Interactive design (IxD) is a field of study that focuses on creating products and services that facilitate meaningful communication between people and technology. It is very user-focused (a.k.a. user-centric). It addresses both the physical and emotional aspects of the dialogue between person and machine.
Interactive design might be a misnomer as it deals with the design of interactions between user and product/service. The term could be mistakenly interpreted as a design which involves interaction. The term interaction design is more fitting and is actually used as a synonym.
The key principles of interactive design
Interactive design involves us creating systems which have the following:
- User-centered design - here we focus on the user’s needs and experiences. We consider who will be using our product/service and what they expect and need from it. In this way, we will be able to create designs that make the interaction between user technology intuitive, efficient and satisfying.
- Goal-directed interaction - our designs should be based on clear goals and present the minimum necessary information for the user to execute the task at hand. By doing so, we avoid cluttered interfaces and non-essential features and will be able to more easily create a minimum viable product (MVP).
- Constraint-based design - we place constraints in our designs in order to guide the user towards the desired interactions. By putting guard-rails on the interaction we increase the rate of successful interactions and reduce the rate of errors.
- Visual hierarchy and emphasis - our designs should present information according to its importance. We use design principles such as emphasis, proximity and contrast to help the user find the interactions that will bring the most meaning to them.
- Feedback mechanisms - here we place ways for the user to get immediate and continuous feedback from our design. This can include visual cues like animations playing when buttons are clicked, haptic feedback (controller vibrations), audio clips playing and quick response times for webpages. This will prevent the user from being unsure if their interaction triggered any changes that they intended to make.
Factors that influence user experience (UX)
Peter Morville highlights seven (7) factors that influence user experience (UX):
- Usability - the product must make it easy for users to achieve their goals
- Usefulness - the product must solve some issue(s) that the user has
- Findability - the product must be easy to find; its features must be intuitively positioned - you wouldn’t put the play button for a video game in its settings menu
- Accessibility - the product must be designed to cater for a wide range of users especially considering those with disabilities - this is about lowering the barrier of participation to make the app more usable to everyone
- Credibility - the users must have trust in the product - a successful product is one that the users find credible
- Valuability - the product must be designed to add business value to both the product owner and the users - it should minimize cost and bigger problems
- Desirability - the product must be attractive/appealing to its users - the principles of design play a major role in this