Module 2 HCI

MODULE 2
Basics of Interaction
Design 1
ITE 399 – HUMAN COMPUTER
INTERACTION
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, student should
be able to:
1. Identify the importance of Interaction
Design.
2. Understand related Interaction Design
concepts.
Create simple Interaction Design plan.
Interaction Design has its origins in web and graphic
design, but has grown into a realm on its own. Far from
merely working with text and pictures, interaction
designers are now responsible for creating every element
on the screen that a user might swipe, click, tap, or type.
In short, the interactions make up the user’s experience,
hence interaction design intersects and overlaps with
experience design.
Common Interaction Design Methodology
Goal-Driven Design
Goal-driven design was popularized by Alan Cooper. He defined goal-

driven design as design that holds problem solving as a highest priority. In
other words, goal-driven design focuses first on satisfying specific needs and
desires of the end-user, as opposed to older methods of design which focused
on what capabilities were available on the technology side of things.
Goal-Driven Design
1. Design first; program second. In other words, goal-driven design begins

with considerations for how users interact (and how things look), rather than
beginning with technical considerations.
2. Separate responsibility for design from responsibility for
programming. This refers to the necessity of having an interaction designer
who can champion the end-user, without worrying about the technical
constraints. A designer should be able to trust his or her developer to handle
the technical aspects; in fact, Cooper suggests that to do otherwise places the
designer in a conflict of interest.
Goal-Driven Design
3. Designers are responsible for product quality and user satisfaction. Though stakeholders or
clients will have their own objectives, the interaction designer has a responsibility to the person on the
other side of the screen.
4. Personas. Alan emphasized the need to connect personas back to the product, that is, where will this
person use this? Who are they? What do they want to accomplish?
5. Work in teams of two. Interaction designers should never work solo. Collaboration with others, which
Cooper calls “design communicators”, is key. The design communicator Alan envisioned was typically a
copywriter intended to provide marketing copy for products. Today that has expanded to include a project
manager, content strategist, information architect, and many others.
Usability
Usability is one of the key concepts in HCI. It is concerned with making

systems easy to learn and use. Usability may feel like a vague term, but at its
heart, designers are simply asked, “Can someone easily use this?”.
A usable system is:
● easy to learn
● easy to remember how to use
● effective to use
● efficient to use
● safe to use
● enjoyable to use
The Five Dimensions
Gillian Crampton Smith, an academic in interaction design,
introduced the concept of four dimensions of an “interaction design
language.” In other words, these dimensions make up the
interactions themselves, and as a result, they make up the
communication between a user and the screen. The four original
dimensions are words, visual representations, physical objects or
space, and time. More recently, Kevin Silver, an interaction
designer, has added a fifth dimension, behavior.
The Five Dimensions
● 1D: words should be simple to understand, and written in such a way that they
communicate information easily to the end user.
● 2D: visual representations are all graphics or images, essentially everything that is not
text. They should be in moderation and not overwhelm.
● 3D: physical objects or space refers to the physical hardware, whether it is a mouse and
keyboard, or a mobile device a user interacts.
● 4D: time is the length that the user spends interacting with the first three dimensions. It
includes the ways in which the user might measure progress, as well as sound and
animation.
● 5D: behavior was added by Kevin Silver. It is the emotions and reactions that the user has
when interacting with the system.
The Five Dimensions
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is the study of how the mind works, and what
mental processes take place there. According to the American Psychological
Association, these processes include “attention, language use, memory,
perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking.”
While psychology is an immensely broad field, a few key elements of
cognitive psychology are particularly valued, and in fact may have helped
form the field of interaction design. Don Norman named a few:
● Mental models are the images in a user’s mind that inform their

expectation of a certain interaction or system. By learning the
user’s mental model, interaction designers can create systems
that feel intuitive.
● Interface metaphors make use of known actions to lead users
to new actions. For example, the trash icon on most computers
resembles a physical trash can, in order to alert a user to the
expected action
Affordances are things that are not only designed to do something, but are designed
to look like they are designed to do something. A button that looks like a physical object you
can push, for example, is an affordance designed so that someone unfamiliar with the button
will still understand how to interact with it.
UI Design
User interface (UI) design is what process designers use to build interfaces in software
or computerized devices, focusing on looks or style. Designers aim to create interfaces
which users find easy to use and pleasurable. UI design refers to graphical user interfaces
and other forms—e.g., voice-controlled interfaces.
User interfaces are the access points where users
interact with designs. They come in three formats:
1. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)—Users interact with visual

representations on digital control panels. A computer’s desktop is a GUI.
2. Voice-controlled interfaces (VUIs)—Users interact with these through
their voices. Most smart assistants—e.g., Siri on iPhone and Alexa on
Amazon devices—are VUIs.
3. Gesture-based interfaces—Users engage with 3D design spaces through
bodily motions: e.g., in virtual reality (VR) games.
To design effective UIs, you should consider:
● Users judge designs quickly and care about usability and likeability.

● They don’t care about your design, but about getting their tasks
done easily and with minimum effort.
● Your design should therefore be “invisible”: Users should not focus on it
but on completing tasks: e.g., ordering pizza on the FoodPanda app.
● So, understand the users’ contexts and task flows (which you can find
from, e.g., customer journey maps), to fine-tune the best, most intuitive
UIs that deliver seamless experiences.
● UIs should also be enjoyable (or at least satisfying and

frustration-free).
● When your design predicts users’ needs, they can enjoy
more personalized and immersive experiences. Delight them,
and they will keep returning.
● Where appropriate, elements of gamification can make your
design more fun.
● UIs should communicate brand values and reinforce users’

trust.
● Good design is emotional design. User’s associate good
feelings with brands that speak to them at all levels and keep
the magic of pleasurable, seamless experiences alive.

UX Design
● “User Experience Design” is often used interchangeably

with terms such as “User Interface Design” and
“Usability.” However, while usability and user interface
(UI) design are important aspects, they are merely
subsets of UX design.
UX Design
For example, when using a

physical device, such as a computer
mouse, we can control some aspects
of the product that influence whether
the user enjoys looking at, feeling
and holding it:
UX Design
As a UX designer, you should consider

the Why, What and How of product use. The Why involves
the users’ motivations for adopting a product, whether they
relate to a task they wish to perform with it or to values and
views that users associate with the ownership and use of
the product. The What addresses the things people can do
with a product—its functionality. Finally, the How relates to
the design of functionality in an accessible and
aesthetically pleasant way.
ACTIVITY TIME!
Answer Skill-building activities
and Check for Understanding
Please take note: Always prepare yourself in our F2F
session for oral recitation.

Module 2 HCI

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MODULE 2

Goal-driven design was popularized by Alan Cooper. He defined goal-

1. Design first; program second. In other words, goal-driven design begins

Usability is one of the key concepts in HCI. It is concerned with making

● Mental models are the images in a user’s mind that inform their

1. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)—Users interact with visual

● Users judge designs quickly and care about usability and likeability.

● UIs should also be enjoyable (or at least satisfying and

● UIs should communicate brand values and reinforce users’

● “User Experience Design” is often used interchangeably

For example, when using a

As a UX designer, you should consider

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