ID Wanted (and I ain't talking identity ... )

Okay, I feel a bit like I've hit the proverbial bottom of the barrel as far as job opportunities go ... being a budding interaction designer is tough.

I have yet to find a job posting that doesn't end up expecting you to be one of the following:

* (insert adj here) Designer (more like an insanely great graphic artist who runs their own studio on the side and just does some web work on the side for a pittance to pass the time)

* (insert adj here) Architect (specifically a gilded programmer who has 10 years of experience in languages that are only 2 years old, not to mention being capable in a dozen others, and has an idea that a good application should have a good interface)

* (insert adj here) Engineer (a vaguely technical person who is part project manager, part programmer, and another part usability whiz, who's only willing to do this part-time on a 6 month contract for a super-secret startup in Juneau that's only able to pay once they secure their funding)

Somehow, it doesn't seem that anyone out there is looking for a chap who's got an interesting mix of experience in everything from HR systems to graphic design and database design/mining to web application development, who has a degree in spoken languages and developmental psychology who has built a progressive career of taking complexity and simplifying it for the audience at hand (part educator, part designer, part architect, part artist).

For once in my life I feel like I'm at a point ahead of the curve ... lots of talk about design and usability in the world, but everyone gravitates toward paying for expensive consultants and design firms to come in and "quick fix" their product or service. Where are the companies brilliant enough to realize that they need to incorporate a good (interaction) designer in all that they do ... from their consumer products to their internal services and systems? This isn't a blast-it-all-we-need-a -design-philosophy-to-fix-this type of patch job, this is something that you do as a core principle ... listen, understand, define, build, refine.

If you're a company interested in obtaining this kind of talent, drop me a line, I'd love to talk to you.