Ah, titles! I've had a lot—and none very transparent. In a nutshell, I try to make sure the computer gets out of the way of what the user wants to do.

Additionally, I've been taught early on to take a strategic and holistic approach in terms analyzing user needs, business goals, and hopefully integrating closely with the disciplines of the entire team throughout the project. Usability isn't the only consideration; like all good UX designers, I consider whether the product and design will be useful and desirable to target users.

I'm probably best described by my deliverables, which include—yes, lots of wireframes—but also: user needs analysis ~ personas ~ use case scenarios ~ heuristic and competitive audits ~ strategic features planning and analysis ~ requirements documenting ~ conceptual design ~ flows ~ site maps ~ specifications ~ research planning, moderating, and analysis. (Note: no visual design or code. However, I often provide nomenclature/ navitorial text and instructional copy.)

In addition to "Hey, Freelance!", some of the names I've been called include:

User Experience (UX/ UE) Designer
A favorite in the field because it seems to capture how broad the role can
be. We design the experience of users. What more to say?

User Interface (UI) Designer
A traditional term for application experience work. Probably the oldest industry term—in an industry that's still relatively young (though please don't forget the GUI and my job have been around for 25 years-ish... we're not getting any younger, people!)

Information Architect
The trendiest... and possibly the most ambiguous. Frankly, it draws the most suspicion, and a fellow IA told me a newspaper refused to publish it. (Is it profane? You be the judge.) Associated with Web work exclusively.

Interaction Designer
NOT to be confused with "InteractIVE Designer"—who tends to do Flash/ animation and snazzy visual stuff. Interaction Designers design interactions (and not icons and visuals). The silicon valley likes this one.

Information Designer
Started out in the UK as a term for folks who specialize in informational graphics, such as maps, signage and Tufte-like data-rich visuals. It's used sparingly in the US in a similar way, or for content strategy—the strategic organization and development of content (writing/ editing).

Instructional Designer
Typically this term is used for folks who design curricula materials for training purposes. At Apple, I was given this title instead of the traditional "tech writer" because Apple's argument was their writing should not be technical; it should instruct. Also, my job involved project planning and sometimes UI design—hence, the "design" part.

And for much kinder things I've been called...

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