Understanding Interaction Design
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At the core of all usability is a design—the one being used by your customer. The blueprint or foundation of that design is found in the interaction design. Over the years, I’ve worked with many people, from clients to co-workers, who are involved in design but who don’t consider themselves “designers”. They usually have good design instincts, but don’t have a “design” background—and they are always asking me how they can become better “designers”.In this presentation, I distill the concepts of interaction design down to just the basics, to focus on what is most useful for non-interaction designers. Using the design process as a framework, I’ll provide an overview of the basic building blocks, design principles, and underlying structure of interaction design, and illustrate them using familiar real-world examples. Through these basic elements, I’ll discuss how design decisions are made, how to evaluate them at each level of an interaction design, and more importantly, what makes a “good” design decision. I will also discuss one or two emerging trends in interaction design and show how these basic elements can also be used to understand and evaluate them.This presentation won’t turn everyone into an interaction designer, but it will give you an understanding of the basics, and hopefully move you further along the road to being a better “designer”.
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Understanding Interaction Design
- 1. May, 2009 Understanding Interaction Design David Rondeau, Design Chair InContext Design david.rondeau@incontextdesign.com Karen Holtzblatt, CEO Hugh Beyer, CTO Twitter: dbrondeau
- 2. What is Interaction Design? Interaction Design (IxD) is the discipline of defining the behavior of products and systems that a user can interact with. Interaction design defines the behavior (the "interaction") of an artifact or system in response to its users. -from IxDA.org Just the basics: designing how people interact with a screen
- 3. The Design Process 1. Identify the goal or problem to be addressed 2. Use available design materials 3. In accordance with the “laws of design” 4. To create potential solutions 5. Then evaluate and iterate
- 4. Think of it like Legos 1. Identify the goal or problem 2. Use available design materials 3. According to ―laws of design‖ 4. Build 5. Evaluate and iterate
- 5. First, understand the problem For all stakeholders System At each level of the design Understan Screen d Goals Criteria Header Title Constraints Loremipsumdolore quid alora fugit nisi veniamverosedsciurusquis dolor autemblandit in Component diamveroesseipsumdolore quid alora Technology Control
- 6. Using the raw materials Line Text Controls Structure There are more, but this is the foundation
- 7. Use existing building blocks and paradigms Controls Allow user to control system Control Buttons, checkboxes, and text entry fields Components Header Title Collection of controls and information that Loremipsumdolore quid support an activity alora fugit nisi veniamverosedsciurusquis dolor autemblandit in Component diamveroesseipsumdolore quid alora News, Alerts, Manage list System structures Collection of screens, sections, and components Screen Search, Dashboard, Navigation Interaction paradigms The input method used to access an interface System Web hyperlinks, drag and drop, ―soft‖ buttons, touchscreen
- 8. According to principles of design: Structure Relationship Between controls, components, and sections Clear hierarchy of elements Prominence Important elements are obvious and easy to find Secondary elements are ignorable until I need them There should be one area of primary focus Structure is CRITICAL
- 9. Structure of the whole system
- 10. Relationship and Prominence Header Section System Nav Simple Search 1st Level Nav 2nd Level Nav Primary Content Filter Related Section Section Featured summary item Ad Call to action Summary item Secondary actions and info Call to action Summary item Secondary actions and info Call to action Summary item Most Popular Content Secondary actions and info Call to action Summary item Secondary actions and info Call to action Summary item Secondary actions and info Recommended Content Call to action Summary item Secondary actions and info Call to action Summary item Featured Content Secondary actions and info
- 12. Principles of design: Interaction Usability System is easy and efficient to use Learnability Easy to learn—complicated manual should not be required Even highly technical users prefer easy to learn Credibility Trust earned through use over time Navigability Always know where you are And easily get where you need
- 13. Navigability
- 14. Navigability
- 15. Principles of design: Quality Simplicity All controls and content are necessary Based on user, business, or technology Always ask yourself, ―Is this content necessary?‖ Consistency Structure Interaction paradigms and controls Style and usage of elements Labels and instructions Alignment
- 16. Simplicity
- 17. Simplicity
- 18. Simplicity “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”—Antoine De Saint-Exupery
- 19. Consistency
- 20. Key principles Relationship Prominence Navigability Simplicity Consistency Principles are related and overlap
- 21. Create and Evaluate Designs By making “good” design decisions
- 22. What makes a design “good”? Satisfies the problem Achieves the stated design goals Meets given design criteria Works within known business and technology constraints Addresses key issues from customer data According to our key design principles Relationship Prominence Navigability Simplicity Consistency Good design requires good design decisions How do we make good design decisions?
- 23. Start at the top Always tackle higher level problems first
- 24. Make trade-offs Some pieces of the puzzle are more important than others
- 25. Make trade-offs Sometimes there isn’t a “good” choice—so choose what is least “bad”
- 26. Make trade-offs The problem should be worth the amount of time you spend solving it
- 27. Make trade-offs Don’t be consistent when there is a good reason to be inconsistent
- 28. Use clear, explicit design reasoning Always know what you don’t know Don’t make design choices and trade-offs when you don’t have all the information Don’t make design decisions based on guesses Clearly articulate and explain your reasoning If you can’t explain the design clearly, how can you evaluate if it’s ―good‖? Be willing to be wrong Validate your ideas and iterate Test in paper with stakeholders
- 29. When evaluating a design You are evaluating the design decisions made: Look at what the design is actually solving—not just what it was supposed to solve Assess how well problems are satisfied according to the key design principles Determine if higher-level problems still need to be addressed Examine the trade-offs that were made Evaluate “goodness” of Your company’s designs Competitor’s designs Building blocks and paradigms you want to ―borrow‖
- 30. New Interaction Design Trends
- 32. Everything in one place
- 33. Touch and motion By SlipstreamJC
- 34. Quick summary 1. Identify the goal or problem to be addressed For all stakeholders, at each level of design 2. Use available design materials Line, text, controls, structure Existing building blocks and paradigms 3. In accordance with the “laws of design” Relationship, prominence, navigability, simplicity, consistency 4. Create potential solutions by making “good” design decisions Start at the top Make trade-offs Use clear, explicit design reasoning 5. Then evaluate and iterate
- 35. We developed the industry-leading customer-centered design process Our clients are industry leaders – including other design firms Our experience spans a wide range of work practices, industries and technologies We have a proven track record creating solutions for the people who use them “The only method I have seen that really tells you how to go out and collect customer data, and then what to do about it.” - Don Norman “The only generative method in the field” -Ben Shneiderman David Rondeau david.rondeau@incontextdesign.com www.incontextdesign.com Twitter: dbrondeau Copyright © 2009 InContext Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved