MikePadgett.com

21st century job

— We live in a world of crap jobs and worse job titles. So I'm going to define my own.”

Remember when a job was something to be proud of? When a job was a job for life?

Before you complain and click “Back” dear reader, let me assure you that this is not an article about the long-term effects of Thatcherism.

No Sir/Madam, this is an article about breaking free from the strictures of bad jobs and worse job titles and proposing a new role for the 21st century. It’ll come as no surprise to you that I’m trying to occupy this role myself.

I’ll call the role Information Designer. This isn’t a new job title – it already means something in Designland, but that definition isn’t nearly enough. It’s also a very basic job title, because the job should come with a wide brief and enough autonomy for the individual to firm up that brief. Indeed, Information Design already exists as a body of disciplines, but the job specs are always highly fragmented.

The Information Designer that I envisage is someone who, in the simplest terms, makes sense of complex information and communicates it effectively so that information is converted to knowledge.

The work includes elements of:

• Business intelligence
• Data analysis
• Web design (plus usability and accessibility)
• Graphic design (plus typography)
• Training and presentation delivery
• [Insert relevant disciplines here]

There are quite a few skillsets here, including those of web designer, graphic designer and information architect. I think that, just as web people need to have a good grasp of several technologies, so too should the 21st century Information Designer be very capable in each of these disciplines, rather than having to outsource bits of it to freelancers.

The 21st century Information Designer role has precedents. While designers could still avoid being pigeonholed, the range of Otl Aicher‘s work comes close to my concept, as does the utility of Harry Beck‘s solution to the mapping of the London Underground in 1931.

The Information Designer is a designer since his/her work is all about finding solutions, but the information could be absolutely anything considered complex needing logical organisation and it’s this latter aspect that goes beyond visual design.