Interviews with the people responsible for creating the UX discipline
Collected by Tamara Adlin
Featured Interview
Carol Barnum
When she emerged from graduate school, Carol Barnum found that her Ph.D. in English didn't have employers banging down her door, but people were asking her to do technical writing. She said 'yes' to the first of these opportunities without even knowing what technical writing was (sound familiar?). Carol has incredible tenacity...after many years, she's still teaching technical communication and consulting, and there's no retirement in sight. She's contributed to our field with her book Usability Testing and Research, but it's arguable that the fact that she's sent so many well-trained students into our field has had at least as much impact.
Popular Interviews
Phil Terry
Phil Terry is more interested in real people than anyone I know. This uber-connector shares his adventures, which trace his path from rebels in Nigeria to tech executives stuck in old habits.
Seth Godin
Seth Godin got a toy when he was a little kid--a radio that transformed into a cool spy rifle. Ever since, he's been talking about what happens when you shoot messages out to regular people.
Alan Cooper
Only Alan can explain Alan: "I programmed like a crazed weasel. I loved it. I took to it. It was my natural thing."
Ben Shneiderman
The famous Dr. Shneiderman muses on mulidisciplinarianism and reminds us that no computer is smarter than a wooden pencil.
Cliff Nass
Cliff Nass revels in being weird, thinking "wildly," and taking "big fliers." But he's also fascinated by what makes everything the same. If we were all as open to oddness as he is, the world would be a much more interesting place.
Jakob Nielsen
Today Jakob Nielsen is an inspiration and, through his books and seminars, a teacher to many. But what inspired him to get where he is today?
Visit Weekly for New Interviews
Coming soon: Interviews with Susan Dray, Phil Terry, Deborah J. Mayhew, Lou Rosenfeld, Mary Beth Rosson, Jesse James Garrett, Joe Dumas, Peter Morville, John Carroll, Randolph Bias, Dennis Wixon, and Gerry McGovern.
And later: Don Norman, Larry Tesler, Stuart Card, Keith Instone, Arnie Lund, George Olson, Jared Spool, Jeff Veen, Jonathan Grudin, Larry Constantine, Mark Hurst, Meg Hourihan, Marilyn Tremaine, and more.
Who am I missing?
Please visit the UX Pioneers Wiki to see my interview wishlist (and help me contact these folks!), suggest additional interviews, and add your own thoughts on how, when, where, and why these amazing people influenced you in your own education and career.
Thanks for your interest and help!
Tamara
About this Site
The UX Pioneers project aims to reveal the motivations and perspectives of key players in the User Experience industry through in-depth interviews and discussions with the site's publisher, Tamara Adlin.
About Tamara Adlin
I am a user experience consultant in Seattle, WA. My own academic and professional choices finally made sense when, and only when, I discovered human-computer interaction. I'm inspired by all of the interesting puzzles and people that populate our field.
Contact
We are interested in hearing from you. Please send your questions and comments to:
tamara@adlininc.com
Subscribe:
Site Credits
Site design by Matt Dente Design (with Tamara Adlin)
Content wrangling by Ariel van Spronsen
Interview transcription by Ani Lea