Interaction Design

Bill Verplank draws diagrams to help summarize his ideas  

He summarizes interaction design by answering 3 questions about 

• how you act “how do you do?"

 How do you affect the world by the choices that you make. When you try to design the way people act they still tend to have a choice. With the example of handles and buttons a person has to make a choice to either manipulate the handle or you can choose to just push the button and let the machine do the work for you. 

• how do you feel

How do you get feedback. We design a lot by our emotions and tend to get more feedback when we seem to have a stronger connection to it. 

• how you understand

How do you know? A map gives the knowledge that you need if you are designing a complex system and gives an understanding path that is more about skill and doing the right thing at the the right moment. It provides an overview of how everything works and lets viewers understand it. He explain the context of the history and future of interaction design with paradigms that serve as patterns of the way people think about the subject. 

Paradigm serves as a pattern for the way people think about something. In the example that they use they ask the question “What is a computer?” The ways we think of a computer we characterize it as a tool, as a form of media, as a form of life, as a virtual vehicle, and even as a form of fashion. 

The Interaction Design Process Consists of a Four Step Process

1. Motivation

they should be motivated by an error or idea and decide what the goal for the design should be. 

2. Meaning 

The next step is to find a metaphor that connects with the motivation to the end goal and develop different paths for them to take to help create meaning.

3. Modes

 Next through the use of step by step tasks a conceptual model is created and expanded on to help evolve from it and create a concept that users will understand

4. Mappings

Displays and controls helps show a representation of the things that you are manipulating 

Process Example

With the example of a tactile pager Bill Verplank used its development as an example to illustrate the interaction design process. Bill Verplank states that “It shows the progress of the concept, going from error and idea to display and control, and how metaphor, model scenario, and task are the core of that process.” Breaking the concept into steps Verplank explains:

1. Error and Idea: Celine wanted to solve the problem of her cell phone going off and being embarrassed by it so she came up with the idea to make a silent pager with being able to feel it instead of hear it. 

2. Metaphor and Scenario: She wanted something that was like concept of holding hands so that you could just give the other person a “squeeze” without interrupting them. 

3. Model and task: There are 2 conceptual models. One is that she is connected to him and no one else. the other is that when she “squeezes” it is not at that moment. The first tasks to set the connection while the seconds is to trigger the squeeze. 

4. Display and Control 

Celine’s first idea was to have a necklace that could vibrate to inform her of the squeeze.