Ames' syllabi

Interaction design is made up of the communication and exchange of any information through a sensory connection. A main challenge of the interaction design industry in general revolves around its definition. There is a high stress placed upon the design aspect with an unclear understanding. The common misconception is that the notion of design soley revolves around aesthetics and innovation. This isn’t entirely true. Design incorporates a lot of different steps and though processes overall in order to finally reach a creation that fits form and function. A large portion of interaction design specifically focuses on the user and how the user reacts and interacts with an object. According to Jon Kolko, Discovery is a huge issue in companies due to low budgets and such. This area in interaction design focuses on the research and findings of the needs and wants of consumers and users. While this stage is very important and can be extremely beneficial, it is not easily affordable or prioritized.

Interaction design is evolving at a faster rate than I would have expected or predicted. When you look at a historical timeline of technology and innovation, it is a consistent pattern that each new idea and invention are built off of previous ideas. This holds true for interaction design. The main difference I think however, is that now it is growing not only growing vertically but laterally as well. To explain this a little more clearly let’s look at the telephone. From what started as the phonograph and has worked its way up into what is now called the cell-phone, there have been many modifications to the one idea of vocal communication over distance. That would be the vertical growth. The lateral growth is the extra additives and extensions a design can take, such as how cell-phones now have multiple uses and applications. An example of evolving interaction design is the experimentation and implementation of the fourth dimension. In Thoughts On Interaction Design, Jon Kolko discusses the distinction between graphic and traditional design verses interaction in that there are so many deeper and interconnected levels on interaction. This is why it is evolving as fast as it is. Because interaction design is on such a more complex deeper level, it draws information and sourcing from  psychology, engineering, and ethnography; to name a few.

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

Interaction design makes up the different technical aspects and requirements that are used as tools to create interaction and the creative ideas to tell a narrative. It is usually filling the roles of interaction designer and information architect. (pg 41)  It is becoming an expert in how humans relate to each other, the world, and the changing nature of technology and business. (pg 17) The process starts with building a scenario that includes a product and a person. Then a story is created with precise details. Finally, the principles of the story add a point of view and the main goal of the story. (pg 23) Another important part of interaction design would be participant observation. The product needs to fit into the culture in which it exists. (pg 25) An industry challenge would be the expert blind spot. It is the fact that the designers have a bias towards their work, and they think that others will know the same information they do. It is forgetting what it is like to be a novice as you become more of an expert. Localization is also a problem. Point of view also affects the industry. Having an open mind affects the design process. Finding the right mix between creative and analytical skills is crucial to be a successful designer. ( pg 31) The overall messiness of the process of design can be hard to interpret as designers and especially clients. The “over the wall” problem affects designers because of the lack of communication between designers and engineers. Designers need to communicate their creativity to a large organization. It is more than just being creative. (pg 52)

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

Interaction design merges the worlds between designer and artist. It is a dialogue. Interaction design is a creative process focused on people. (pg 20) It creates an argument, but also invites the user to help create the dialogue. (pg. 14)  It is the creation of dialogue between a person and a product, system, or service. (pg 15) The field is relatively new, recognized for roughly 20 years, and it evolves as fast as technology and communication does. It draws knowledge from cognitive psychology and the art world respectively.  It is also closely related to disciplines such as interactive design, product development, and marketing. (pg 17) The difference between marketing and interaction design however is that interaction design focuses on actual behavior gathered from small groups and uses qualitative data. (pg 28) The heart of interaction design is that it should be user-centered, and that the only way to understand what users want is to interact with them. (pg 39)

1.What makes interaction design and what are some of the industries challenges.

Interaction design is a process that deals with the technical aspect of interaction to create a narrative. Some of the industries greatest challenges consist of a lack of communication among artists and keeping up with the ever increasing technology of today. With out proper communication among artists it makes it difficult for creativity and ideas that would potentially enhance a product to spread. With technology advancing at a rapid pace designers are challenged to make products that will sustain instead of become obsolete.

2.What is interaction design, how is it evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from.

Interaction design is the process of developing a product or object that stimulates the user is any way, while also analyzing how users might interact with said product. Interaction design is a process that deals heavily with the behavior of humans in an effort to better understand their needs and how to effectively meet their needs. Due to their concerns with humanity subjects such as psychology, sociology and philosophy are fields commonly drawn from in the interaction design world.

1) Interaction design is made up of 5 stages: 1. Strategy: purpose, what we are trying to do 2. Scope: defines everything that is apart of the project 3. Structure: paths users take to get to different places 4. Skeleton: where everything goes and lives 5. Surface: the visual design of the product, how everything looks

An issue in the industry is being able to think about a process, and it is the same as doing the process. This also can play into the fact that what one person thinks on how a process should be completed; it may not be the same as another person. Another issue is that technology is changing rapidly, and designers need to be at the top of this change. And with all this new technology, it is crucial to have designers still incorporate the original design fundamentals.

2) Interaction design is when designer’s focus on creating appealing and intriguing product that connects to the user. It is evolving because the designers now have to think about how their product will link and feed information to a larger network. The future of technology in general is always being connecting and having the ability to have an infinite amount of information at your fingertips. This affects interaction design by making it the designers’ responsibility to see that this is not only possible, but also easy to do, aesthetically pleasing, and an overall great experience.

Interaction design is creating products for the user. It is the way a person interacts with products, systems, and services.  The design must speak to everyone, and be usable by all. It can be troublesome to find a happy balance between those with more advanced minds, versus those who are not as educated. For the design to be able to work, the designer must think of the conditions the product will be used in, collect data from possible users, test the product, and then market the product. Many changes occur in the process, which will help to strengthen the final product. However, it may take a very long time to reach the final stages. While going through the process, designers may work with engineers, marketers, and project developers. Interaction design is expanding on many platforms; there are now smart phones, tablets, laptops, virtual realities, and many more ways for a user to interact.

1.    The goals of Apple’s website is to sell the most high-tech technology to those consumers who visit the sight, keep consumers up to date on the newest Apple technology and help consumers solve any problems they are having with their bought products. Apple’s website also addresses user needs for a MacBook by providing the specifications of MacBooks and include “Design films,” or a video on the MacBook’s “home page” to explain the various purposes of each specification that are unique to MacBooks. And, to answer user needs when something goes wrong with the MacBook, consumers can look up solutions to their problems on Apple’s site.
2.    The functional specifications of Facebook’s wall are:Setup a website that allows users to see posts by their friends and by the groups, people, and other pages that the user has liked.The system will allow the user to close certain ads thatThe system will allow the user to check their notifications about what their friends are doing, or , messages sent to the user, and pending friend requests, both that the user has made to another user, or another user to the former user.
3.    Hierarchical – YoutubeMatrix – WikipediaOrganic – FacebookSequintial – Surveys
4.    The Huffington Post is approximately 70% navigation not just because it has a search bar, but because it is also littered with links, and about 30% content.Google, being a search engine, is 90% navigation and only 10% content (as the search results are not its own content).Wikipedia is approximately split between navigation and content, 40%-60%, respectively. Wikipedia is mostly an online encyclopedia site with a large amount of content, and the content can have links that will take the user to another page.Etsy is much like the Huffington Post, approximately 60% navigation and 40% content. Etsy’s sites is trying to sell its merchandise to visitors, so it would make sense to try to to get the visitors to look around before they focus on specific content.
5.    Landor tries to get the user to focus on Landor’s objective, building “the worlds most agile brands…” by including a stunning picture, in this case, an image of some sort of circular object made up of irregular, quadrilateral fans, with a yellow hue over them, to cause contrast with the white text that states Landor’s objective.

1.The goals of Apple’s website is to sell not only products but their brand as well. With their variety of products they offer information from purchasing to post purchase and offer assistance even after product purchase. For a user who has just purchased their first MacBook, the website offers images, video clips, and informative blurbs as well as a help feature and contact to assist with any possible questions.

2. The functional specifications of Facebook’s wall include content related information which depend upon the creation of your own page/settings. It selects only information, photos, etcetera to share with you based on your selected friends list and pages you have previously liked. On your wall specifically Facebook projects all of your own updates and posts but only with those you have friended. If you are not on Facebook however, in order to signup you must be a certain age, provide a valid email, name, and location that you are associated with. From here you can create and customize how you view others and how others can view you.
3. The four architectural approaches to information structure include the matrix, sequential, hierarchical,and organic.
An example of the hierarchical approach is the jcpenny website. Basically any clothing/department store USUALLY follows this format.
An example of a matrix approach is zappos. While this website accommodates for many different products, you can still narrow your selection (especially with shoes) by color, size, style, etc.
An example of a sequential approach would be Tumblr, for the sole purpose that one post follows the other from the time which they were originally posted or shared. It flows one after another.
An example of an organic approach would be Amazon since there are a large variety of options so you can navigate from one product to a completely opposite one without backtracking and still a clear path of navigation.

4.For Huffington Post index page is 100% completely navigation. Content is 25%. For Google the index is 100% navigation with 100%navigation on the search page and 0% content. As for Wikipedia, the homepage is 95%navigation and 5%content. Easy has an index with 100% navigation and for searching content is about 70%.

5. landor.com guides the reader’s eyes and focuses their attention through a well thought out balance of color and type. Bold type and vibrant colors tell where to look instantly while softer tones and more subtile text guide your eye throughout the page after.

1. Apple’s website is extremely simple. It is laid out so that new and old users can easily navigate to whatever they need. Apple has it set up so that you can find the Mac that is best suited for you, and from there, they have a ‘support’ tab to answer other questions. The tab shows commonly asked questions, and also lets you search for any other questions you might have.
2. Facebook uses content inventory to know what to show you on your wall. It acquires a list of your friends, and updates your wall based on that list. If Facebook didn’t keep that inventory, it wouldn’t know what to post to your wall, because it doesn’t have any of your personal data. To sign-up for Facebook, you must list your first and last name, your email, and a few interests. From there, it has your content to go though, and can find ads and people for you to be friends with.
3. Organic, sequential, hierarchical, and matrix are four architectural approaches to information structure. Forever21.com is an example of a hierarchical website; it has base categories, which are split down into more specific categories when scrolled over. Amazon.com is mostly used as an organic website; one thing is searched for, and many options are pulled from many places, without much consistency. Wikipedia operates as a matrix website; it leads you to other, pretty random, places after finding the one page you originally searched for. Instagram is a sequential website; it shows you posts in order of the time they were posted.
4. The Huffington Post home page is 100% navigation, but its article page is about 25% content, and 75% navigation. Google’s homepage and search page are both 100% navigation. Wikipedia’s home page is 97% navigation and 3% content (if you could the name, small description, and image), and its search page is split about 50/50, with links shown all throughout the given article. EST’s homepage is 100% navigation, even though it shows you things you may like, they are all links; once you click on a pace, it splits about 50/50 between navigation and content.
5. Landor.com clearly focuses on color and type. I was very surprised when I opened the page, and saw that it was mainly yellow with white type. As I scrolled through, I noticed all the headlines and text before the images. They used a huge san serif font, and even though it was white on a yellow background, it was super easy to read. The website had a very innovative look to it.

What are the goals of Apple’s website? How does Apple’s website address the needs of a user who has just purchased their first MacBook? (pp. 41-56)

The goals of the apple website are to show off their products and to display what there products are about. It shows the sleekness and style that their products embody. It’s goal is to direct people to purchasing their products and them come back for support if needed. It displays their different line of products and grabs your attention. Once you purchase something, there website switches up from a guided process to a more open place to find what you need to fix or troubleshoot your new purchase. The support part of the sight lets you have more reign to search for what you need help with.

What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page? (pp. 72-75)

There is a search bar at the top of the page with a navigation hub where you can check notifications and other features. On the actual page there is the status box to post in. There are several shortcuts on the left of the feed. On the right of the feed there is birthdays, trending, language choice, and finally there is messenger all the way on the right.

What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each. (pp. 94-106)

The four different approaches are hierarchical, organic, sequential, and matrix. An example of a hierarchical would be apple’s main site. It starts at one place and then branches off into others and gives you more specific options to choose from. An organic site would be wikipedia or superbad.com. It has no real set sequence and the path can change differently every time. A sequential website would be checkouts on sites where you can purchase something such as Amazon. It leads you directly to putting in the information and processing the order. Finally, a matrix site would be ThinkGeek or Amazon not including the checkout.

What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy? (pp. 116-134)

Huffington Post is roughly 80% content and 20% navigation. The main navigation is at a bar at the nav bar at the top of the page with scrolling content below. The content is interactive though and you can click on the stories to go to your desired page. Google’s homepage is roughly 90% navigation and 10% content, because the content displayed when you search something is only a portion. There is instead navigation to go to the site. Wikipedia is pretty close to google’s homepage with the ratio. It is roughly 80% navigation. When you search something, the navigation goes down to 20% with a navigation bar on the right side and content everywhere else. The content can be interacted with and keywords can navigate to different pages. Etsy’s homepage is roughly 30% content and 70% navigation. It has a nav bar and a search bar, but provides some content as you scroll down. It has a mix of information and different navigation buttons to shop for what you want.

How does http://landor.com guide the readers’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important? (pp. 144-155 )

They use different design principles to really guide the experience. They use hierarchy and dominance to show each item in importance. It starts out with their welcome blurb very large catching your eye to read it. They also use color to take notice from the background and focus it on the welcome blurb. Then, as you scroll down the color changes and the products become what is important to see. After the presentation of the dental products, it opens up to scrolling through different projects and such. It operates in such a way as that you have to scroll through each item to keep going, and this causes you to look through them one at a time. They continue to use color to emphasize things and it goes on as well.