Jonas, I loved your post but as I read and reread it something bothered me.
You wrote: > - One is the ability to "sketch interaction" by experimenting in code (or > hardware, for that matter). The point is that key qualities of interaction > design are in the interactive behavior over time. If you want to design > innovative interaction, you must be able to sketch your ideas in forms that > you can actually play with to judge how they feel, in order to guide your > further explorations. Wireframes, storyboards, video scenarios, etc. are no > substitutes for experimental programming when it comes to designing > innovative interaction. This is intriguing and I immediately saw your point. However, doing this in practice gets progressively costly as the complexity of the interaction increases. You are pointing to a need for a 'representational technique' for interaction design; a need that right now can be only be fulfilled by coding or through tools such as iRise, Axure or plain click throughs. Can there be other ways to meet this need? Imagine an architect is designing a house for you. The process of design will take place in her mind as she considers your requirements and the experiential flow of spaces desired. She can communicate her ideas in ways that will add sufficiently to your understanding of her design. All of these would be poor substitutes for being able to walk through the house. But because we are talking about physical space, we intuitively understand an architects sketches, plans, walkthroughs etc.. So, in essence, my question is: What makes 'innovative' interaction schema so unique that we think we need actual prototypes? Is our understanding of the medium is limited in which case future generations will do better. Or is it a factor of the nature of the 'material' and the fact that it's constantly evolving? I've experimented with many techniques in the past. Initially, I relied solely on code/prototype to design but felt a little hamstrung. As I grew more at home with the 'material' I learned better to communicate my ideas on paper, whiteboard and through conversation. I guess you could say I became a better 'visual communicator'. :-) Regards, -Adamya ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
