Design research in the

Within the broad scope of professional design practice, my specific area of interest is the emerging discipline of interactive design. In essence, the discipline is the marriage of human and machine, allowing the user to interface with information, devices, or even more importantly, other people. One may argue this belongs within the domain of graphic design because information is conveyed by words and pictures arranged logically for the benefit of the user. However, unlike graphic design, the user also acts upon information through various input methods including some compelling advances in technology such as touch, gesture and voice.

Designing for the interaction between human and machine is, therefore, a carefully thought out and appropriate orchestration of actions, reactions, input and feedback as a task or sequence ending with the user’s desired result. And the process always starts with user. This mode of design thinking is referred to as human-centered design and is predicated on the notion that the user’s needs, goals and aspirations are first and foremost in the design process. Following this process, the interface (or UI) is the conduit between human and machine, and this is the space in which an interactive designer works. Great interactive design is considering the whole experience, and the best result is when the user does not even notice.