Interaction Designers are the shapers of behavior. Behavior is a large idea, and may, at first blush, seem too large to warrant a single profession. But a profession has emerged nonetheless. This professional category includes the complexity of information architecture, the anthropologic desire to understand humanity, the altruistic nature of usability engineering, and the creation of dialogue. These topics are discussed in the four sections of this text.

• Download Thoughts on Interaction Design as a single .pdf file suitable for on-screen reading (2,520k)

Section One explores the foundation of the rich field of Interaction Design.

In Chapter One (Multiple Roots, and an Uncertain Future), the historic roots of this field are described, and the relationship between engineering and business is explored. Additionally, the future is painted as an unknown field of potential for this field, as the study of human behavior has become of a primary interest to the worlds of business and marketing in recent years.

Chapter Two (Computing and Human Computer Interaction) describes how Human Computer Interaction arose as a field advocating for usability and efficiency. This is paralleled by a similar growth in the field of Industrial Design, with emphasis placed on human factors and anthropometrics. Both fields have evolved as user-centered professions, laying the groundwork for the field of Interaction Design (which, as practiced presently, seems to combine both physical and digital design into artifacts, services or systems).

Section One is concluded with a contributed article by Chris Connors, entitled Interaction Design in an Engineering Centric World.

Section Two describes the three facets of Interaction Design as related to Usable, Useful and Desirable, and the Interaction Design Process that is used in creating designed artifacts.

Chapter Three (A Process for Thinking About People) discusses the procedural focus of Interaction Design as it pertains to designing what people want and need. The role of intuition is examined as compared to the necessity for ethnographic user research.

Chapter Four (Managing Complexity) examines the role technology plays in the development of Interaction Design solutions, with attention placed on the relatively new subfield of Information Architecture as applied to the design of technology-driven products.

Chapter Five (Shaping Aesthetics to Inform Experience) investigates the role aesthetics play in the development of Interaction Design solutions, specifically with regard to brand and identity.

Section Two is concluded with a contributed article by Justin Petro, entitled Interaction Design as Business Lubricant.

While the previous chapters have discussed a framework for considering interaction design as the design of behavior, Section Three analyzes the more rhetorical views of Interaction Design.

In Chapter Six (Language and Interaction), the role of language is examined as it relates to the design of objects, services and systems. Traditional views of design as dialogue are extended to investigate the role of a poetic interaction - and how designers can begin to view their creations in terms of dialogue, words and argument.

Section Three ends with a contributed article by Uday Gajendar, entitled On the Nature of Interaction as Language.

Section Four describes the potential future of Interaction Design within the enterprise.

In Chapter Seven (The Political Dynamics of Product Development), discusses the nature of working in integrated and interdisciplinary product teams, especially given the ambiguous nature of the word Design.

Section Four ends with a contributed article by Ellen Beldner, entitled Getting Design Done.