Introduction to Interaction Design

Introduction to Interaction Design

• Interaction Design (ID) is the design of interactive projects that support how people communicate and interact in daily and work life.
• ID considers the "way" and "how" of daily interactions using computers, and the facilitation of human interaction through services and products.
• Different terms like User Interface Design, Software Design, User-centred Design, Product Design, Web Design, and Experience Design have been used, with Interaction Design increasingly used as an umbrella term, focusing on practice.

What is Interaction Design? (Further Details)

• ID differs from other approaches to designing computer systems, analogous to the difference between designing and building a house.
• Architects focus on the interaction between people and the built environment (e.g., space layout, proximity of spaces).
• Engineers focus on the practical aspects of realisation (e.g., cost, durability, structure).
• Designing and building an interactive system also has a distinction between designing (focus of this course) and building
• These processes do not happen in a vacuum but are interconnected and rely on other disciplines.

Who Are the Key Players?

• Designers create the user experience.
• Programmers build the systems.
• Users interact with the completed systems.

Components of Interaction Design

• Interaction design is inter/multidisciplinary drawing from many academic disciplines like:
  • Ergonomics
  • Psychology/Cognitive Science
  • Informatics
  • Engineering
  • Computer Science/Software Engineering
  • Social Sciences (e.g., Sociology and Anthropology)
• Other disciplines include:
  • Graphic Design, Product Design, Artist Design, Industrial Design, Film Industry and Information Systems
  • Interdisciplinary fields include Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Cognitive Engineering, Cognitive Ergonomics, and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

Principles of Interaction Design

• The design process is user-centric (focused on understanding and meeting user needs and requirements).
• It is iterative with user research, conceptualisation, implementation (prototyping), evaluation, and refinement.
• Some key design principles include Don Norman's six principles: Visibility, Feedback, Affordance, Mapping, Constraints, and Consistency.

Key Design Principles: Further Details

• Visibility: Users should know their options and how to access them by looking at the design.
• Feedback: The design should provide visible feedback to users after actions are performed confirming if the action was successful (e.g., loading spinner).
• Affordance: How something looks indicates how it should be used; for example, a mug's shape suggests how to hold it.
• Mapping: Controls should intuitively reflect their effects (e.g., scroll bar, stovetop).
• Constraints: Restrict a form of interaction to prevent user overwhelm (e.g., online form prohibiting letters in phone number fields).
• Consistency: Similar looking elements/components should have similar functionality.

Additional Topics

• Cultural aspects in design are important as designs should recognize diversity.
• Reading material includes a book by Helen Sharp, Jennifer Preece, and Yvonne Rogers.
• Practical exercises such as observing good or bad interaction design in campus environment.

This quiz explores the concept of Interaction Design (ID) and how it facilitates human interaction in various settings. It delves into the distinctions between ID and other design approaches, highlighting its importance in creating meaningful user experiences. Understand the principles that guide the design of interactive projects.