Interaction Design
Sharp&Rogers&Preece
Chapter 1
What is interaction design?
Introduction
- What is interaction design?
• Designed with the user in mind -> easier to use
• Designed as software systems with set functions
• Even though interaction design has existed for quite some time, many apps
still don’t follow basic user experience principles
What makes a design ‘good’ or bad?
- Usable
• Easy to learn
• Effective to use
• Enjoyable user experience
• Ex. Telephone answering machine with marbles (made with users in mind,
efficiently doing the job)
• Consider context in which an device will be used when designing it (who will use
it, when and where will it be used)
- The internet of things: products and sensors can be connected through the
internet (doorbell webcam, smart heating)
- Consumer electronics: initial physical products designs that now require
interactions design
- Transformation human-human transactions -> solely interface based ones (self
checkout)
• Effective and efficient, but impersonal
- Main question when designing:
• How do you optimize the user’s interactions with a system, environment or
product so that they support the user’s activities in effective, useful, usable
and pleasurable ways?
, - Interaction design is fundamental to many disciplines fields and approaches that
are concerned with researching and designing computer based systems for
people
Working together in interaction design:
- Designers need to understand:
• Users, technologies, interactions
• How people act and react to events/how people communicate and interacht
• Emotions, aesthetics, desirability
• Role of narrative in human experience
• Business side (technical, manufacturing, marketing)
• Multidisciplinary teams (engineers, designers, artists)
User experience
- How people feel about a product and their pleasure and satisfaction when using
it, looking at it, holding it etc.
• Usability
• Functionality
• Aesthetics
• Content
• Look and feel
• Emotional appeal
- The way users perceive a product
,Understanding the users is necessary for the design
- Not everything works for every group, interactive products should be designed for
different kinds of users
- Getting to know the target audience will reveal incorrect assumptions about user
groups
- It’s important to be aware of sensitivities (age)
• Design for capabilities
• Adults may struggle with adopting new technologies
• 4
- Being aware of cultural differences
• Global use
• Dates/times
• Interfaces designed for one group might not be accepted by another
• Why are some products universally accepted and other things aren’t ?
Accessibility/inclusiveness
- Accessibility = accessible by as many people as possible
• Focus on people with disabilities
- Inclusiveness = being fair, open and equal to everyone
• Products and services accommodate the widest possible number of people
- Disability
• Impairment
• Poor interaction design between user and technology
- Accessibility opens up experience so that they are accessible
• Designing for accessibility -> inclusive design for all
- Accessibility:
• Inclusive design of technology
• Different impairments need different designs
• Design of assistive technology
• Permanent disabilities/life essential
Usability and user experience
- Understanding users -> primary objective of developing the interactive product
• Usability: specific usability criteria (efficiency)
• User experience: explicating nature of user experience (aesthetic)
• Distinction between the two not clearly cut, there’s a lot of overlay
, - Usability:
• Effective to use: how good is a product at doing what it’s supposed to do
• Efficient to use: the way a product supports users in carrying out their tasks
(single button/key presses)
• Safe to use: protecting the user from dangerous situations/helping the user to
avoid carrying out unwanted actions accidentally
• External conditions (X-ray)
• Fear of errors -> effect on behaviour
• Reducing risk of wrong buttons being accidentally activated
• Various means of recovery -> the user should be able to explore
• Confirming dialog boxes (are you sure)
• Utility: extent to which the product provides the right kind of functionality ->
users can do what they need to do
• Learnability: how easy a system is to learn to use
• Everyday use/infrequently use: easy
• Complex systems: pop-up tools
• Find out how much time people are prepared to spend learning
• Memorability: how easy it is to remember how to use it once learned
• Especially when used infrequently
• Contextualized icons
• Meaningful command names
• Menu options
To measure usability:
• Time to complete a task (efficiency)
• Time to learn a task (learnability)
• Errors over tie (memorability)
User experience goals
- Emotions/felt experiences
Sharp&Rogers&Preece
Chapter 1
What is interaction design?
Introduction
- What is interaction design?
• Designed with the user in mind -> easier to use
• Designed as software systems with set functions
• Even though interaction design has existed for quite some time, many apps
still don’t follow basic user experience principles
What makes a design ‘good’ or bad?
- Usable
• Easy to learn
• Effective to use
• Enjoyable user experience
• Ex. Telephone answering machine with marbles (made with users in mind,
efficiently doing the job)
• Consider context in which an device will be used when designing it (who will use
it, when and where will it be used)
- The internet of things: products and sensors can be connected through the
internet (doorbell webcam, smart heating)
- Consumer electronics: initial physical products designs that now require
interactions design
- Transformation human-human transactions -> solely interface based ones (self
checkout)
• Effective and efficient, but impersonal
- Main question when designing:
• How do you optimize the user’s interactions with a system, environment or
product so that they support the user’s activities in effective, useful, usable
and pleasurable ways?
, - Interaction design is fundamental to many disciplines fields and approaches that
are concerned with researching and designing computer based systems for
people
Working together in interaction design:
- Designers need to understand:
• Users, technologies, interactions
• How people act and react to events/how people communicate and interacht
• Emotions, aesthetics, desirability
• Role of narrative in human experience
• Business side (technical, manufacturing, marketing)
• Multidisciplinary teams (engineers, designers, artists)
User experience
- How people feel about a product and their pleasure and satisfaction when using
it, looking at it, holding it etc.
• Usability
• Functionality
• Aesthetics
• Content
• Look and feel
• Emotional appeal
- The way users perceive a product
,Understanding the users is necessary for the design
- Not everything works for every group, interactive products should be designed for
different kinds of users
- Getting to know the target audience will reveal incorrect assumptions about user
groups
- It’s important to be aware of sensitivities (age)
• Design for capabilities
• Adults may struggle with adopting new technologies
• 4
- Being aware of cultural differences
• Global use
• Dates/times
• Interfaces designed for one group might not be accepted by another
• Why are some products universally accepted and other things aren’t ?
Accessibility/inclusiveness
- Accessibility = accessible by as many people as possible
• Focus on people with disabilities
- Inclusiveness = being fair, open and equal to everyone
• Products and services accommodate the widest possible number of people
- Disability
• Impairment
• Poor interaction design between user and technology
- Accessibility opens up experience so that they are accessible
• Designing for accessibility -> inclusive design for all
- Accessibility:
• Inclusive design of technology
• Different impairments need different designs
• Design of assistive technology
• Permanent disabilities/life essential
Usability and user experience
- Understanding users -> primary objective of developing the interactive product
• Usability: specific usability criteria (efficiency)
• User experience: explicating nature of user experience (aesthetic)
• Distinction between the two not clearly cut, there’s a lot of overlay
, - Usability:
• Effective to use: how good is a product at doing what it’s supposed to do
• Efficient to use: the way a product supports users in carrying out their tasks
(single button/key presses)
• Safe to use: protecting the user from dangerous situations/helping the user to
avoid carrying out unwanted actions accidentally
• External conditions (X-ray)
• Fear of errors -> effect on behaviour
• Reducing risk of wrong buttons being accidentally activated
• Various means of recovery -> the user should be able to explore
• Confirming dialog boxes (are you sure)
• Utility: extent to which the product provides the right kind of functionality ->
users can do what they need to do
• Learnability: how easy a system is to learn to use
• Everyday use/infrequently use: easy
• Complex systems: pop-up tools
• Find out how much time people are prepared to spend learning
• Memorability: how easy it is to remember how to use it once learned
• Especially when used infrequently
• Contextualized icons
• Meaningful command names
• Menu options
To measure usability:
• Time to complete a task (efficiency)
• Time to learn a task (learnability)
• Errors over tie (memorability)
User experience goals
- Emotions/felt experiences
