Designing Interactions

Materialising ideas into prototypes

In this course we’ll learn the basic principles of designing interactive systems that people in general, and in particular those with special abilities like older adults, can effectively use and enjoy. We start by understanding the interaction abilities of individuals by looking at the perception and cognitive aspects that make human-computer interaction effective. We’ll then review existing ability-based guidelines and put them at work by prototyping solutions during class. Finally, we’ll learn principles of user interface evaluation, and discuss how to effectively approach the exploration of design alternatives.

We divide this mini-course in two parts:

1. Understanding Interaction Design

• What’s interaction design?

• Aspects of humans and computers in UX

• Design principles

2. From ideas to prototypes

• The interaction design process

• Understanding the design space

• Identifying promising designs

Slides

• Part 1 - Download Slides

  • Part 2 - Download Slides

  • Videos:

    • Perte- description of the problem. [Link to video]

    • Perte - concept video. [Link to video]

    • Gymcentral - interactive mockup [Link to video]

    • WhatsUp - Example of think aloud. [Link to video]

Recommended books

• Interaction Design: Beyond human-computer interaction. Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp, Jenny Preece. [Sample Chapter]

• Designing with the mind in mind. Jeff Johnson. [Sample Chapter]

• Don’t make me think. Steve Krug. [Sample Chapter]

• The Design of Everyday Things. Don Norman. [Preface]

Relevant scientific articles

• Borchers, Jan O. "A pattern approach to interaction design." Ai & Society 15.4 (2001): 359-376. [Download]

• Wobbrock, Jacob O., et al. "Ability-based design: Concept, principles and examples." ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS) 3.3 (2011): 9. [Download]

• Newell, Alan F., and Peter Gregor. "Design for older and disabled people–where do we go from here?." Universal Access in the Information Society 2.1 (2002): 3-7. [Download]

• Hudson, C. E., et al. "Effects of navigation aids on web performance in younger and older adults." Gerontechnology 7.1 (2008): 3-21. [Download]

• Nicolau, Hugo, and Joaquim Jorge. "Elderly text-entry performance on touchscreens." Proceedings of the 14th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility. ACM, 2012. [Download]

• Murata, Atsuo, and Hirokazu Iwase. "Usability of touch-panel interfaces for older adults." Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 47.4 (2005): 767-776. [Download]

• Phiriyapokanon, Tanid. "Is a big button interface enough for elderly users." Towards user interface guidelines for elderly users. Sweden, Mälardalen University. Thesis (Master of Computer Engineer) (2011). [Download]

• Dickinson, Anna, John Arnott, and Suzanne Prior. "Methods for human–computer interaction research with older people." Behaviour & Information Technology 26.4 (2007): 343-352. [Download]

• Leonidis, Asterios, Margherita Antona, and Constantine Stephanidis. "Rapid prototyping of adaptable user interfaces." International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 28.4 (2012): 213-235. [Download]

• Kurniawan, Sri, and Panayiotis Zaphiris. "Research-derived web design guidelines for older people." Proceedings of the 7th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility. ACM, 2005. [Download]

• Story, Molly Follette, James L. Mueller, and Ronald L. Mace. "The universal design file: Designing for people of all ages and abilities." (1998). [Download]

• Persad, Umesh, Patrick Langdon, and John Clarkson. "Characterising user capabilities to support inclusive design evaluation." Universal Access in the Information Society 6.2 (2007): 119-135. [Download]

• Keates, Simeon, et al. "User models and user physical capability." User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction 12.2 (2002): 139-169. [Download]

• Making Your Web Site Senior Friendly. "A checklist." National Institute on Aging. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/checklist.pdf (2003). [Download]

Relevant venues

CHI Conference. Organised by SIGCHI.

SIGCHI is the premier international society for professionals, academics and students who are interested in human-technology & human-computer interaction (HCI).

Other conferences organised by SIGCHI: http://www.sigchi.org/conferences

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interactions

This ACM Transaction seeks to be the premier archival journal in the multidisciplinary field of human-computer interaction. Since its first issue in March 1994, it has presented work of the highest scientific quality that contributes to the practice in the present and future.

Website: http://tochi.acm.org

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies publishes original research over the whole spectrum of work relevant to the theory and practice of innovative interactive systems

Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-human-computer-studies/

Online Courses

Human-Centered Design: an Introduction

Link: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-design

Introduction to User Interface Design

https://www.coursera.org/course/uidesign1

Human-Centered Design: an Introduction

https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-computer-interaction

Design Principles: an Introduction

https://www.coursera.org/learn/design-principles

About me