From apps, phones and business systems to wearables, the Web and the Internet of Things, interactive products have become part of everyday life. But how can interactions be designed to best meet their purpose and offer good user experience? This free course, An introduction to interaction design, explores this topic. You will learn: what interaction design is; the importance of user-centred design - with its goals and principles; how interaction design focuses on the characteristics of the user, their activities and environment; and the core activities and methods of the interaction design process.
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 What is interaction design
- 1 What is interaction design
- 1.1 The scope of interaction design
- 1.2 The digital divide
- 1.3 Benefits and consequences of interaction design
- 1.4 Interaction design activities
- 1.5 Smart Glass – an example of designing
- Section 1 Summary
- 2 Goals and principles of user-centred design
- 2 Goals and principles of user-centred design
- 2.1 The goals of interaction design
- 2.2 Design principles
- Perceivability
- Consistency
- Affordance
- Constraints
- Feedback
- Section 2 summary
- 3 The ‘who, where and what’ of the design context
- 3 The ‘who, where and what’ of the design context
- 3.1 Designing for different users
- Design context: the users
- Design context: the nature of the activity
- Design context: the environment
- Design context: The wider sociocultural, organisational and economic settings
- Section 3 summary
- 4 Interaction design activities and methods
- 4 Interaction design activities and methods
- 4.1 Gathering data: input from the design context
- Asking the users
- Observing the users
- Matching methods to questions
- 4.2 Output of design ideas
- Sketching and prototyping techniques
- Why sketching and prototyping is important
- 4.3 Iteration and interrelated activities
- 4.4 Interaction design as a discipline
- Section 4 summary
- Conclusion
- Keep on learning
- Acknowledgements
