Affect and Machine Design: Lessons for the Development of Autonomous Machines  

Human beings have evolved a rich and sophisticated set of processes for engaging with the world in which cognition and affect play two different but equally crucial roles. Cognition interprets and makes sense of the world. Affect evaluates and judges, modulating the operating parameters of cognition and giving a warning about possible dangers. The study of how these two systems work together provides guidance for the design of complex autonomous systems that must deal with a variety of tasks in a dynamic, often unpredictable, and sometimes hazardous environment.

Norman, Donald A., A. Ortony and D.M. Russell. JND.org (2003). Design>Human Computer Interaction>Web Design

Ajax for Java developers: Build Dynamic Java Applications

The page-reload cycle presents one of the biggest usability obstacles in Web application development and is a serious challenge for Java™ developers. In this series, author Philip McCarthy introduces a groundbreaking approach to creating dynamic Web application experiences. Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a programming technique that lets you combine Java technologies, XML, and JavaScript for Java-based Web applications that break the page-reload paradigm.

McCarthy, Philip. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

AJAX: Highly Interactive Web Applications  

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX has recently been gaining attention as a way to make web applications more interactive. While it can reduce apparent latency between user interaction and application response, it can cause user interface, maintainability, and accessibility issues.

Giglio, Jason. Psychemorphic (2006). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

The Ajax Transport Method

Discover three Ajax data transport mechanisms (XMLHttp, script tags, and frames or iframes) and their relative strengths and weaknesses. This tutorial provides code for both the server side and the client side and explains it in detail to provide the techniques you need to put efficient Ajax controls anywhere you need them.

Herrington, Jack D. IBM (2006). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Ajax: Usable Interactivity with Remote Scripting

This article aims to give you an introduction to the foundations of remote scripting, in particular, the emerging XMLHttpRequest protocol. We'll then walk through an example application that demonstrates how to implement that protocol, while creating a usable interface.

Adams, Cameron. SitePoint (2005). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Alan Cooper Speaks! Impressions from BayCHI April 2002

On the second Tuesday of every month, BayCHI, the Bay Area chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM) special interest group on Computer-Human Interaction convenes. Brad Lauster shares his impressions of the discussion with Alan Cooper and the nature of Interaction Design.

Lauster, Brad. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design

Big Architect, Little Architect

First came the primordial soup. Thousands of relatively simple single-celled web sites appeared on the scene, and each one was quickly claimed by a multi-functional organism called a "webmaster." A symbiotic relationship quickly became apparent. Webmaster fed web site. Web site got bigger and more important. So did the role of the webmaster. Life was good. Then, bad things started to happen. The size and complexity and importance of the web sites began to spiral out of control. Mutations started cropping up. Strange new organisms with names like interaction designer, usability engineer, customer experience analyst, and information architect began competing with the webmaster and each other for responsibilities and rewards. Equilibrium had been punctuated and we entered the current era of rapid speciation and specialization.

Morville, Peter. Argus Center (2000). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Project Management

Boxes and Arrows

Boxes and Arrows is the definitive source for the complex task of bringing architecture and design to the digital landscape. There are various titles and professions associated with this undertaking—information architecture, information design, interaction design, interface design—but when we looked at the work that we were actually doing, we found a “community of practice” with similarities in outlook and approach that far outweighed our differences. Boxes and Arrows is a peer-written journal dedicated to discussing, improving and promoting the work of this community, through the sharing of exemplary technique, innovation and informed opinion.

Boxes and Arrows. Journals>Web Design>User Centered Design>Interaction Design

El Control de la Interacción

La interacción en un elemento clave en la adquisición de conocimiento. Depende básicamente de dos factores: tiempo y control. En el artículo anterior hablamos del primero. En éste consideramos la importancia del control y las técnicas para llevarlo a cabo.

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>Interaction Design

Depth vs Breadth in the Arrangement of Web Links

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of depth and breadth of web site structure on the user response time.

Mtei, Lianaeli and Panayiotis Zaphiris. SHORE (1997). Design>Web Design>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Devilish Details: Best Practices in Web Design  

Visual and interaction design for successful e-commerce Web sites and Web-based applications requires meticulous attention to detail. Because the smallest matters can ruin the user experience, an orderly process--such as usage-centered design--guided by robust principles is needed; iterative testing and repetitive redesign is inadequate to find and address all the diverse matters needing attention. This paper reviews basic principles and then surveys best practices in the detailed aspects of Web design in three broad areas: details of architecture or organization, details of interaction design, and details relating to commercial activity, especially shopping. Specific recommendations in each area are offered as examples of best practices based on usage-centered principles.

Constantine, Larry L. Constantine and Lockwood (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Interaction Design

Do Links Need Underlines?

During our recent Virtual Seminar on home page design, several people asked about whether it makes a difference if links are underlined or not. It's a good question and one we get frequently.

Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>Interaction Design

Editable HTML Content

One of the little known features of DHTML, at least within Internet Explorer 5.5 or above, is an attribute known as contentEditable. This attribute can be used to make areas of text within a Web page editable by the user. This is very different from a form element, such as a text box, as contentEditable can make a table cell, or a standard paragraph editable.

HyperWrite (2005). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>DHTML

The End of Web Design

Websites must tone down their individual appearance and distinct design in all ways: visual design; terminology and labeling; interaction design and workflow; and information architecture. These changes are driven by four different trends that all lead to the same conclusion.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Usability>Web Design>Interaction Design

Extending Motion into Interactivity: A Curriculum for Interaction Design  

One of the difficulties of teaching interaction design is its extremely vast scope. How do we decide what to emphasize and teach in this broad, multidisciplinary area? This article describes a framework for teaching interaction design that leverages basic art, design and motion skills taught in an art department. This framework also serves as a foundation for future discussions in theory.

Salto, Ron. AIGA (2002). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design

Fitts's User Interface Law Applied to the Web

Interface design is difficult in part because everything requires interpretation. A design that works for one task or one user might not be appropriate for another. In other types of engineering, like architecture or bridge building, designers can always rely on laws of physics and gravity to make designs work. There is at least one immutable rule for interface design that we know about, and it's called Fitts's Law. It can be applied to software interfaces as well as Web site design because it involves the way people interact with mouse or other pointing devices. Most GUI platforms have built-in common controls designed with Fitts's Law in mind. Many Web designers, however, have yet to recognize the powerful little facts that make this concept so useful.

Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2000). Design>User Interface>Human Computer Interaction>Web Design

HCI Usability: Impact of Style, Graphics, and Quality on Web-Site Effectiveness  

The rampant growth of the WWW has resulted in a very large number of web sites being produced and used before standards and guidelines for appearance and interaction could be developed and accepted. Two factors that could affect user performance and perceived quality of a web site are: surface blemishes added, and the presence of extra, gratuitous features. The effects of these two factors can be assessed through performance testing and attitudinal surveys. the approach or design criteria for each site. We chose as a basis, a classification presented by Karen Schriver of traditions that have shaped our thinking about, and approach to, document design and evaluation.

Grice, Roger A., Lenore S. Ridgway and Raymond A. Lutzky. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Human Computer Interaction>Web Design

Human Factors for Web Page Design  

Knowing the purpose of your web page is the most important step to applying human factors principles to your design. By understanding the special chahnges related to presenting information on a web page, in addition to understanding the way human-9 use their eyes, prioritize the information they process, and react to sound, you can apply principles of information design and interface design to create effective web pages. Numerous sources of information about what to do and what not to do on a web page are available from the World Wide Web.

Billard, Trish. STC Proceedings (1997). Design>Web Design>Human Computer Interaction

Human-Computer Interaction and Your Site

Ever wondered what makes some websites easier to use than others, or why some people seem to master new navigation systems quickly while others struggle to learn? Do you know why users get lost in electronic space or find it difficult to communicate with others through the medium of technology? These questions are just some of the driving forces behind research in the developing field of Human Computer Interaction.

Danino, Nicky. SitePoint (2002). Design>Web Design>Human Computer Interaction

Information, Interaction and Place  

In the graduate course Interactive Visual Communication and Interface Design students apply course principles by creating an interactive multimedia CD-ROM that integrates images, sound, and motion, founded on strong visual communication design principles. The course provides students with an opportunity to learn about important principles of interface design and the significance of integrating them with effective interaction design. It is also provides students with an adequate background in multimedia authoring and current associated technology. Students address issues concerning innovations in screen-based communication and the challenges associated with realizing them. Design solutions are directed to carefully address the specific requirements and abilities of the user audience; be easy to understand; and support the structure, meaning, and purpose of the information.

Stone, Brian. AIGA (2002). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design

Interaction Design History in a Teeny Little Nutshell  

Before computers, there wasn’t 'interaction design.' But most of the qualities we seek have been valued through the ages.

Rettig, Marc. MarcRettig.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>History

Interaction Design is Story Telling

Language is a unique communication system and fundamental to the survival of human beings. Story telling is a very old method to describe the facts, to spread knowledge, to share our experiences and feelings. A good story can be accepted and stored by our brain instantly, and leaving a long term effect on us. At the same time, it is also easy for people to understand and accept new facts and imagine similar scenarios as they happen in their own lives. In the following paragraph, let's examine why Interaction Design is story telling.

Jiang, Windy. uiGarden (2006). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design

Interaction Design Sessions

This article covers the design stage that marks the next step in the design process after site visits have been conducted and evaluated: It describes the process of successively deriving an interaction design from the data. The following article describes the creating of an interaction design - one of the most important steps involved in the creation of a user-oriented application system. This step is taken directly after the collection and analysis of data in working practice, gathered during site visits. The user interaction design is derived from this data successively.

Fuss, Margarete. SAP Design Guild (2002). Design>Information Design>Interaction Design>Web Design

Interaction Modeling: User State-Trace Analysis

Interaction modeling is a good way to identify and locate usability issues with the use of a tool. Several methods exist. Modeling techniques are prescriptive in that they aim to capture what users will likely do, and not descriptive of what users actually did.

Queen, Matt. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Interaction Design

Introducing Interaction Design

Well-designed interactive products allow people and technology to carry on a complex and elegant dance relying on multiple, simultaneous forms of communication. A new 12-part series will discuss the activity of interaction design as it relates to the Web, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the Web as an interactive medium.

Baxley, Bob. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design