Beyond Human Computer Interaction

Sharp, H. (2007). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. Hoboken: Wiley. [ chapter 5 ].

This chapter has described the different ways interactive products can be designed (both deliberately and inadvertently to make people respond in certain ways. The extent to which users will learn, buy a product online, quit a had habit, or chat with others depends on how convincing the interface is, how comfortable he or she feels when using a product, or how well he or she can test it. If the interactive product is frustrating to use, annoying, or patronizing, users will easily become angry and despondent, and often stop using it. If, on the other hand, the product is pleasurable, enjoyable to use, and snakes people feel comfortable and at ease, then they will continue to use it, make a purchase, return to the website, or continue to learn. Other key points in the article include:

  1. Affective aspects of interaction design are concerned with the way interactive systems engender emotional responses.
  2. Well—designed interfaces can elicit good feelings in people.
  3. Aesthetically pleasing interlaces can be a pleasure to use.
  4. Expressive interfaces can provide reassuring feedback to users as well as be informative and fun.
  5. Badly designed interfaces often make people frustrated and angry.
  6. Technologies can he designed to persuade people to change their behaviors or attitudes.
  7. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human qualities to objects.
  8. An increasingly popular form of anthropomorphism is to create agents and other virtual characters as part of an interface.
  9. Models of affect provide a way of conceptualizing emotional and pleasurable aspects of interaction design.

Sharps article inconjuction witht he previous articles in the course outline the impact that both good and bad design choices have in the overall end user experince of a learning envrionment. As Jan Plass has stated in class, every element in your design is based on a choice by the designer. We need to remember that their are aspects that may affect the our design choices, i.e., such as the affordances available in a given learning platform. However, there are amny choices that we are at the discretion of the designer. Proper interface design and interaction is crucial to the overall information architecture that we are responsible for building. Ultiamtely, designers need to consider the vast amounts of literature and case studies available of both good and bad interaction design. These previous failures and successes can provide us with the means to successful design a proper and successful learning envirionment.

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