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.