I did not have any design background in my career path, however I was still eager for this class, because: one, I am fascinated in art and design; two, I am ready to pursue a career transition in the digital video creative field. Even though video production does not exactly belong to design, but the major rules are the same. I am very glad that I’ve gained precious knowledge of Interactive Design from two aspects in this class:
- User-Centered Analysis and Conceptual Design
In class 2, I have gained a lot of inspirations from a professional designer’s point of view: a deeply thinking of design usability. Before the class, as an amateur, I did not consider quite enough what factors are affecting users/audience; what do they expect from the design; what are the users’ aspirations, problems and motivations, etc. Those thinking should be pondered before actually starting the design process.
A good design should be interactive with the audience. Design is related to art, yet design is not exactly the same as art. I like this saying in the reading material, in the book The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda, design makes people clear, while art makes people wonder.
I have learned that before conduct a design, we should analyze the user first. Such as: Who are the users? How do users think and work? What do users want or expect from the design? Gathering and considering the users’ information will be significant for a good design.
In addition, I have learned the components of a design strategy. It includes: business goals, target users, general tasks, technological constraints, marketing goals, and critical success factors.
What I found most interesting and useful was to create a persona (a characterization of a single user group) and scenario, in order to evaluate the design. This persona should not be described as a real person, but it represents the key audience who will be using the design/product. I really like the conclusion of “focus on probabilities, not possibilities” The persona profile could really address all the challenges in the design strategy and pull the designer way closer to the users. We can actually feel how does the user feel.
- Visual Design Components
Not only have I learned how to conduct a design, but also how to critique a design. Class 3 was very important for me. I have learned the characteristics of usable interface. Is the interface easy to remember, easy to use? Is it consistent? Is it efficient? —-They are all necessary components for a designer to think about. And then, the class introduced the Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics. This is my first time to hear the concept. The 10 rules include:
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
10. Help and documentation
I also found the design analysis part was helpful. I have learned to separate the components and appreciate/critique them one by one, such as the color, composition, typography, grids, visual perception, and so on.
In class 4, we brought the theory into the real world. Students presented the good design works and bad design works. It was very interesting too see and feel how a design affects our lives in a way maybe we did not even pay attention before. Good designs make things easier, while bad ones really bother people and make us confused somehow. This class made me realize: design really matters!
All in all, the Interactive Design class I took gave me the knowledge and ability to analyze a digital product, to generate ideas and thoughts of conducting a design, it also taught me how to gather information to make a strategy, especially from a users’ point of view.
