration of software design, business, and psychology concerns. It can apply to the result of any interaction design. Voice User Interface (VUI) systems, for instance, are frequently mentioned as a type of user interface that can lead to a poor user experience.

In the web world, user experience is sometimes conflated with usability, information architecture (IA), and user interface (UI) design, all of which are components of it. User experience addresses and integrates all user-facing aspects of a company, from email and web sites to off-site presence in print and on other sites.

For a more generalized usage, which may include reference to physical environments, see experience design.

Visual Designer

Visual Design is the design working in any media or support of visual communication. This is a correct terminology to cover all types of design applied in communication that uses visual channel for transmission of messages, precisely because this term relate to the concept of visual language of some media and not limited to support a particular form of content, as do the terms graphic design (graphics) or Interface design (electronic media).

*Reference, Wikipedia.org

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