HUMAN
CENTERED

INTERACTION DESIGN:
AN EVOLVING APPROACH
TO DESIGN FOR USER
EXPERIENCE

Authors:
Jim Budd, Associate Professor
& Sara Salevati, MAA Candidate

16 CURRENT

DESIGN

ABSTRACT// The role of design in today’s world is dramatically shifting as social, cultural,
and experiential factors begin to play a more dominant role in the complexities of day-to-day
life. This article frames out key elements of a design strategy to address these challenges.

CHANGES IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN// “A few years ago it was simpler. Designers just des-
igned things: objects like lamps, chairs, computer mice, cars, buildings, signage, page and
screen layouts. Of course we knew that the things we designed affected people’s experience.
But still, it was enough to design the thing” (Fulton, 2003).

THE NEED TO FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE// Today designers no longer design solely for aes-
thetic and usability values, but rather design for an overall experience. Bill Moggridge in his
book Designing Interactions identifies a shift in priorities and suggests designers today should
be less concerned about designing objects that are beautiful than they are about designing
people’s interactions with these objects (Moggridge, 2007). Jon Kolko goes further in his book
Thoughts on Interaction Design in saying that “design is the creation of dialogue between a per-
son and a product, system or service. This dialogue is both physical and emotional in nature,
and is manifested in form, function and technology” (Kolko, 2007). Similarly Bill Buxton
the author of Sketching User Experiences argues that designers are experiencing a shift from
“object-centered to experience-centered design” (Buxton, 2007). He explains, “It is not the
physical entity or what is in the box (the material product) that is the true outcome of design.
Rather, it is the behavioural, experiential, and emotional responses that come about as a result
of its existence and its use in the real world” (Buxton, 2007).