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That has been my title for several years. If you can be a User Experience Designer or an Information Architect (both well-established job titles), what is wrong

That has been my title for several years. If you can be a User Experience Designer or an Information Architect (both well-established job titles), what is wrong with "(User) Experience Architect" if you do both?

jonahx 13y ago
To be honest, both "User Experience Designer" and "Information Architect," especially the latter, have a ring of bullshit, but they are at least in common enough use that I know approximately what the job actually entails (again less so with information architect). So when you make the change to "Experience Architect," dropping the "User" prefix, it becomes vague to the point where I literally had no idea what you did for living, although I guessed from the article's content that you worked in UX somehow, presumably designing user interfaces or consulting about them. But as someone who (rightly) rails against vagueness in marketing and against bullshit that masquerades as expertise, I would think you'd be averse to a title which trades clarity for puffery.
- JoelMarsh 13y ago
  Your thoughts are not uncommon, unfortunately, but they come from a lack of, or confusing, information... not a high level of bullshit. And oddly enough, I wrote an article about that too. :) Maybe this will help: http://thehipperelement.com/post/47950319899/do-you-have-the-wrong-job-title http://thehipperelement.com/post/47950319899/do-you-have-the...
  - jonahx 13y ago
    Another good article. It has not changed my mind, however :) As someone who values making scientific decisions, I would challenge you to survey people in the tech industry (programmers, visual designers, UX experts, etc) and ask them if they know what an "Experience Architect" does. It is difficult enough that some people don't know that user interaction and user experience are jobs different from a graphic designer and front end developer. But I think user interaction and UX are at least somewhat known. As you said: "If you do information and interaction and UX, go with “UX” as a job title." It sounds like "UX Designer and Information Architect" might be accurate in your case? And it sounds almost as impressive as "Experience Architect" :)
- grumblestumble 13y ago
  Joel, I find it hilariously telling that you dropped the word "user" from your title. It's all about you, after all, screw the user, right?
markdown 13y ago
I dislike "Architect" being used in this way. Programmers particularly like the word. As far as I'm concerned, if you aren't designing buildings in the real world, you aren't an architect, and have just co-opted that title in an attempt to appear more that you really are.
- dictum 13y ago
  Engineers probably feel the same way about software developers.
  - bowerbird 13y ago
    poets feel that way about things described as "poetic". we get no respect, yet everyone wants to be _like_us._ :+) -bowerbird

jonahx 13y ago

To be honest, both "User Experience Designer" and "Information Architect," especially the latter, have a ring of bullshit, but they are at least in common enough use that I know approximately what the job actually entails (again less so with information architect). So when you make the change to "Experience Architect," dropping the "User" prefix, it becomes vague to the point where I literally had no idea what you did for living, although I guessed from the article's content that you worked in UX somehow, presumably designing user interfaces or consulting about them. But as someone who (rightly) rails against vagueness in marketing and against bullshit that masquerades as expertise, I would think you'd be averse to a title which trades clarity for puffery.

JoelMarsh 13y ago
Your thoughts are not uncommon, unfortunately, but they come from a lack of, or confusing, information... not a high level of bullshit. And oddly enough, I wrote an article about that too. :) Maybe this will help: http://thehipperelement.com/post/47950319899/do-you-have-the-wrong-job-title http://thehipperelement.com/post/47950319899/do-you-have-the...
- jonahx 13y ago
  Another good article. It has not changed my mind, however :) As someone who values making scientific decisions, I would challenge you to survey people in the tech industry (programmers, visual designers, UX experts, etc) and ask them if they know what an "Experience Architect" does. It is difficult enough that some people don't know that user interaction and user experience are jobs different from a graphic designer and front end developer. But I think user interaction and UX are at least somewhat known. As you said: "If you do information and interaction and UX, go with “UX” as a job title." It sounds like "UX Designer and Information Architect" might be accurate in your case? And it sounds almost as impressive as "Experience Architect" :)
grumblestumble 13y ago
Joel, I find it hilariously telling that you dropped the word "user" from your title. It's all about you, after all, screw the user, right?

markdown 13y ago

I dislike "Architect" being used in this way. Programmers particularly like the word. As far as I'm concerned, if you aren't designing buildings in the real world, you aren't an architect, and have just co-opted that title in an attempt to appear more that you really are.

dictum 13y ago
Engineers probably feel the same way about software developers.
- bowerbird 13y ago
  poets feel that way about things described as "poetic". we get no respect, yet everyone wants to be _like_us._ :+) -bowerbird