Thoughts on history of Interaction Design and reflection : week 37
The task was to present five landmark examples of Interaction Design throughout history. I and Martina (Product Design, UID) were grouped together. Time: 2 hrs
We started to brainstorm about the entire history of humanity to get a broader picture. I, having a background in science and humanity talked about the timeline of world at length. Starting with the technologies that we use now or used in the past and evolution. Martina added the evolution of humanity over a century adding the social and emotional perspective. We discussed at length about these topics. Our discussion went way beyond just the examples of interaction design to humanity as a whole. At last, we talked the evolution of design and the ever-changing role of designers in this timeline.
It was interesting to look how one aspect (say design) shared an inclusive relationship with people, technology and the time they lived for centuries. And it was really hard for us to define interaction design landmark exclusively on its own.
Technology
We would go straight to 1900 to look at the mass communication and propaganda that brought people together. Around 1950–60s with the commencement of new electronic gadgets people started to think about novel ways to interact with electronic screens. War and industry influenced the era. Military equipment was designed for better accuracy and feedback. 1980–2000, the Internet happened and that led to immense opportunities. Meanwhile, Apple computers established its ecosystem, gradually changing the generation. Companies like Apple and Microsoft redefined the way people used computers and mobile phone.
Two decades later, these evolutions along with the internet led to a shared economy. Airbnb and Uber changed the attitude of people. No one felt weird spending a night in a stranger’s place, using a shared car instead of working day and night to buy his/her own car, swiping right on tinder to get a date, or uploading an augmented dog filter on snap chat.
The environment became aware with sensors and reality got distorted with VR/AR/MR. Algorithm became the demigod of humanity.
People
If we talk about people,1900: It was all about basic necessities, power, and politics.
1960: People got seduced by modernism. Mass produced objects became the shiny symbol of modernity. Working on an assembly line and rising up the capitalist tier became the only selfish motive of men. 1980: But with the magic thing called the internet, people changed. They no longer needed fancy car or house to show their status as they could show it on social media. The world shared a common awareness about everything. This also led to growing narcissism, lack of communication skills and attention deficit mental disorder. Algorithm secluded human beings into information bubbles. The object-based consumerism was abandoned and a brand new service based consumerism was acquired. People romanticized traveling the world and leaving the nine to five job. This led to a chaos.
Designers
If we talk about Designers, 1900: Just a bunch of people, specialized in decorative art and aesthetic craftsmanship. 1960: But the new electronic devices and assembly line need more than decoration. Hence, a goal-oriented design was evolved. Keeping a prime focus on function.
1980–2000: The cross-breeding of industrial designers and computer scientist led to new fields of human-computer interaction.The focus shifted from professional to masses. Apple designed a computer apple Lisa for a fourteen-year-old boy. Usability and human factors were taken into consideration. Later: Interaction design became a multidisciplinary field of Industrial design, user experience, communication design, cognitive science, engineering, and business. Adding a cognitive dimension, social psychology, behavior patterns, business goals further refined and broadened the flexible field of interaction design.
Lecture and reflection
After the Presentation, Stoffel Kuenen talked about the history of interaction design in a more refined way.
The example of drinking water with a glass and holding a hammer inspired us to think beyond the screen. And changed my point of view from “objects to interact” to “process of interaction”
He also talked about the history of interaction as a process to augment the intellect of people. And making technology accessible and responsive to the human with an example of “Doug Engelbart’s mother of all demos”. (Stanford research center on augmented human intellect)
Takeaways
Engaging people while being safe
Augment intellect with collaboration,
Treating people not as operating units but as a whole with feelings, emotion, and irrationality. Because, people are more than a sum of parts.
Thinking about the narrative other than serving intellectuals
Tweak someone’s perception
Design emulates what’s done before
The presentation left an ending note on “quality of interaction” vs “efficiency of interaction”.
Some thoughts
This inspired me to focus on the expressive quality of interaction as efficiency takes care of itself. Though I would always be in dilemma between efficiency and quality. It’s not that bad to explore the quality of interaction. In other words, going beyond the user needs and reading between the lines with a pinch of imagination.
I would test this in my first project: coffee machine experience design.
