Author: Cammi

• What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?

User control, responsiveness, real-time interactions, connectedness, personalization, and playfulness makes up interaction design. They are the basic factors that contribute to what makes people able to interact with a design. Some of the industry challenges are lazy users, patterns of technology usage, and data-driven design. Designers are frustrated with how users are smart and understand how to use designs but want to be spoon-fed how to use them at the same time. Features of phones and social media are always changing, for example, tapping the screen replacing scrolling. Lastly, keeping users engaged is vital when considering data-driven design.

• What is interaction design, how its evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?

Interaction design is always evolving. Technology is constantly getting smarter and becoming more convenient for people to use. Interaction design draws knowledge from consumers. Designs are revitalized based on the users’ needs and the overall accessibility to the product or service provided. Designers are consistently learning and adapting their designs based on how users react to them.

• What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)

Ethnographic tools will inform us on how to improve the interactivity of an online banking website by observing how people interact with it in the first place. Ethnography is all about watching how people naturally interact with their surroundings. By doing this, you will be able to see what people struggle with when using the banking website and what they succeed at.

• At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)

A design is never truly finished, there is always room for improvement. However, a design is a success when the user can make sense of it without any struggle. The ultimate purpose of a design is to be easy for the user to work with. Users being able to understand the design and not have any issues with it is its main purpose.

• Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding affected your use, relationship and experience with the product? (pp. 78-84)

When I think of a product family that I use regularly, Apple is the first thing to come to my head. Apple branding has affected my use of their products by conditioning me to be able to navigate any of them seamlessly because they are set up very similarly. My relationship with the brand goes way back considering I owned an iPod at a young age. Since then, I have moved onto an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. I have grown up using the Apple brand so it would be jarring to switch to any other for my next phone or laptop. My overall experience with the Apple brand has been positive. My phone and laptop both do what they need to do so there are no complaints from me.