Audio in Interaction Design

Back in 1989 William W. Gaver developed the SonicFinder at Apple Computer, Inc. Gaver was sure that the appropriate use of nonspeech sound and its full potential wasn’t discovered yet. He was convinced, that sound should be used in computers the same way as it is used in the nature: it transmits information about the sound producing elements. To emphasise his idea he developed SonicFinder, which is an auditory interface. Inside this interface he combined standard graphical feedback with auditory icons.

With this demo Gaver showed the potential of audio feedback in the digital context. Something…

People love games

I can clearly remember getting my first gaming console. It was my 7th birthday, when I got a GameBoy Color with the game “Pokemon”. Like every child I was completely attracted to this device. Since that moment I’ve spent hours of playing, sneaking around the parents for playing a bit longer and was stunned by the immersive storytelling a 160px ×144px screen had to offer.

There is no doubt that games always have something attractive to them and people simply love to spend hours playing. In comparison to other digital experiences playing video games is a completely volunteer activity. Different…

Apps are not the only solution

Last June more than 100 Billion downloads were tracked by the AppStore. That means, that an average citizen has up to 10 Apps installed on their smartphone — and the number increases day by day. The fast growing number of tech startups, raises the available Apps weekly. The development of mobile applications transformed into the Gold Fever of the 21th century.

But why do so many people believe, that the answer for everyday problems rely in our smartphones? Why are those little mobile programs so successful? …

Client: “Our new design needs to be intuitive!”

Product Owner: “We really need to rework the usability of our application, it isn’t intuitive.”

Designer: “Oh wow! Did you see this new app? This is a really intuitive user interface design!”

You recognize some of those statements? Of course you do! “Intuitive design” is one of the most popular buzz words used everyday by millions of designers. Especially clients have in mind, that “intuitive design” is a measurement for high quality design. If a product is designed that way, a user doesn’t need to learn the handling of it and will…

Storytelling is a strong tool we’ve been using since the early stages of communication. It helps us to combine fragments of information to understandable threads. When we talk about stories we always talk about the personal and emotional experience. Did I like the story? Were there some surprising elements I didn’t expect in first place?

When we compare this to the impressions of digital products we talk more about the functional aspects and aesthetics. When you try to touch a user with emotion, start to tell a story within your product!

In those situations the UI design should be the…

Imagine an interface every user can handle as you expected it, an interface that is visually fully understood by every person that interact with it and an interface that is so intuitve to operate with, that no tutorial or instructions are needed at the beginning. Isn’t that what all interface designers are trying to achieve these days?

But often the reality is quite different. Users totally get stuck operating in the interface. The visual design seems fancy, but most users don’t get the intention behind it. …

A few months ago the British design agency “superflux” released a concept video with the titel “Uninvited Guests”. The video describes the relation of a seventy years old man called Thomas and his highly developed smart home. What firstly seems like utopia is almost part of our everyday life. Different devices, which document our nutrition accurately, remind us to occupy our medication and analyse our sleep, seem quite similar to currently installed applications we use each single day. These are all aiming for a better and healthier way of life.

At the beginning Thomas follows the new defined rules quite…

Skeumorphism, flat design and material design. These are all buzz words every modern designer knows and has to deal with. Basically these visual concepts are all describing the look and feel of digital applications and operating systems. But as a fact they are all design aesthetics, which are following design trends just like the fashion industry does. This article is not about describing every concept in the sense of a detailed visual guide. Instead I want to focus on declaring these design concepts as a tool and not a goal to achieve. The following paragraphs are trying to have a…