Interaction Design: A Visual Command Line

Interaction Design February 28, 2008

Code is essentially comprised of a bunch of functions that achieve some task. In the old days of computers, users would utilize these functions by typing something in some kind of command line. Even these days when writing programs, users can "interact" with them by simply writing function calls like the following:

> Cat c = new Cat("Muffin");

> c.meow()

> int x = c.calculateExponent(4,7);

In a visual design class, people create some form of static artwork (graphic design, drawing, painting, photography, etc.). In these cases, we are able to simply look at the final product, though we can't interact with it necessarily. There are plenty of design principles when it comes to layout - and in a sense, you would "interact" with a magazine based on its layout. Still, there's a limit to what choices the user can make. For instance, the user can't contribute anything to the magazine as though it were a public forum. Likewise, the user can't comment on an article in real-time nor can he/she add photos and whatnot.

Enter technological interaction design - a way for us combine the interactivity associated with command-line interaction with the visual designs we see around the world. Websites have, by far, the closest relationship between code and visual design. Yes, there plenty of elements of visual design in software, but websites are essentially a virtual piece of paper with all the same abilities that print design have and one extra component of interactivity.

Webpages are called "pages" for a reason. That terminology isn't used in software. We have the ability to print text and images just like we could in a newspaper, magazine or flyer. But whereas a poster you might see on a wall somewhere is static, we can now include users in our technology, allowing them to add to it, shape it, use it.

So when we design for a website, the functionality is more of a given. Everyone can write code. The focus is on how the code gets executed and the experience the user gets when interacting with it. This is interaction design - fusing visual design with coding functionality and defining how the two relate to each other and to the user.

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