IxD – what’s that?
Hi Mum.
Hi Hans Gerhard, great to hear from you.
Yes, I just wanted to tell you that I’ve got a new job.
Congratulations. Is it at the AHO?
Yes, I’m going to be a university lecturer!
Wow!
I’ll be teaching interaction design.
Aha? What’s that?
Well, it’s…
… 20 minutes later.
So do you understand what your son is going to be teaching now?
Eeer, it’s something about computers, isn’t it?
That’s just about the gist of the conversation I had with my mother when I excitedly called to tell her that her unfocused son had been employed as a university lecturer in interaction design. And that’s pretty much what it’s like when I tell most other people that I meet as well. I actually think that I have a good understanding of what interaction design is, but it is almost impossible to formulate a brief, simple explanation for someone who is not an interaction designer. My mother probably thinks that I am still rather unfocused.
Deliberately unfocused
An interaction designer is a Jack of all trades, someone who can keep several balls in the air at the same time. Perhaps this is where the problem lies, i.e. at first sight the work process can appear to be unfocused. Interaction design is a concept ranging across many specialist areas, so it is hard to define it in one simple explanatory sentence. During the last few weeks I have increasingly resorted to making use of well-known examples of existing services or products in order to get whoever I am talking to to understand what I do. As an interaction design I consciously relate to how I solve problems. One example of a problem might be: «How can we design this service so that the user will perceive the website as being safe and easy to navigate?» You have to adopt the role of a storyteller and develop potential user scenarios in order to predict the application of the service being created. Frequent user testing is the alpha and omega of this process and you have to take many things into consideration as you proceed. If the process is restricted at the start the final result will probably suffer because it is easy to oversee important input that has been lying outside your original ambitions, regardless of whether or not they are unknown requirements.
IxD?
Interaction design (abbrev. IxD) is a relatively new specialist field. Around twenty years has passed since the advent of an explanatory description of a «new» subject that was supposed to combine design and programming. However, with increasing digitalisation it became possible to create products that incorporated several functions. In order for users to make use of new opportunities there was an increased need for user-friendly design. Originally the focus was on what a product could do, but now to an increasing extent people were starting to see the connection between how a product was used and what it was used for. Programmers and designers became important partners in order to realise integrated solutions. Bill Moggridge and Bill Verplank were the first to start using interaction design as an explanation for this new specialist field. Moggridge is one of the founders of the IDEO design company, which has created many innovative interactive solutions, e.g. Apple’s first mouse in 1981. This mouse has been replaced by the keyboard in many areas and has revolutionised the way in which we navigate around our computer screens.
The concept of IxD is currently being used in an increasing number of contexts, which means that it is harder to explain. And we don’t want to be too specific either. Thanks to rapid technological developments interaction design is being used in an increasing number of different ways. By using design we can influence the interplay between visual and functional aspects, but in order to obtain the desired response from the user we need to place considerable emphasis on clear graphical language. So in this context design consists of designing visual functions. Reader-friendliness is an important guide for a graphic designer. An interaction designer replaces «reader» with «user-friendliness». Up until now IxD has been dominated by programmers and engineers. This is starting to change, but there are still many digital solutions made by and for technicians, rather than for my mother.
OK, great, give us an example!
One good example of innovative IxD is Apple’s iPhone where the limitations have been well balanced against the opportunities. The way in which this product has been designed is also an innovation. There are few actual physical buttons and the user has to use the screen to access most services. The good thing about this solution is that its functions are improved by automatic software upgrades with new functions appearing on the screen. This differs from other mobile upgrades where a completely new model usually has to be introduced in order to add or move physical buttons and functions. This in turn makes iPhone more environment-friendly since the product’s life is extended because it is being improved on a continuous basis. Mobile phone manufacturers have been churning out new models with cosmetic improvements for long enough and they have been encouraging a «use and throw away» and a «got to have a new one» mentality. One important aspect is the added value that this product acquires due to its increased user-friendliness, which in turn results in a high degree of user experience and thus forms the basis of greater customer loyalty. With its innovative solutions Apple has gained new customers who are simply buying their products for the actual user experience. iTunes and iPod have created new standards for how we use music. Apple has combined a service and a product in a unique manner.
The user is the boss
It is said that «80% of users make use of 20% of the opportunities available on a product or a service», and this is correct in respect of most user scenarios. One of the most important jobs of an interaction designer is therefore making choices for both the customer and the technicians. What needs solving and what is the best way of doing it? All the involved parties have to stick to a common goal which the interaction designer is supposed to manage and guard. Good ideas are all too often drowned in unnecessary options and functions.
IxD is perhaps the one communications discipline that requires the greatest degree of understanding from the users of a product or service. It is not a matter of reaching a group that needs to be convinced to buy a product because they have already bought it or have to use it. You have to design the link between a product or a service, and the user interface is decisive for such being used. After a product has been launched regular evaluation is required of how it is received. The aim should be that the user tells his/her friends about his/her unique user experiences.
Smaller, but more comprehensive
In future there will be a greater requirement for skilled interaction designers. An increasing number of products, both new and old, are being filled with many functions. These products are becoming physically smaller while the services are becoming ever more comprehensive. Fortunately the old saying: «the more functions, the better the product» is starting to be replaced by another approach to the problem: what can this product solve for the user? And how can we make it as easy as possible to use? What can and should we remove?
I’m now going to call my Mum again and tell her what I do.
Hi Mum.
Hi, Hans Gerhard, how’s your new job going?
Great. There’s a lot to learn. Have you told anyone what I’m doing?
Yes.
What are you telling them?
Eeeeer…?
OK, next time you can say that «my son is teaching design for user-friendliness, and then you say that he is making some cool software for iPhone. Do you think you could manage that»?
Well, I’ll try…
