Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Good interaction design ensures that each place defined in practice design has a layout that
clearly presents the purpose and function available in that place—even a good design can
be destroyed by interaction design that obscures the purpose of the place. Creating a real
Direct into Action user experience happens here; a central concern at this layer is to sup-
port the concepts in the Triangle of Joy in Use.
There are two structural elements for designers to focus on during interaction design.
Thefirstisthestructureofthescreenitself,independentofspecificelementsonthatscreen.
Acleanscreenstructureiseasyfortheusertomakesenseof.Thesecondistheconsistency
of screen structure across the design, so that as the user moves from screen to screen—and
device to device—the basic structure is consistent, familiar, and comfortable.
Interaction design also covers the design of the content being presented. Access to in-
formation—content—is a critical part of many products supporting connected lives. How
content can be found and scanned, how different content elements relate to each other, the
tone in which it is written—these are complex issues (check Amazon to appreciate how
complex) and need to be designed explicitly.
The final layer we define is the
visual design
, in which the graphical treatment, colors,
branding, animation, and details of interaction are defined. Visual design structures the
users' experience by what it emphases, how it uses graphical elements and white space to
draw the eye and lead it through the page, and how it uses interactions to guide the user.
(An example of the last is the “bounce” introduced by the iPhone to show that the user has
reached the end of a scrolling list.) Well done, the visual design reinforces and emphasizes
the purpose and structure designed by higher layers of the design process.
Visual design has its own structural aspect. It has to ensure consistency of look and
experience across the whole product, regardless of platform. This is where the Sensation
Modelhelpsthedesignerdeterminewhattone,brand,feeltheywanttocommunicate.Aes-
thetic design contributes to the cool user experience of any product. But as we found in
the Cool Concept of Sensation, people expect a modern, well-done visual design; deliver-
ing anything less reduces the experience of cool. Gratuitous animation, abrasive sounds, or
unappealing color undermines that experience. Getting the visual design right matters and
enhances products—
if
good practice and interaction design are already in place.
So design is a layered activity, with a natural sequence to the layers, each layer having
its own concerns and its own issues and requiring somewhat different expertise. Visual de-
signers need to understand graphics and color; UX designers need to understand how users
approach systems. Yet the layers are also interdependent, and in an iterative process design
at the different layers proceeds in parallel. Managing this design conversation is hard. It's
easytogetlostinthelayers—ifadesignerobjectstoabutton,aretheyobjectingtothebut-
ton itself, its look? Or are they objecting to the function the button represents? Or merely
its place on the page? When different roles, such as user researcher, interaction designer,
