I think I mentioned ticketing machines a while back in this thread,
albeit in the other direction, that they can have a lot of visual
design sometimes but very little direct interaction (a single button
press on some). Both, of course, are part of the UI, which just goes
to show how overlapping interaction design and visual design can be.
I really think the answer to the question "Can an interaction designer
create (great) interaction without (great) visual design skills?" is:
It depends.
If the user experience is primarily visually driven (something with a
lot of graphic information design, for example) then visual skills are
important to think through and design the interaction. If it's
primarily action driven (perhaps on a physical product) then the
interaction skills would come to the fore. Multitouch requires them
both because often the interface and the content are the same thing,
as it were. Then, of course, there are disciplines like Service Design
that might be about designing verbal or human-human interactions,
which requires another set of skills, not primarily visual, although
it helps to describe what you are on about.
It also depends on who you are working with too. Martin Scorsese's
storyboards for Taxi Driver were pretty much just stick men drawings.
Michael Chapman's cinematography brought to life the miserable rain-
soaked loneliness of late-night New York taxi driving. (Thanks to the
wonder that is YouTube, you can watch a side-by-side comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQV21hkMjI
)
Best,
Andy
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Polaine
Research | Writing | Strategy
Interaction Concept Design
Education Futures
Twitter: apolaine
Skype: apolaine
http://playpen.polaine.com
http://www.designersreviewofbooks.com
http://www.omnium.net.au
http://www.antirom.com
________________________________________________________________
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
