INTERACTION DESIGN

Interaction Design Is an approach to design developed by Bill Moggridge and Bill Verplank. It is focused on the behaviour of the end user and how they would best interact with the product/object, or in my case instrument.

(Bill Verplank, 2000)

Above is a diagram illustrating the basics of interaction design taken from a lecture by Bill Verplank at CCRMA. First and foremost the do and feel are the most important areas of interaction design, essentially it's asking when a user interacts with an object what feedback will they receive from it to improve the interaction. For example in the case of levers where pulling the lever clearly moves it into a different space and also provides tactile feedback.

However simply acting on an object and feeling it's response is not enough for an effective design. The user needs some way of knowing what actions on the object will yield which results. In order to do this there are 2 main methodologies. One of these is to map out the interface so the user can see what actions will bring about the results they want and achieve them by taking any route through the object or software. Another way of doing this is with the path methodology essentially this means that the user has to follow a certain protocol to reach the desired output. 

Each method has their own advantages and disadvantages. The path methodology is better for new users as it provides step by step feedback. However this also lends itself to high efficiency when placed in the hands of expert users as there is less need for thought in the process. Maps however are based around the idea that there is not necessarily only one way to achieve the desired reaction and there may be alternatives available and different routes one could take to reach the same end goal. This can be seen all the time in software design where there are often multiple ways of achieving the same results.

References:

Mr. Bill Verplank (2000) INTERACTION DESIGN, Available at: http://www.billverplank.com/Lecture/ (Accessed: 28th November 2015).