Origin of Interaction Design
From history, architecture, product design, technology and more…
In my view, interactions have existed since the genesis of life, whether it was interaction of humans with nature, animals, tools or with other humans for survival. So, how do you establish the origin of interactions? If religious notions are to be believed, we have been gifted with a divine gift of interactions upon creation.
Although, having learnt about the history of civilizations in my architectural background and having seen living proofs of these built world, I like to believe the scientific ideology. The intuitions to read signs and actions were always present, but it made a difference when humans harnessed their abilities to express themselves with the help of various tools and means to be able to interact with each other. Invention of language, writing and drawing marked a turning point that enabled us to design interactions early in time.
With this new-found abilities, we have been pushing hard to invent new services and products to alter lifestyles ever since. With the technological advancement and introduction of social computing an entirely new industry, yet to be designed for its user’s positive experience, was born. I believe that though the technical and financial sector of the industry boomed, a hole was felt in the usability sector when engineers and scientists could not translate the psychology of users to design the interfaces. This gave recognition and critical importance to the role of designers and in turn, emergence of the field of interaction design.
Referring to an example by Mitch Kapor in his book, “Bringing design to software”, the distinction between the field of interaction design and other fields of computer science and engineering became crystal clear to me (more so because I could closely relate to it).
When you go to design a house you talk to an architect first, not an engineer. Why is this? Because the criteria for what makes a good building fall substantially outside the domain of what engineering deals with. You want the bedrooms where it will be quiet so people can sleep, and you want the dining room to be near the kitchen. The fact that the kitchen and dining room should be proximate to each other emerges from knowing first, that the purpose of the kitchen is to prepare food and the dining room to consume it, and second, that rooms with related purposes ought to be closely related in space. This is not a fact, nor a technical item of knowledge, but a piece of design wisdom.
In my experience of designing buildings and urban areas, the intention has always been to create seamless spaces for people to interact, enjoy and relax. A very interesting project I worked on, gave me an insight into interactions happening in the urban realm and how these can be designed to provide the best experience for its users.
My personal experience with designing an urban space on a riverfront has been very rewarding for me. The interesting fact about the project is how the same space has been designed to be multi-functional (housing a market space, event plazas that converts to a playground and recreational space for low-income neighborhoods), for different user groups (vendors, customers, youngsters, kids), for different time periods (used in mornings for walks, exercise; afternoon for markets; and evenings for events and relaxation) and as a gathering space for various festivals throughout the year. When the design connotes the psychology, usability and charm of the space, with considerations about the users, the history and values of the precinct, it promotes great interaction design for the end users.
