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| Interaction design | |
|---|---|
| Name | Interaction design |
| Caption | Example of interaction design in a user interface |
| Focus | Human–computer interaction, user experience |
| Related | User interface design, human factors, usability |
Interaction design is the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services that shape how people engage with technology. It draws on research and methods from cognitive science, design practice, and engineering to create meaningful, efficient, and pleasurable experiences for users of software, devices, and public installations. Practitioners collaborate across disciplines, balancing business objectives, technical constraints, and ethical considerations.
Interaction design intersects with Apple Inc., Microsoft, Google, IDEO, Frog Design, Nokia, IBM, Amazon, Facebook, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Adobe Systems, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, Intel Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Sony Corporation, Ericsson, BlackBerry Limited, Motorola Solutions, Lenovo Group, HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, LG Electronics, Atari, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Spotify Technology, Netflix, Airbnb, Inc., Uber Technologies, Tesla, Inc., Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, BMW, Mercedes-Benz Group, Boeing, Airbus, NASA, European Space Agency, MIT Media Lab, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology, Yale University, Pratt Institute, Royal College of Art, Parsons School of Design, Rijksmuseum and Tate Modern through product, service, industrial, and exhibition projects.
Interaction design influences devices and interfaces such as smartphones, tablets, wearables, kiosks, automobiles, industrial control panels, and virtual reality headsets produced or researched by the organizations above, and it is informed by practitioners and thought leaders associated with Don Norman, Bret Victor, Alan Cooper (software engineer), Bill Moggridge, Dieter Rams, John Maeda, Jakob Nielsen, Ben Shneiderman, Brenda Laurel, Bill Buxton, Robert Moog, Jony Ive, Jonathan Ive, Ethan Marcotte, Jeffrey Zeldman, Luke Wroblewski, Christina Wodtke, Kim Goodwin, Steve Krug, Paul Rand, Herbert Simon, Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Raymond Loewy, Victor Papanek.
Core principles derive from cognitive psychology and ergonomics studied at institutions like Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, and Cornell University, and articulated by figures such as Don Norman, Ben Shneiderman, Jakob Nielsen, and Herbert A. Simon. Theories include affordance as discussed by James J. Gibson, mental models linked to Kenneth Craik, human error research from James Reason, and distributed cognition developed by Edwin Hutchins. Design patterns reflect guidance from standards issued by International Organization for Standardization and concepts debated at conferences such as CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, UX Week, Interaction (IxDA) conference, and Design Forum events hosted by TED Conferences and SXSW.
Ethics and accessibility are informed by legislation and initiatives like the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines produced by World Wide Web Consortium, and standards from International Electrotechnical Commission. Human-centered design frameworks parallel approaches championed by IDEO, Frog Design, and research groups at MIT Media Lab.
Typical processes encompass user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Methods include contextual inquiry popularized alongside ethnographic work at Bell Labs, card sorting used by practitioners associated with Nielsen Norman Group, usability testing methods advocated by Steve Krug, and participatory design propagated by Scandinavian researchers linked to Aarhus University and Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). Rapid prototyping tools and methods trace lineages to labs and studios at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford d.school, Rhode Island School of Design, and Royal College of Art.
Quantitative techniques incorporate A/B testing at companies like Google and Facebook, analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, and controlled experiments following scientific practices from American Psychological Association. Qualitative approaches are grounded in interviews, field studies, and diary studies used by teams at Microsoft Research, IBM Research, and Xerox PARC.
Patterns and components include navigational structures, call-to-action elements, feedback loops, affordances, signifiers, constraints, and microinteractions. Recognized pattern libraries and component systems are published by organizations such as Google Material Design, Microsoft Fluent Design System, Apple Human Interface Guidelines, Atlassian, Salesforce, Shopify Polaris, IBM Carbon Design System, and Lightning (Salesforce). Design systems influence products from Stripe, PayPal Holdings, Square, Inc., eBay Inc., Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, Inc., and Rakuten.
Microinteraction design is exemplified in consumer products by teams at Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics, and Tesla, Inc., while industrial interfaces reflect work at Siemens and Honeywell International Inc..
Tools for wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration include Sketch (software), Figma, Adobe XD, InVision, Axure RP, Framer (software), Balsamiq, Zeplin, and Principle (app). Version control and developer collaboration commonly involve GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket; continuous integration and deployment reference platforms such as Jenkins (software), Travis CI, and CircleCI. Front-end technologies are built on React (JavaScript library), Angular (application framework), Vue.js, Svelte (framework), Bootstrap (front-end framework), Tailwind CSS, and standards from World Wide Web Consortium and WhatWG.
Emerging interaction modes use hardware and platforms from Oculus VR, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, Magic Leap, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, NVIDIA Corporation GPUs, and mobile platforms like iOS and Android (operating system).
Interaction design is applied in consumer electronics, automotive interfaces at Tesla, Inc. and Toyota Motor Corporation, healthcare systems used in Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital, financial services from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, e-commerce platforms like Amazon (company) and Alibaba Group, edtech products from Coursera and Khan Academy, entertainment services by Netflix and Spotify Technology, and public services delivered by municipalities such as City of New York and Greater London Authority. It supports emerging domains in autonomous vehicles researched at Waymo, robotics at Boston Dynamics, and space interfaces at NASA.
Academic programs exist at Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University College London, Royal College of Art, Parsons School of Design, and Aalto University. Professional organizations include Interaction Design Association, Association for Computing Machinery, ACM SIGCHI, User Experience Professionals Association, and British Computer Society. Certification and standardization efforts reference ISO standards and accessibility guidelines from World Wide Web Consortium and legal frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Category:Design