Confessions

XX.3 May + June 2013
Page: 10
Digital Citation

Why it’s not damning to define the thing


Authors:
Dave Malouf

I've been known to be obsessed with defining things. I'm addicted to semantics—you might call me a semant-aholic. I believe deeply in the importance of words and get really annoyed at dual meanings and misunderstandings, ambiguities caused by rampant misuse of terms, and just lack of agreement on the meaning of things. I have found being a teacher amplifies this constant drive toward clarity in language and form. I would like to further argue that this is even more important for user experience (UX) and its related disciplines. At the crux of our practice is the mitigation of complexity,…




You must be a member of SIGCHI, a subscriber to ACM's Digital Library, or an interactions subscriber to read the full text of this article.

GET ACCESS

Join ACM SIGCHI

In addition to all of the professional benefits of being a SIGCHI member, members get full access to interactions online content and receive the print version of the magazine bimonthly.


Subscribe to the ACM Digital Library

Get access to all interactions content online and the entire archive of ACM publications dating back to 1954. (Please check with your institution to see if it already has a subscription.)


Subscribe to interactions

Get full access to interactions online content and receive the print version of the magazine bimonthly.