Interaction Design: A play of elements

An expression of my understanding of Interaction Design

The interaction design process, for me, is like the direction of a live theatre play. Every element of an object, or an interface, or a space… is a character. The process begins with understanding the audience. Are they going to be really young, middle-aged, or seniors? Will there be a lot of couples or families? Would they be a novice to the theatre or experts?

Then we move on to defining which character would appear on the stage at every moment, and what they would say to the audience and to each other. How do they enter the stage, and how to they exit? What “character” does every single character have? What kind of body language to they carry?

This process usually happens in multiple iterations. It begins with a rough outline of dialogs and scripts. Gradually, it receives more details. Sometimes, the characters have their own perspective on the script, and add their own touch the dialog and style of expression.

After a lot of practice and refinement, this play is performed, for the first time. It might be an instant hit or not. However, the cast and crew have it in their jobs, to not let go… and sit together on how to make it much better the next time, and the next, and the next… :)