response to “What is interaction design?”

The meaning of interaction shifts when we are discussing it in relation to design. As defining and bringing relative meaning to interaction in of itself can be an obtuse process; it becomes better defined when discussing it in terms of design. Based on the reading, we want interaction design to focus on what a potential user’s capabilities, interests, wants, needs, and backgrounds are then begin building design on the basis of these characteristics.

This approach also seeks to enhance or improve actions and daily routines that a user is already engaged in usually involving some new technological developments. It is important to understand this at the beginning of a project in order to establish what outcomes to expect. This method can also bridge the gap of what designers working together on a project perceive as the design objectives.

As students in this program, it is important to develop working habits that relate to team or group projects. Once we reach graduation, most of us will be seeking jobs, and the majority of us will end up working at a start-up or agency with a group of people. As important as it is to develop individual skills, working on teams at companies is a place many if us are going to be finding ourselves, and the reading address this issue to a degree. Not only are we going to be working on teams as designers, but we will also be working with users.

Since potential users are a very integral part of the design process, they will be involved throughout all phases of the design. Once user experience goals are established, then we can begin what the reading refers to as the four basic activities, or the design process. In class, we discussed a fifth activity which involves iterating the final design and seeking improvements and future iterations. No design or product can ever be fully completed, there will always be room for changes or future improvements.