Update Required: New Software, New Syllabus

Abstract

As UX tools continue to become more powerful, the formerly distinct roles of visual designer, information designer, interaction designer, and marketing strategist have been conflated into a single discipline with software packages that can help you "do it all." However, efficiency doesn’t necessarily increase efficacy. In this environment not only is the designer’s focus spread across all of these distinct disciplines, but the specific tools, standards, point of view, and emphasis have more to do with the designer’s training than the task at hand. This is compounded by the continuing battle between various software companies to become THE industry standard. Whether a tool is intended to facilitate the design process, evaluating the output of that process, producing content, or all of the above impacts the definition of “user experience” and the approach to UX design. Choosing a particular tool necessarily affects the approach. This presentation will show student work that highlights the relationship between curriculum design, the ubiquity of Adobe Creative Suite, other major players, and the ever-changing landscape of contemporary design and the tools that define it.