ACM Interactions

To say that I'm humbled to have the opportunity to blog for interactions would be a gross understatement, for it's a magazine instrumental in my move from technical communications to fully focused user experience activities. From the moment I picked up that issue in the Barnes & Noble on Sherman Avenue in Evanston in 1995, I've been hooked.

My career has spanned many activities, but suffice it to say that the tracks of my years showcase a passionate focus on enhancing the experiences that people create when they encounter artifacts I'm involved in. From user research to information architecture to interaction design to content strategy and tactics, I've had the great fortune to work in the UX field for 20 years, give or take a few moments.

I'm interested in matters of the human heart, as Faulkner might say. What can we as interaction designers do that matters to people? How have others succeeded or failed? And where does our work take people in their daily lives? In my practice, I've found that I focus more on "UX for the rest of us," that is, user experiences that people encounter throughout their day as opposed to the occasional touchpoints. So, the interaction design of a timesheet app seems more interesting to me than the design of a site to market the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Similarly, the way that people do expense reporting interests me a bit more than the way they sign up for a social networking app. How people find a bit of delight when looking at their monthly sales report anchors my bailiwick.

In a nutshell, I'm interested in how folks find their own clean, well-lighted places in the digital worlds they occupy. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to explore this journey here in interactions.

Joe Sokohl