An interactive media designer is chiefly concerned with three major areas: website development; mobile applications, whether for phones or portable computers; and projects linking tangible displays or features to interactive online resources. The breadth of projects that these sorts of media professionals can undertake is usually quite expansive. Work can be geared towards education, advertising, or commerce, and often some element of all three. The job is usually quite flexible, with experts being able to provide a range of services to a number of different clients, often simultaneously.
The phrase “interactive media” is typically applied to technology that invites user interaction or that is in some way capable of transforming in response to a particular user. This sort of technology is most common in the online space. A news website that remembers reader favorites and selects top articles based on those past preferences is a simple example. Mobile phone applications that help a person interact with his or her precise location are more complicated, but projects in both categories are typically the work of an interactive media designer.
Some interactive media designers work on their own, brainstorming ideas for personal use that they may later try to sell to major developers. More often, though, an interactive media designer works with a specific client to build a preconceived technology. He or she usually possesses a degree in Internet design, or so-called “new media,” and often works in a firm of similarly trained professionals.
Designers often work to carve out niches for themselves in terms of the projects they create and the work that they do. Interactive media design for corporate websites is often quite different from interactive design tailored to a museum visitor center, for instance. The designer would be working with media in each instance, but the core skills required are usually quite different. It is not uncommon for an interactive media designer to establish him or herself in terms of project genre in order to gain competitive expertise.
One of the most important things that an interactive media designer does is sell his or her services. Clients are often won through word of mouth, but self-promotion and internal advertising often helps as well. Informative web site building, advertising, and industry networking are all essential parts of an interactive media career.
After a client has reached out to an interactive media designer, the designer will usually sit down with the client to talk through the client’s ideas or project proposal. This usually includes conversation on overall impact, time line, and fee structure. If the client is pleased with the designer’s offer, the parties will negotiate a contract.
The precise nature of the work will necessarily depend on the project at hand, but often involves web coding, technical manipulations, and creative design strategies written in computer language. Finished products are usually smooth and easy to use, but the internal infrastructure is usually highly complex. Designers are responsible for coordinating a range of moving parts and pieces to achieve the desired results. Communication with the client throughout the process is almost always a requirement.