Product, Industrial & Interaction Design

Watch

• The first secret of great design | Tony Fadell ↗TED
• Ask a Designer: Dieter Rams' 10 principles of good design ↗DW Euromaxx
• Design for Interaction - Graduation project ↗IDE TU Delft

Read

• The Design of Everyday Things ↗An indispensable primer on usability, this work illuminates how thoughtful design can simplify interaction and prevent user frustration, making it essential for any aspiring designer.Don Norman
• About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design ↗The definitive guide to crafting effective and intuitive digital interfaces, offering practical methodologies for goal-directed design that transcend mere aesthetics.Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher Noessel
• Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love ↗A pragmatic manual for product leaders and designers, detailing the processes and pitfalls of building successful technology products that genuinely resonate with users.Marty Cagan
• The Ten Principles of Good DesignA concise, enduring manifesto from a master industrial designer, outlining the timeless tenets of functional and aesthetically pure product creation.Dieter Rams
• Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things ↗Beyond mere utility, this work explores the profound psychological impact of design, revealing how aesthetics and emotion shape our interactions with products and experiences.Don Norman
• Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation ↗An influential exposition on 'design thinking,' demonstrating how a human-centered approach to problem-solving can drive innovation across diverse business sectors.Tim Brown

Voices to follow

• Don Norman ↗A foundational thinker in user experience, his work continues to shape how we understand the interaction between humans and technology.Cognitive scientist, author, former Apple VP
• Jony Ive ↗His minimalist aesthetic and relentless pursuit of integrated form and function have profoundly influenced modern consumer electronics.Industrial designer, former Chief Design Officer at Apple
• Tim Brown ↗A leading proponent of "design thinking", he champions a human-centred approach to innovation that transcends traditional product development.CEO and President of IDEO, author
• John Maeda ↗Bridging the worlds of art, design, and technology, he offers incisive commentary on the future of creativity and innovation in the digital age.Technologist, designer, author, former President of RISD
• Brenda Laurel ↗A pioneer in human-computer interaction and virtual reality, her work explores the theatrical and experiential dimensions of digital interfaces.Interaction designer, researcher, author, academic

Glossary

• AccessibilityAccessibility in design means making products, services, and environments usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. It ensures everyone can access and interact with things equally. For example, a website with good accessibility might have text that can be read aloud by a screen reader for visually impaired users, or clear color contrast for those with color blindness.
• Design ThinkingDesign Thinking is a way of solving problems that starts by deeply understanding the needs and challenges of the people who will use the product or service. It involves exploring many ideas, building prototypes, and testing them to find the best solution. For example, when designing a new school lunch program, design thinking would involve talking to students about what they like and dislike, then trying out different menu ideas.
• ErgonomicsErgonomics is the science of designing products and workspaces to fit the human body comfortably and efficiently, reducing strain and making them easy to use. It's about making things "user-friendly" for your physical self. For example, an ergonomic school backpack is designed to distribute weight evenly and support your back, making it more comfortable to carry.
• Industrial DesignIndustrial design focuses on making physical products look good, work well, and be easy to manufacture. It's about the shape, form, and function of everyday objects. For example, an industrial designer might design the exterior of a new car, a kitchen appliance like a toaster, or a school chair.
• Interaction Design (IxD)Interaction design is about how people use and experience digital products, like apps or websites. It focuses on making sure the actions you take (like tapping a button) lead to clear and helpful responses. For example, when you tap a "Like" button on social media and it instantly changes color, that's good interaction design showing your action was successful.
• Product DesignProduct design is the whole process of creating a new item that a company wants to sell to people. It involves figuring out what people need, how the product will look and work, and how it will be made. For example, designing a new smartphone involves deciding its features, shape, materials, and how easy it is to use.
• PrototypeA prototype is an early, simple version of a product built to test ideas and see how it works before making the final one. It helps designers get feedback and make improvements. For example, before building a new video game console, designers might create a basic, non-working model out of cardboard to test its size and how it feels to hold.
• UsabilityUsability describes how easy and effective a product is for people to use to achieve their goals. A highly usable product is simple to learn, efficient to operate, and helps users avoid mistakes. For example, if a new water bottle is easy to open, fill, and clean without spilling, it has good usability.
• User Experience (UX)User Experience, or UX, is all about how a person feels when they use a product, whether it's an app, a website, or a physical item. It covers everything from how easy it is to find what you need to how enjoyable the whole process is. For example, if an online shopping app is confusing and slow, it has a bad UX; if it's easy to navigate and fun to use, it has a good UX.
• User Interface (UI)User Interface, or UI, is the visual part of a digital product that you see and interact with, like the buttons, icons, text, and colors on an app or website. It's about how the product looks and feels. For example, the layout of buttons on your phone screen, the fonts used in an app, and the color scheme of a website are all part of its UI.

Threads 5

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Pedagogy & Instruction Education

  A good app hides its messy code and just gives you a clean button to press. Great teaching does the exact same thing: the expert buries the complicated parts and hands you the one handle you can actually grab. Bad teaching is like a terrible app that dumps every confusing detail on you at once.

• Media Law & Freedom of the Press Media

  The same design smarts that make an app easy and pleasant can be flipped into a trap. A 'dark pattern' uses that smoothness against you, like making the 'subscribe' button huge and the 'cancel' link nearly invisible. Good design tricks got so sneaky that consumer laws now have to police the layout of a screen.

• Philosophy of Technology Philosophy

  A flat metal plate on a door 'says' push; a handle 'says' pull, without a word. Philosophers noticed objects carry silent instructions built into their shape, and designers turned that idea ('affordances') into a founding rule of their craft. Good design is an object teaching you how to use it before you think.

• The Cell & Molecular Biology Science

  Inside your cells, parts don't get bolted together on an assembly line. They fold up and click into place all by themselves, no factory needed. That's the dream every product designer secretly wants: objects that build themselves. Biology has been doing it inside you this whole time.

• Inclusive Education Education

  Cutting a dip in the sidewalk was meant for wheelchairs, but now it helps parents with strollers, travelers with suitcases, and skateboarders too. Captions made for deaf viewers now save everyone watching TV in a loud bar. Design for the person at the extreme, and you quietly make life better for absolutely everyone. That's the curb-cut effect.