Thoughtful Interaction Design: A Design Perspective on Information Technology

by Jonas Löwgren

The authors of Thoughtful Interaction Design go beyond the usual technical concerns of usability and usefulness to consider interaction design from a design perspective. The shaping of digital artifacts is a design process that influences the form and functions of workplaces, schools, communication, and culture; the successful interaction designer must use both ethical and aesthetic judgment to create designs that are appropriate to a given environment. This book is not a how-to manual, but a collection of tools for thought about interaction design.

Working with information technology—called by the authors "the material without qualities"—interaction designers create not a static object but a dynamic pattern of interactivity. The design vision is closely linked to context and not simply focused on the technology. The authors' action-oriented and context-dependent design theory, drawing on design theorist Donald Schön's concept of the reflective practitioner, helps designers deal with complex design challenges created by new technology and new knowledge. Their approach, based on a foundation of thoughtfulness that acknowledges the designer's responsibility not only for the functional qualities of the design product but for the ethical and aesthetic qualities as well, fills the need for a theory of interaction design that can increase and nurture design knowledge. From this perspective they address the fundamental question of what kind of knowledge an aspiring designer needs, discussing the process of design, the designer, design methods and techniques, the design product and its qualities, and conditions for interaction design.

Genres: Nonfiction, Design

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2007

Reviews

[Kars · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more of a slog than I wish it was, because the content of the book is actually quite interesting and refreshing. Rather than offering prescriptions for how to *do* interaction design, this book challenges the reader to be (wait for it) thoughtful. Which is to say, it talks about how to *think about* interaction design. It a shame the prose is rather lifeless and detached because the book does offer a range of frames for thinking about our practice which I wish were more widely accepted.