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Interaction is a cost center in interface design

notes.andymatuschak.org · 387 words · saved by 1 readers

Interface designers are often interested in designing “engaging interactions,” but interactions are, by default, a burden imposed upon the user—a tax to be avoided. If I’m using an interface to analyze some data, the ideal is zero interactions: I read a screen of information, notice a pattern, and answer my question. Every filter box, navigation button, and scrubber is an extra cost. Of course, sometimes there’s too much information to understand without interaction, no matter how thoughtfully presented. In these instances, careful use of interactivity can yield benefit by filtering the possibility space, but that benefit must always be carefully balanced against the excise it imposes. Bret Victor additionally observes (2006): Interactivity has even worse problems than simply being a frustrating waste of time: The user has to already know what she wants in order to ask for it. Software that infers from history and the environment can proactively offer potentially relevant information t

Interaction is a cost center in interface design Interaction is a cost center in interface design Interface designers are often interested in designing “engaging interactions,” but interactions are, by default, a burden imposed upon the user—a tax to be avoided. If I’m using an interface to analyze some data, the ideal is zero interactions: I read a screen of information, notice a pattern, and answer my question. Every filter box, navigation button, and scrubber is an extra cost. Of course, sometimes there’s too much information to understand without interaction, no matter how thoughtfully pre

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