Screen design
In the age of computer and information technology, screen design is an indispensable field of work. Mood, aesthetics and target group appeal are just as much a part of a screen designer’s sphere of activity as, for example, user guidance through websites and their target group-specific design (e.g. according to purpose, user age, for the visually impaired). The fields of work of screen designers can be divided into different areas: On the one hand, there is the screen design of software, i.e. the interface design of operating system software, computer or video games or of websites. On the other hand, there is also screen design for hardware products such as cell phones, displays and household appliances. Furthermore, screen design is used in the areas of mobile devices, household appliances, vending machines, other information/control systems and in connection with, for example, people guidance systems. Screen design is therefore at home in almost all technical areas.
The job market in the field of screen design:
The profession of screen designer belongs to the typical occupational group of lateral entrants. However, work characteristics such as mostly unpaid overtime, weekend work and stress have not led to a reduction of study participants in the fields of graphic design, programming and interface design in recent years. Study programs like these are offered in Hamburg or Berlin, for example. However, according to a Spiegel survey of industry experts, the market for screen designers is currently saturated. Companies and customers would rather rely on experienced specialists, and internships are a prerequisite for entry into the field of screen design.
Interface design
Interface design, of which screen design is a subcategory, deals with the design of user interfaces between humans and machines. For this purpose, the goals, conditions and obstacles of this process are analyzed from the human as well as from the technical side and optimized in relation to the human. Interface designers pursue the goal of a user interface that is as optimal as possible in order to offer an optimal fulfillment of desires and goals to as broad a group of users as possible. One of the largest fields in which interface design is used to develop an optimal user interface is in computer interaction. The goal of the interface designer is the ideal finding, evaluating, changing and storing of data and information, executed by the respective user within a digital knowledge space.
