Interaction Designers of the Future: Shedding Light on Students Entering the Industry

Abstract

Increasingly more services are being digitized, and the design of user interfaces is important for creating impressive user experiences. Businesses use websites and apps as components of their business model, precisely to interact and communicate with their users and customers. Furthermore, to distribute services, and to provide extended information and digital services. Thus, digital user interfaces need to carry a high level of quality, and interaction designers are key players and vital contributors in this matter. It is therefore important for the industry to employ people with good skills and competence who at the same time have the necessary personal qualities and motivation to perform an outstanding job as interaction designers. This paper draws on qualitative and quantitative data from an online survey conducted among interaction design students enrolled in higher educational programs in Norway. The purpose of the study is to gain an updated understanding of the students’ thoughts and expectations relating to a career in interaction design. The findings show that the students are captivated by the fact that interaction design is creative and design-oriented work that allows them to collaborate in teams, and that it provides a combination of technology and design for humans and is an industry with abundant job opportunities.