Interaction design is a design approach that is focused on building interactive and engaging digital products and services. Applications, software, and websites all involve interaction design.
5 Dimensions of Interaction Design
Designers consider these five dimensions of interaction design when designing a product or website:
1D: Words
Words convey meaningful information to users in design. For example, a “Book Demo” label on a CTA button tells users exactly what to expect when they click the button.
2D: Visual representations
Images, symbols, or other graphic representations can relay important information to users. For example, instead of text explaining the key benefits of a product, a designer might create custom iconography that clearly depicts each benefit.
3D: Physical objects
Certain objects can be used to enable users to interact with a graphical user interface. For example, you can use a stylus with a tablet or a mouse with a computer. Even using your hands to interact with a touch screen is an example of interaction design. Designers must consider the medium a user will use to interact with the screen, and then create design elements to work efficiently with that medium.
4D: Time
Media elements like animations, videos, and sounds change over time. Designers must think through the user experience and consider how long a video or sound should play to create the optimal experience.
5D: Behaviour
This includes users’ physical and emotional responses as well as how the product itself reacts to the user’s actions and inputs.
Interaction design vs. UX
Interaction design and UX design go hand in hand, but interaction design is really a segment of UX design. It is specifically focused on the interactions that occur between a user and the product. UX design is more related to the customer journey as a whole and the experiences a user has along