About a week and a half ago I went on a retreat to Sweden with about 30 other Razorfish employees. In preparation we were to think about our vision for ourselves and the company, among other things. My vision was a bit idealistic, or so I thought at the time. I think of all this “user experience” hubbub as just a euphemism for “improving people’s lives.” I think everything we do either makes the world a better place or a worse place, and I feel we have a moral imperative to try to make it a better place.
One day on the retreat a talk on broadband strategy led to a discussion about how new technologies will change lifestyles, and in turn led to how we influence people’s lives and therefore how we need to bring a sense of responsibility to our design. I was overjoyed that the words coming out of other people’s mouths were the same words I thought to myself when envisioning our future. It was encouraging that this group of incredibly talented people has a similar vision as myself, one that includes a moral dimension.
It’s with this in mind that I hear Jakob Nielson call us a “glamour design shop.” I spend a lot of effort evangelizing and working to improve usability, so the contrast between what I know as reality and his stupid perception is numbing. You know what Jakob, the IAM site was built for aspiring actors, musicians, and dancers, not for you, so your opinion isn’t valid here, you’re not the user (at this point I must take a deep breath and not sink to his level of petty criticism, even if the new SIGCHI Bulletin says about his new book, “save your money.” Ha!).