Transition from Visual Design to Interaction Design

Over the past month at Planet Argon, I’ve been taking on more interaction design work. Mostly because there’s a gap to be filled with all the design work on our plate, but also because I said I was willing to take it on. Visual design to interaction design doesn’t seem like a huge transition on the surface (it’s all design right?), but it has really been a challenge.

Maybe I’m still hanging out in the web standards design blogosphere too much, but finding IxD & IA blogs to read have been few and far between. The ones I have found get updated once every 8 months or so. In an effort to spread the knowledge, here are some initial thoughts and experiences from an IxD n00b:

• Designing for interaction requires a lot more thought – Seems like an obvious assertion. Creating an user experience with interaction and behaviors that users have to interact with on a computer is a daunting task. In visual design, design decisions are based on an emotional response. Visual design for web applications—most of the thinking is already done for you.
• The sketchbook is your friend – Until recently, I didn’t do much sketching. I had nothing against it—it was a personal preference. After doing some sketching for a current project, I have found it useful in getting solutions & ideas out of my head quickly and with little effort.
• Wireframes versus HTML Wireframes & Prototyping – I am a big proponent of HTML wireframing & prototyping. Web applications encompass a lot of different interactions, some simple, some not so simple. Asking a client to fully understand a paper document made up of interface elements and interactions is asking too much. Paper is an inherently static medium, which is counterintuitive to the point of having wireframes in the first place. On the other hand, HTML wireframes & prototyping can capture interactions exactly same way as the will be in the final product. The design document is actually the final product. This topic is a blog post in itself, so I’ll leave it at that.
• OmniGraffle is the worst (wireframing) tool ever – I’ve been taking my OmniGraffle rants out on twitter for the last couple of weeks. I really don’t understand why people love OmniGraffle so much. Maybe Photoshop spoiled me with all the keyboard shortcuts, but I’ll be damned if I have to use the mouse for everything. Having “hot keys” for the tools is ridiculous. Not only that, OmniGraffle seems to have a problem nudging things around when nobody is looking. I’ve went to other pages and come back to see elements nudged over 1px. I’d use OmniGraffle for flowcharts and diagrams, but anything interface related? most definitely not.

Overall, I really enjoy what interaction design & information architecture has to offer. It may not be something I ever master, but putting my brain to work to turn client ideas and business goals into something real that people can use is something I can get passionate about.