1. Interaction design

Interaction design is design for human use. It involves answering three questions:

1.The first is how you do it, this is the most basic question. What sort of ways do you affect the world: poke it, manipulate it, sit on it?

2.The second question is how you feel, which lists how people feel after taking action. What do you sense of the world?

3.The third question is how do you know. This question is to ask what people are thinking and how to think. what are the ways that you learn and plan?

2. “How do you do”

One of the important choices for “How do you do”; is between HANDLES and BUTTONS. Handles are better for continuous control (e.g. trombone) Buttons are better for discrete control Handles to leave you in control (e.g. opening a car door). Buttons are more likely to trigger something automatic.

One choice for “How do you feel?” is McLuhan’s “hot” vs “cool”.Hot media like print are more authoritative and exact. Cool media like cartoons and television are fuzzy and incomplete they invite more participation.

One choice for “How do you know?”, is between MAPS and PATHS. Paths are good for beginners just tell me to step by step what to do. Maps are good for understanding alternatives they take longer to learn but are more robust. Paths are good for expert skill; they can be very efficient.

3. MAPS and PATHS

Bill Verplank used the vending machine as an example to let the audience think about the different ideas of map and path. One proposes an interface similar to PATH. One is more like MAP. He raised the following considerations:

Which one do you like?

Which is better for the supplier?

Which is faster?

What is the possibility of failure and recovery?

4.What is a computer?

Various metaphors have organized entire careers. Such powerful metaphors are called “paradigms”. They motivate the central questions asked. They help us understand the STYLE of interaction. Understanding competing paradigms helps us understand what various people consider a “good” interaction design.

Reading list：

Interaction Design Association, 2011. Bill Verplank: Opening Keynote. Available at: <https://vimeo.com/20285615>