Interaction Design Foundations

Now that David Malouf works for a art school every problem look like a “art” problem? In art school you need to master the primitives. There are 6 elements:

  1. line
  2. plane
  3. volume
  4. value
  5. texture
  6. color

David asks if there are similar primitives to interaction design? Here are his 5 elements:

  1. time
  2. abstraction
  3. metaphor
  4. negativity
  5. motion

David’s blog: Foundations of IXD

The only problem I have with this is that design school focuses on art. These 6 elements make for the foundations of understanding great art. I am not sure they are the foundation to design. The distinction I make is that art is for yourself and your expression. Design is for someone else. Design requires an enormous foundation of understanding the human:

  1. physical abilities
  2. cognitive abilities
  3. empathy
  4. context
  5. communication

I believe these are more essential to interaction design then all of the abstraction in the world. I understand that these are not the “foundations” of the art of interaction design but they sure are for the business of it.

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