[IxDA Discuss] "Elements of Interaction Design"

[Eugene Chen]

Dave said:
"I love the example I gave where "doing nothing" creates systemic change. 
Even at the thought level. So what is the "negative" in that case. if it is
Time, there is nothing negative going on, b/c "doing nothing" still has
"motion" from the system and even change in inertia within the system,
reacting the level of "nothingness" (if you will). But user "inactivity" is
really what is "not" happening, or negative here."


...Ok, then maybe this is jumping TOO far, but if we extend this line of
thinking, maybe the IxD medium is in fact Cognition (itself? itself!)

Many people have suggested Conversation as a metaphor for IxD and this fits
quite well. But as Dave points out, things can continue going on, on both
the system side ("Erasing harddrive ... 80% complete") and on the user side
("Where's that darn link?") even when neither side is actively "saying"
anything. 

You could imagine that we hook up a users brain to some medical brain
scanner and watch the readout as they use the system. The users brain is
working hard or easy in various lobes, both because of their initiatives and
in reaction to the system output. The pattern, rhythm, density, smoothness,
complexity, shape, color, cohesion, etc. of the users brain pattern is the
actual embodiment/result of the interaction design. The aesthetic is to
strive to engender patterns of various sorts: minimalist, high impact, blue
period, etc.


- Eugene

Eugene Chen  |  User Experience Design, Strategy, and Usability
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