Comments on: Photos for interaction http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/ Boxes and Arrows is devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business. Wed, 15 May 2013 11:41:04 +0000 hourly 1 By: designoutlouod http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7305 designoutlouod Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7305 I wouldn’t call myself a visual designer, but I am a photographer and interaction designer, so I very much appreciate thoughts such as these. How nice it will be to one day be free of artificial constraints of corners and straight lines and interact with textures and images we recognize and feel. The types of designers need to group together (as mentioned here http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/bringing-holistic on B&A) to prevent mis-application of the use of photos.

]]> By: julz http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7306 julz Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7306 Hey what’s with the headings on this page??? the vertical space (in flock & FF) above the headings is less than the space underneath. So the connection that the user would have with the previous paragraph is stronger than the subsequent paragraph, I’d suggest reversing the spacing to give a greater connection with the subsequent paragraph.

]]> By: stuartcollett http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7307 stuartcollett Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7307 Really interesting article.

Thanks Milan.

]]> By: baumr1 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7308 baumr1 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7308 @Julian Taverner Thanks for the suggestion. We’ve updated the spacing.

]]> By: monkeyshine http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7309 monkeyshine Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7309 Okay, so my disclaimer is that I am an art director/visual designer who also happens to have interaction design experience. The phrase in this article that furrowed my brow is “design behind the design.” I don’t believe visual design can be separated from interaction design; they are fluid and overlap (or should). The only real solution to this is collaboration. An information architect and visual designer should be working hand in hand from a strategic perspective.

]]> By: chrbutler http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7310 chrbutler Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7310 Milan,

Your article stimulated a lot of ideas for me- thanks for an insightful piece. This quote in particular:

“People in the roles of information architects or interaction designers tend to concentrate on their part of the job and leave subsequent visual decisions to the graphic or visual designers, which is of course always a good way to start. Nevertheless, all designers (including the two disciplines mentioned before) should be able to actively think about and contribute to the concrete, sensual appearance of the final product, since this is what design is all about.”

When I look at the screenshot of the login form for the Van De Weghe Fine Art gallery, it’s clear that, functionally, the page is a simple two-field form, but the substance of it is significantly altered by the photograph illustrating the “room” metaphor. Cases like this one reinforce the point that seemingly aesthetic choices will affect how a tool is used and should not be considered separate from the UX or IA process.

Chris

]]> By: scenario2 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7311 scenario2 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7311 I created a dashboard from the visual elements of a report.
This will be used to measure current state with objectives, a classic KPI.
My next project will be to create a web site from all of the elements.

My site: http://www.neuropersona.com
Original report: http://neuropersona.wordpress.com/web-persona-analytics/uniqlo_2009/
Visual Dashboard: http://brandwarfare.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/visual-brand-dashboard/

In one sense I do something similar with a persona construct which I call NEUROPERSONA
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nick.trendov/Persona%20and%20Story%20Lens%20S2.html

I would say that photography creates the impression of being immersed.
Many companies are working hard at immersion, Second Life and other on-line communities are examples.
However, I am a storyteller and I believe simple stories with complementary photographs can do better.
Video of course is sexier as it contains voice and/or music but for me the stories and photos are far more flexible.

Great article.

Cheers,
Nick

]]> By: milan http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7312 milan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/photos-for-interaction/#comment-7312 Chris, thanks very much for your comment. There are a lot of discussions going on on the scope of disciplines like IA and IxD, and if UX is the sum of the two or the two plus Visual plus Usability plus … whatever. I think every *designer* should care about how the product he works on is perceived, so a good Graphic Designer will also care about the representation of information, and a good IA or IxD may use something visual like photography to “render” the concept.

Nick, immersion is an important point, and photography is imho a great medium to strive for it, to start a “visual dialogue” with the user. This may also be used for persuasion or for creating something like a social space in applications. In dashboards and other information media, the use of photos as decoration is very poor in most cases. If there is no consequent, holistic design wherein the photography plays an important role for either information or interaction, a design without photos is always better than one with a poor integration of the medium. Have a look at this book review for a short intro on visual dashboard design: http://eric.jain.name/2006/01/02/information-dashboard-design/

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