Interviews with the people responsible for creating the UX discipline
Collected by Tamara Adlin
Featured Interview
Arnie Lund
Arnie has always enjoyed research and scientific pursuit...he spent most of his childhood trying to build hovercrafts, blow various things up, and create life out of a home-made primordial ooze made out of motor oil and cold cream. Of course, he ended up studying chemistry...and then turned his studies and attention to theoretical chemistry, psychology, religion (as a seminary student), then plumber, ditch-digger, jeweler, and teaching (his own) personality theory. His interest in psychology seems to have stemmed from things he'd heard about what happened between young men and young women on a couch. He landed a job at Bell Labs, where he was paid to do nothing, now he's at Microsoft...oh, for heaven's sakes, read the interview. His history is nuts, he's nuts (in a great, smart, interesting way), and you're in for quite a ride.
Popular Interviews
Peter Morville
Peter has written some of the most popular and exciting books in our industry. But, before the Polar Bear and the Lemur, he started out just as unsure of what to do with his life as any of us.
Carol Righi
Carol Righi has always been " very stubborn about being happy." Maybe that’s why her delight in her work shines through the story of her career.
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.
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
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Site Credits
Site design by Matt Dente Design (with Tamara Adlin)
Content wrangling by Ariel van Spronsen
Interview transcription by Ani Lea