top » design » types of design » interaction design

7 Types of Interaction Design

John Spacey, updated on July 22, 2018

Interaction design is the creation of environments that people use. This includes the design of products, services, experiences and explorable environments. Interaction design is hopelessly intertwined with other design disciplines such as visual design, information design, product design, service design and user experience. It also has far reaching implications in areas such as interior design, engineering and urban design. The following are common elements of interaction design.

Users

Interaction design is all about people. This includes thought processes, needs, expectations and perceptions. As such, it is considered naive to design interactions without being fully engaged with users. This can be superficially solved with abstractions such as user personas. It is far better to be engaged with users and immersed in the culture surrounding your products.

Context Of Use	Customer Perceptions
Feasibility Studies	Lead Users
Prototypes	User Experience
User Needs	User Persona

Human Factors

Human factors are the physical, cognitive and behavioral characteristics of people. This is commonly applied to interaction design to ensure interfaces are useful for as many people as possible. For example, human factors is used to model the needs of people with disabilities to ensure designs are universally accessible.

Ban The Average	Decision Fatigue
Edge Cases	Human Error
Human Factors	Human Scale
Situational Awareness	Universal Design

User Interfaces

The design of tools and environments that can be controlled and/or explored by people. User interfaces may be designed to be productive and pleasing to use such that controls feel intuitive and environments are either stimulating or relaxing.

Complexity Hiding	Fit For Purpose
Modeless Design	Principle Of Least Astonishment
Principle Of Least Effort	Usability
User Intent	User Interface Design

Sensory Design

Designing for the senses including visual design, look and feel, product form and other experiences of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and sensation.

Color Theory	Form Factor
Graphic Design	Haptic Perception
Look And Feel	Sensation
Sensory Design	Visual Design

Information Architecture

The structural design of information environments. This is typically intended to organize complex and rich information resources into manageable units that are easy to explore.

Choice Architecture	Drill Down
Information Architecture	Information Density
Information Overload	Information Scent

Information Design

The design of information itself including media, text, game content, documents and software interfaces. Information design is about communicating effectively whereas information architecture is about making information easy to find.

Communication Objectives	Composition
Information Design	Layout
Message Framing	Negative Space
Target Audience	Typography

Technology

The design of technology for user interaction. Most interaction designers work with commercially available technologies. However, some are engaged in the research, development and commercialization of new technologies for user interfaces or environments.

Affective Computing	Digital Experience
Digital Twin	Gamification Techniques
Mixed Reality	Natural Language Processing
Pervasive Computing	Reliability Engineering

Overview: Interaction Design
Type	Types Of Design
Definition (1)	The design of environments that people use.
Definition (2)	The practice of designing user interfaces for products, services and tools.
Related Concepts	Types Of Design » Visual Design » Information Design » Product Design » Service Design » User Experience »