Interaction Design Reflections: Ch 1, 2

My blog will serve two purposes- providing information about each chapter so I can remember the gist of it without having to re-read the whole thing and a place for reflection on what I have learned.

Chapter one explained what interaction design is and how it relates to HCI, user experience and usability, who and what is involved in the design process, the difference between good and poor interaction design, and goals and principles to evaluate the effectiveness of a design. Two voicemail systems and two remotes were compared: one voice mail with an infuriating inefficient phone tree, and a marble voice mail design that used familiar physical objects. A general remote with too many small buttons for confusing purposes was compared to the large, readable, symbolic, colorful Tivo remote. Perspectives of an architect and engineer and how each approaches a problem from a very different background and view helped drive home the point that involving users in the design is essential. Interaction design teams can have any number of members and composition depending on the project, drawing from diverse expertise's such as engineers, designers, programmers, psychologists, anthropologists, artists, toy makers, etc.

The 4 step process is to first identify the needs and requirements for the task, then explore other solutions, prototype, and asses the effectiveness. Last is evaluation which actually takes place throughout all four steps. Usability principles such as visibility, feedback, constraints, consistency, affordances, and aesthetics are important to take into account when designing. I think it’s interesting that aesthetics were not seen as an important aspect of design first. I often pay attention to the subtle differences and I think things that are aesthetically pleasing have been chosen more often in nature through natural selection, so it makes sense that the same would apply to human crafted designs.

Some things to remember...Categories simplify if there are too many tasks, affordances give “clues” about how to use the item such as a unique shape between connector and plug. Affordances can be real or perceived (virtual).


Chapter 2

Teaches how to go about creating conceptual models, the pros and cons of using metaphors as part of conceptual models, conceptualizations of interaction: types, theories, models, frameworks, how to describe the problem space and conceptual model, how to think about supporting user activities with the different interaction types; conversing, etc.

Start with a problem space filling in the blanks: Currently users ____ while _____. We want to improve this by ______. Identify usability, user experience goals, make explicit claims and assumptions and analyze and defend them. Find any problem spots and solutions, brainstorm for ways to create engaging experiences with your team. A list of useful core design questions can be found on page 50. Challanging assumptions early in the process makes it easier to get rid of incorrect ones such as “people will use all the features available to them”. Actually, people don’t use all the features. This is personally true for me as well. My phone has internet capability but I never use it because it is too cumbersome and costly.

Examples of best practice- Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston’s “Visi Calc” ubiquitous spreadsheet based on paper ledger sheet used in accounting, now used in Excel. “Star” office system for non-programers modeled after physical aspects of a real office such as papers, folders, etc by Xerox in 1981.

Is having multiple ways to perform the same action bad? I think it can be good if it makes the operation simpler or faster like ‘apple w’ to close windows versus moving the mouse to the edge and clicking, but I think it’s better to keep it simple by having only a few ways to do the same action otherwise it might get confusing. I personally think metaphors like the “search engine” that convey properties and behavior are very useful because it makes a connection to something already known which makes it easier to remember. Although, Ted Nelson’s argument that metaphors can cause designers to replicate poor physical designs and limit imagination is a very valid point.

Things to keep in mind: The four fundamental methods of interaction are instructing, conversing, manipulating, exploring. Visualizing design concepts through schematic diagrams is a handy way to make sure that you have understood and addressed all the client’s needs. Process advice available for reference on page 42. Also, mental note to check out the list of companies and job titles to explore career options and help me figure out exactly what kind of a designer I want to be.