INTERACTIVE DESIGN - Definition

Interactive design is essentially communication between people. The aim of an interactive design is to facilitate interactions between humans. It is simply about making connections between people. At the centre of the interaction design is the product, its behavior, how it works and the systems that enable a user to interact with the product. The aim of interaction design is to create an interaction between the product and then user of the product, to make the experience of using the product a convenient and pleasurable one. It is a user-centred design and takes into consideration the wishes of real users - there goals, tasks, experience, needs and wants. The interaction designer approaches or creates his design from a user centered perspective. In doing so they balance users needs with business goals and technological capabilities. As ixda.com states "interaction designers provide solutions to complex design challenges, and define new and evolving interactive products and services. The successful promotion of a product depends on good interaction design." Ixda.com goes on to state that "a good interaction design has the following characteristics:

• effectively communicates a system's interactivity and functionality
• defines behaviors that communicate a system's responses to user interactions
• reveals both simple and complex workflows
• informs users about system state changes
• prevents user error."
  

Interactive Design has shaped the way the society operates and functions. Who would have thought that when playing our Playstations, using our mobiles and surfing the web, we are engaging in forms of interactive design.