Thoughts on Interaction Design

by Jon Kolko

Overview

Interaction Designers—whether practicing as Usability Engineers, Visual Interface Designers, or Information Architects—attempt to understand and shape human behavior in order to design products that are at once usable, useful, and desirable. Although the value of design is now recognized as essential to product development, the field is often misunderstood by managers and other team members, who don’t understand a designer’s role in a team. This can cause inefficient and ineffective products.

Thoughts on Interaction Design gives individuals engaged in this profession the dialogue to justify their work to other stakeholders. It provides a framework upon which to build intellectual discourse, and it substantiates the rigorous and unique nature of interaction design work. Ultimately, the text exists to provide a definition that encompasses the intellectual facets of the field, the conceptual underpinnings of interaction design as a legitimate human-centered field, and the particular methods used by practitioners in their day to day experiences.

*First book to provide a solid definition and framework for the booming field of interaction design, finally giving designers the justification needed to prove their essential role on every development team

*Provides designers with tools they need to operate effectively in the workplace without compromising their goals: making useable, useful, and desirable products

*Outlines process, theory, practice, and challenges of interaction design – intertwined with real world stories from a variety of perspectives

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780123786258
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	03/27/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	168
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jon Kolko is the Executive Director of Design Strategy for Thinktiv and is responsible for designing and delivering emotionally resonating and relevant products, services, and systems. Jon is also the Founder and Director of the Austin Center for Design, an educational institution in Texas. He has worked extensively in the professional world of interaction design, solving the problems of Fortune 500 clients. His work has extended into the worlds of consumer electronics, mobile, web, supply chain management, demand planning, and customer-relationship management. He has worked with clients such as AT&T, HP, Nielsen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ford, IBM, Palm and other leaders of the Global 2000. The underlying theme of these problems and projects was the creation of Design with a focus on Design Synthesis and the creation of meaning.

Prior to working at Thinktiv, Kolko has held the positions of Principal Designer and Associate Creative Director at Frog. He was also a Professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was instrumental in shaping the Interaction and Industrial Design undergraduate and graduate programs. Kolko sits on the Board of Directors for the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and is the Editor-in-Chief of Interactions Magazine, published by the ACM.

Table of Contents

Introduction Section One / Understanding Interaction Design Chapter One: Multiple Roots, and an Uncertain Future Chapter Two: Computing and Human Computer Interaction Interaction Design in an Engineering Centric World Section Two / Connecting People, Emotions and Technology Chapter Three: A process for Thinking about People Chapter Four: Managing Complexity Chapter Five: Shaping Aesthetics to Inform Experience Interaction Design as Business Lubricant Section Three / The Rhetorical Nature of Interaction Design Chapter Six: Interaction Design and Communication On the Nature of Interaction as Language Section Four / Challenges Facing Interaction Design in Industry Chapter Seven: The Political Dynamics of Product Development Getting Design Done In Summary

What People are Saying About This

"This book occupies alone a special place on the designer's bookshelf; it is truly a unique and lusciously written book that also benefits from being well-designed in its own right."
—Will Evans, Principal, Experience Design, Twin Technologies

"Thoughts on Interaction Design should be part of the canon for any aspiring designer who intends to design products that people actually use."
—Robert Blinn, core77.com

"Kolko provides a succinct, readable, and thought-provoking summary of how to think about what you're doing: it's a rich outline of process and history within the context of business and strategy."
—clickstart

"Throughout my career I have wanted someone to articulate the thoughts Jon Kolko shares in his book. Kolko is brilliant when describing the problems facing the software development community and insightful when discussing ways to resolve the issues."
—Angela Roberton, Technical Communications

"People are clamoring for more copies of Thoughts on Interaction Design. It is one of two key books on interaction design practice that are of relevance to students and practicing interaction designers alike."
—Jodi Forlizzi, Associate Professor of HCII and Design, Carnegie Mellon University

From the Publisher

Jon Kolko's classic and hard-to-find Thoughts on Interaction Design is now back and ready for world-wide distribution!

Editorial Reviews

"This book is a thoughtful discussion of design as a socially interactive medium rather than a book that presents the reader with a prescriptive set of rules and methods to provide ‘usability and ease of use.’ Its language is often academic. But for any designer who wishes to learn more about design and its philosophical implications, this book will provide food for thought."—ACM Computing Reviews

"In writing Thoughts on Interaction Design, the author 's reflective, learned, and articulate exploration has simultaneously provided an entire profession with a rallying point, a claim to credibility, and a vision. When we look back on the formative years of Interaction Design as a distinct endeavor, this book will surely be recognized as the seminal work."—Steve Baty, Principal, Meld Studios

"Jon is an important voice in the evolution of interaction design. In Thoughts on Interaction Design, he carefully explains the essential qualities of the discipline and its potential role in world, well beyond the design of user interfaces. If you are concerned with shaping the future, solving big problems and creating things and systems that bring out the best in people, then this book will help you understand and explain how practice of interaction design can help." —David Cronin, Managing Director, Interaction Design at Cooper, co-author of About Face, Third Edition

"Jon Kolko moves Interaction Design to a new level of analysis with this powerful, thoughtful book. Kolko demonstrates that interaction design impacts all aspects of our lives. That the tools and methods can be used for the solution of social and political issues and not simply for the development of products. This book is essential reading for all who wish to move beyond style to deep, impactful substance."—Don Norman, Nielsen Norman group, author of Living with Complexity

"This is a necessary updating of Jon Kolko's original work; retaining the clarity and accessibility of the first edition but pushing into more areas, as the practices (and the concerns) of interaction design/designers have expanded broadly in the past few years. Jon has the heart of a thought leader and the soul of a teacher, and he offers up a healthy amount of both in this book."—Steve Portigal, Principal, Portigal Consulting

"The second edition of Kolko's Thoughts on Interaction Design is an important book for the discipline of interaction design. It artfully weaves together the practice of interaction design with contemporary design theory and research in a thoughtful and reflective manner. The result is a text that is immensely valuable for both senior and novice interaction designers." —Carl DiSalvo, PhD. Georgia Institute of Technology

"This book is a tightly packed bundle of valuable ideas. Kolko distilled his years as an interaction design practitioner and educator into a thoughtful, entertaining and useful collection of essays that are as insightful as they are quick to read. This book is like having an amazing dinner with a colleague who gives you the wisdom of decades of experience in a few short hours." —Mike Kuniavsky, author of Smart Things

"Kolko, Executive Director of Design Strategy for Thinktiv, presents this text which covers interaction design from an academic approach. Intended as an educational tool for designers, this text focuses primarily on defining interaction design, developing ways to intellectualize and communicate design concepts, and exploring artistic and cultural relevance of interaction design. This edition also includes up-to-date information on technological, cultural, and market shifts which always influence the manner in which humans interact with technology and ultimately influence the approaches that are viable for designers." —Book News, Reference & Research

"What exactly is interaction design, and what is it for? That is the elusive question which this book addresses. It does so with wit, subtlety and, above all, an appreciation of all the other disciplines with which interaction design must build theoretical and practical bridges. It is an important book, written by one of the foremost thinkers on the subject…. It is a nuanced and thoughtful discourse on the state of the art in interaction design and its relationship not only with product development strategy, but also with society in the broadest sense…. The book is aimed at designers who want to help with understanding and communicating the role and significance of interaction design. It succeeds masterfully and is good value for money." —BCS British Computer Society

From the Publisher