Abstract

In this paper, we aim to portray the emergence and growth of interaction design within the practice of industrial design and show how the practitioners of industrial design have perceived this development. To achieve this, we first show the ambitions of the early pioneers, then bring forward how interaction design becomes an optional area for the industrial design professionals and how it is adopted by industrial designers and then finally how it becomes an area on its own within industrial design based organisations. To picture these developments within the professional practice of industrial design, we use the voices of industrial designers and interaction designers themselves. Much of the primary material for this paper has been gathered through three sets of interviews between early 2000 and 2012 in Finland, USA and Sweden. From this study, we see that the development of interaction design within industrial design does not follow a chronological path. The understanding of interaction design varies among industrial design practitioners. Hence, it is very much related with how organisations make investments and adopt interaction design as a professional practice either in-house or out-source, as well as the cultural contexts of the environment in which it is performed.

Keywords

Industrial Design; Interaction Design; Comprehension; Diffusion

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Jun 16th, 12:00 AM

How Has Interaction Design been Perceived by Industrial Designers?

In this paper, we aim to portray the emergence and growth of interaction design within the practice of industrial design and show how the practitioners of industrial design have perceived this development. To achieve this, we first show the ambitions of the early pioneers, then bring forward how interaction design becomes an optional area for the industrial design professionals and how it is adopted by industrial designers and then finally how it becomes an area on its own within industrial design based organisations. To picture these developments within the professional practice of industrial design, we use the voices of industrial designers and interaction designers themselves. Much of the primary material for this paper has been gathered through three sets of interviews between early 2000 and 2012 in Finland, USA and Sweden. From this study, we see that the development of interaction design within industrial design does not follow a chronological path. The understanding of interaction design varies among industrial design practitioners. Hence, it is very much related with how organisations make investments and adopt interaction design as a professional practice either in-house or out-source, as well as the cultural contexts of the environment in which it is performed.

 

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