Interaction Design Is Changing

We have seen some dramatic shifts in interaction design the last couple of decade. Interaction design has gone from being focused on providing good information in a functional and useful way to the design of interactions that also include the overall experience. There has over time been several of these shifts (sometimes called waves or paradigms). This constant development of the field is what makes it an exciting area to be in, and forces everyone to continuous learning and competence development.

I believe we are moving into another shift. It is not an obvious shift but over time it will lead to an important challenge when it comes to all interaction design. Once again technology development is the force behind the shift. The shift can simply be seen as having to do with the implementation of interactivity. Or where interactivity will be 'living'?

It is possible to think about three main forms of future interaction in relation to where it is implemented.

#1- we will always have the traditional form of implementation in stationary setups, that is the traditional interface (surface based),  any kind of interactive setup (interface) on a thing, machine, or equipment.

#2- we are already living with a new form of implementation, that is, the implementation in personal devices that we carry with us,  such as smartphones and other small devices.

#3- finally, we are seeing an emergent new form of implementation when we infuse our environments with interactive power where we interact just by doing things, moving around, without any designated surface/interface to engage with. The store door is an old but typical example. We interact with it just by walking towards it.

A lot of things differ between these forms of implementation. I will not go into any detail here since my purpose is to make the case that this ongoing shift in implementations of interaction will radically change interaction design.

We have seen many examples where interaction designers have moved the interactions from one implementation to another. For instance, doing online bank business was early on always done in a stationary setup which led to certain forms of interaction, and now it has (in many cases) moved to a personal device. This has not only changed where you can interact, but also how and when. And it has changed the overall experience of being in touch with your bank, accounts and money.

We also see a lot of interaction moving into the environment, where people do not have to 'interact' in any traditional sense. The house changes its temperature when you enter it. The environment knows where you are and what you want and acts accordingly.

So, as an interaction designer, when should your interaction be implemented as 1, 2 or 3?

This will become a hugely complex design problem. It is difficult to fully understand how a specific interaction can be implemented in all these forms. The technological possibilities are expanding. People's expectations are changing. To individual designers, this may be an overwhelming problem. But every interaction has to be implemented in some way so the decision is there to be made.

The shift from #1 to #2 has been exciting and is ongoing. The shift from to #3 has only just begun but will maybe, or probably, be even more dramatic. Are certain interactions not possible to move between the implementations? What are the proportions? Will we one day only have #3....