Abstract
It is important to be aware of different ways of seeing design quality of interactive artifacts in order to appreciate the various aspects of a design, but how do professional interaction designers understand design quality? In theory, one way of approaching design quality of interactive artifacts has been the Vitruvian principles of commodity, firmness and delight, originally created for architecture. Such frameworks are, however, seldom directly employed in practice. This paper investigates what conceptions professional interaction designers have of design quality for interactive artifacts. Interviews were conducted with ten designers. The analysis disclosed four conceptions concerning: (a) Constraints & contexts, (b) motivations & purposes, (c) use-qualities of functions & content, and (d) experiential qualities of form & behaviour. An awareness of these conceptions may facilitate the appreciation for different aspects and opportunities in a design situation.
Keywords
Interaction Design, Design Quality, Use-Qualities, Conceptions, User Experience
Citation
Arvola, M. (2010) Interaction Designers’ Conceptions of Design Quality for Interactive Artifacts, in Durling, D., Bousbaci, R., Chen, L, Gauthier, P., Poldma, T., Roworth-Stokes, S. and Stolterman, E (eds.), Design and Complexity - DRS International Conference 2010, 7-9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/3
Interaction Designers’ Conceptions of Design Quality for Interactive Artifacts
It is important to be aware of different ways of seeing design quality of interactive artifacts in order to appreciate the various aspects of a design, but how do professional interaction designers understand design quality? In theory, one way of approaching design quality of interactive artifacts has been the Vitruvian principles of commodity, firmness and delight, originally created for architecture. Such frameworks are, however, seldom directly employed in practice. This paper investigates what conceptions professional interaction designers have of design quality for interactive artifacts. Interviews were conducted with ten designers. The analysis disclosed four conceptions concerning: (a) Constraints & contexts, (b) motivations & purposes, (c) use-qualities of functions & content, and (d) experiential qualities of form & behaviour. An awareness of these conceptions may facilitate the appreciation for different aspects and opportunities in a design situation.