[IxDA Discuss] "Elements of Interaction Design"

[Robert Reimann]

I'm not sure if I can quite get my own prefrontal cortex around the idea
of the aesthetics of Functional MRI scans :^), but Eugene makes an
excellent point about machine/human conversation/dialogue being at
the core of IxD.

I've always viewed the human/machine relationship as a feedback system,
where human behaviors drive the design of machine behaviors, and where
designed machine behaviors result in modifications to human behaviors.

It seems to be that a true IxD aesthetic is an aesthetic of behavior: what
makes for good machine behavior for the individual? for families and groups?

for society at large? for the environment? How does/should context affect
machine behaviors?

This kind of aesthetic is I think somewhat new, as it is not directly about
form or presentation (though it may also involve these things). To me,
Communications Design, Industrial Design, Cinema, and the various
Performing Arts all have aesthetic traditions from which IxD can borrow
to help describe form and presentation, but the place where we are
more at sea is developing a design language for behavior.

*About Face 2.0* touches on this issue in a limited way in Chapters 7 and
14,
where there are discussions on the ethical imperatives of IxD (e.g., "do no
harm")
and on the elements of "considerate" software interactions, respectively.
But
I think it's a fascinating and largely unexplored topic.

Robert.

-- 

Robert Reimann
President, IxDA

Manager, User Experience
Bose Corporation
Framingham, MA


On 5/12/06, Eugene Chen <eugene at amanda.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> 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
> main 415 282 7456  |  mobile 415 336 1783  |  fax 240 282 7452
> web http://www.eugenechendesign.com
>