Designing Interactive Systems

1
Designing Interactive Systems

• A fusion of skills

2
We are Interactive Systems Designers

• Our goal is to design interactive systems that
  are enjoyable to use, that do useful things and
  that enhance the lives of the people that use
  them.
• We want our interactive systems to be accessible,
  usable and engaging.
• In order to achieve this we believe that the
  design of such systems should be human-centred.
• That is, designers need to put people rather than
  technology at the centre of their design process.

3
In the past

• Unfortunately the design of computer systems and
  products in the past has not always had a good
  record of considering the people who use them.
• Many systems have been designed by programmers
  who use computers every working day.
• Many designers are young males.
• Many designers have been playing computer games
  for years.
• This means that they forget just how difficult
  and obscure some of their designs can be to
  people who have not had these experiences.

4
.now

• In the days of the Web, issues of usability are
  critical to e-commerce.
• Before the immediacy of e-commerce, usability
  problems were only discovered after purchase.
• If you bought a nice looking CD player and
  brought it home only to find it was difficult to
  use, you could not take it back!
• The shop would say that it delivers its
  functions, all you had to do was to learn how to
  operate it properly.

5
.now (continued)

• On the Web, customers look at usability first.
• If the system is hard to use, or if they do not
  understand it, they will go somewhere else to
  make their purchase.
• People are learning that systems do not have to
  be hard to use and are becoming more critical
  about the design of other products, such as their
  CD players, too.

6
Interactive systems

• are many and various!
• OSX is a functional operating system - a huge
  piece of software which has a new, modern
  interface
• The iPod is an information appliance designed and
  optimized for a limited set of functions
• Some interactive systems are primarily artistic
  by nature
• The AIBO is a programmable product for fun and
  companionship
• Some interactive systems are concerned with
  helping people cooperate and create communities

7
So what is interactive systems design about?

• Design - how to do it
• Technologies - what can technology do? What
  content does something have?
• People - who will use it, who will be affected by
  it?
• Activities and contexts - what will people have
  to do in what circumstances?

8
Design
What is design?Its where you stand with a foot
in two worlds the world of technology and the
world of people and human purposesand you try to
bring the two together (Mitch Kapor in T.
Winograd Bringing design to Software (1996), p.1)
9
Design

• The creative process of specifying something new
  and
• The representations that are produced along the
  way
• e.g site map, blueprints, sketches, etc.
• It typically involves much iteration -
• both problem and solution evolve during design

10
Design. A spectrum of activities

• Engineering design - using scientific principles
• Architect designs buildings, urban planner
  designs roads, etc.
• Artistic - creative design where imagination is
  key
• Design as craft design is a conversation with
  materials
• E.g. pottery designer works with clay, clothes
  designer works with fabrics, interior designer
  works with furniture, paints, lighting, etc.

11
Design. A spectrum of activities (continued)

• Our materials are interactive systems we work
  within and shape this medium
• Such as cameras, phones, web sites, DVDs,
  computer applications any device or system that
  is interactive

12
Interactive systems

• The term we use to describe the technologies that
  interactive systems designers work with.
• They are components, devices, products and
  software systems concerned with processing
  information.
• They deal with the transmission, display, storage
  or transformation of information that people can
  perceive and that respond to peoples actions
• That includes such things as phones, web sites
  and washing machine controllers
• and increasingly clothes, jewellery and buildings!

13
People and technologies
14
. are different!
15
The User Interface

• All those parts of the system we come into
  contact with
• Physically we might interact with a device by
  pressing buttons or moving levers and the
  interactive device might respond by providing
  feedback through the pressure of the button or
  lever.
• Perceptually the device displays things on a
  screen, or makes noises which we can see and
  hear.
• Conceptually we interact with a device by trying
  to work out what it does and what we should be
  doing. The device provides messages and other
  displays which are designed to help us do this.

16
What are the user interfaces here?
Figure 1.6 Various user interfaces. Sources
Horstmann Controls Ltd Hewlett-Packard Ltd.
17
The user interface

• Input
• some methods are needed to enter commands (tell
  the system what we want it to do)
• We also need to be able to navigate through the
  commands and the content of the system
• We need to enter data or other content into the
  system
• Output
• So the system can tell us what is happening -
  provide feedback
• So the system can display the content to us.

18
Designing interactive systems

• . is more than just designing the user interface
  . is more than designing the input, output and
  content
• It is about designing the whole human-computer
  interaction
• It is about designing the human-human interaction
  that is often enabled through devices
• It is about designing whole environments of
  interlinked devices and objects
• Think of designing museum exhibits, or an
  amusement park
• Or an airport, a hotel lobby or a shopping mall

19
Being Human-Centred

• We take a human-centred approach to designing
  interactive systems. That means
• thinking about what people want to do rather than
  just what the technology can do
• designing new ways to connect people with people
• involving people in the design process
• designing for diversity

20
How did we get here?

• 1950s - computers invented
• 1960s - first screen and mouse developed
• 1970s - business start to take up computers
  seriously. First internet created
• 1980s - Arrival of microchip and micro-computers,
  1984 - Apple Macintosh (Xerox Star). Games
  consoles arrive. First conferences on human-
  computer interaction.

1990s - World wide Web arrives.. And on to
ubiquitous computing.
21
Where are we headed? (who really
knows?)Information Appliances is one view

• Everyday things requiring everyday skills to use
• With a clear, focused function
• Provide peer-to-peer interaction
• And have a direct user interface - physical
  interaction
• Support the idea of closure - completing a task
• Allow you to do things on impulse
• Are personalizable and portable

22
Figure 1.8 Concepts for future business cards
and ideas of identity. Source IDEO, 2003.
Courtesy of IDEO.
23
The Skills of the Interactive Systems Designer

• Knowing about people
• Sociology, anthropology, psychology, culture
• Knowing about technologies
• Software, communications, materials, databases,
  etc.
• Knowing about activities and contexts
• Communities of practice, information systems,
  organizations, knowledge management
• Knowing about design
• Fashion, interior, information design,
  architecture, product design

24
Figure 1.9 Disciplines contributing to
interactive systems design
25
Why being human-centred is important

• Safety
• Is human error really often the fault of bad
  design?
• Effectiveness
• Human-centred design will result in better
  designs. They will make more money - especially
  with e-commerce
• Ethics
• Designs affect peoples lives. Designers need to
  consider the affect they are having

26
Conclusion

• Designing Interactive Systems is a challenging
  and fascinating discipline
• Designing Interactive Systems is concerned with
  design systems for people, undertaking activities
  in contexts using technologies
• Designing Interactive Systems needs to be
  human-centred to ensure safe, effective and
  ethical systems are produced.