Visual design and interaction should not be considered separate issues, and as long as they are, the final design will not be truly great.
The very fact that exceptional visual design can compensate for poor interaction should be a big clue that, for the user, the whole design is one thing - that the visual aspects *are* the design in many ways, and to draw some imaginary line between visual and interaction design is artificial and often likely to erode the synergy of the final design. When these skills are found in one person - which does happen - so much the better. It's easier and faster to get holistic design when the designer has solid skills in both areas because there's a lot less back-and-forth involved; having a great interaction and a great visual designer is fine too, but they should become conjoined twins for the design process to enable great design. Having visual skills absolutely helps to design interaction. One of the first interactions the user has with a product is eye movement. Where the user's eye travels, how it tracks the product, what it is drawn to, all are a direct result of the visual design. If a workflow consists of "click this, go there, click that," the workflow is really "notice this, ignore those, click this, go there, ignore all of that, click that." If the visual flow isn't supporting that workflow, even subtly, you have a usability problem. The visuals - not just icons and prettiness, but how the design principles are employed, such as visual flow, continuity, hierarchy, feedback, proximity, visibility, mapping, visual distribution, etc. - are part of the overall experience and users will react to them. And this emotional response is absolutely a part of the interaction. "... no one "interacts" with our artwork, except to form an [...] emotional response..." That is the interaction. Consider these two things: http://screencast.com/t/pXQ9ia7FG Their designs are pretty much identical with only visual differences, but will a user interact with them in the same way? Sylvania Dye User Experience Designer Techsmith Corp. ________________________________________________________________ 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
