Surveying the Landscape

Having spent the past weeks learning about the history of graphic and interaction design, the module concluded with a look at what the future holds for Interaction Design. The contexts for which design is display are constantly evolving as technology improves at a rapid pace. Designers who once designed advertisements on large templates have been been forced to adapt to a trend of screens which continue to reduce in size each year to suit user accessibility. Interaction designers who were once able to create detailed designs for webpages displayed on large desktop screens must now reduce the elements contained within a work to fit within the boundaries of a handheld smartphone screen.

“If the album cover is to survive, it will have to learn to live with the modern media meltdown”

–   Adrian Shaughnessy

The content costumers consume has also caused design to become much more minimal to enhance readability. The shift from listening to music on record players to now streaming on services like Spotify and Apple Music has led to album art becoming gradually more simple in aesthetic. Until the early 2000s, music was primarily stored on hardcopies; designers were provided with a larger foundation to display several detailed elements and information on vinyl record and CD covers. However, the advancement of mobile music streaming has ceased the need to provide an albums context on its cover as it can be displayed elsewhere on the application. Thus, many designers have opted for incredibly cover designs as minimal as a single photograph as it is difficult for a mobile user to read text on a thumbnail sized plane.

Changing Mediums of Interacting with Technology

“[designers] need to make pages which are adaptable… accessible, regardless of browser, platform or screen”

– John Allsopp

The physical formats in which we interact with design are also constantly evolving. The industry is constantly developing new technology which seeks to improve the experience of customers: where we once utilised a mouse and keyboard to interact with webpages on a desktop, gradually shifted to a mobile laptop and tactile sensor track pad; to touch screen devices like the smartphone and tablet which adapted the trackpad and removed the need for a physical keyboard completely. Now developers are challenging these handheld devices entirely, questioning whether we actually need a screen at all. The rise of contactless user experience is evident with the popularity of relatively hands-free, voice controlled assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana which have expanded an interaction designer’s role beyond creating visuals. Wearable technology is also incredibly popular with the introduction of products like the the Apple Watch which allows a user to complete functions like phone calls, messages and controlling music that were once only available on the phone. The small watch screen also provides interaction design with similar interesting challenges to creating minimised album art, as icons and menus must be shrunk down even further.

Changing Realities

Virtual and augmented realities are also set to replace the physical screen in the near future. Augmented Reality is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of overlaying digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology onto our physical environment. Examples of augmented reality includes interactive design like Snapchat and Instagram filters which can alter a users physical appearance or the viral 2016 gaming application Pokemon Go.

Virtual Reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. The user becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions – rather than the digital, visual elements adapting to the users environment like in augmented reality. Novelty devices like virtual reality glasses which in past years have entered the mainstream to simulate video games and animated experiences like skydiving, are now being developed in fields like medicine. In 2016, the first virtual reality surgery was performed by Dr. Shafi Ahmed who wore a virtual reality headset which broadcasted the 3 hour removal of cancerous tissue from a patient. In 2018, doctors at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute built 3D visual maps of cancerous cells by using virtual reality technology, allowing researchers to better analyse tutors and develop new therapies.

Gesture-Based Technology

Evolving the use of touch screen movements, companies are now exploring how an individual can utilise movement to interact with technology. Eye tracking technology is being developed by companies like Sony, which would allow contacts and glasses to monitor a user’s eye movement; enabling a user to initiate actions such as selecting icons and recording their perspective with need for screens or touch. The Future Interfaces Group is an interdisciplinary research lab aiming “to create new sensing and interface technologies that foster powerful and delightful interactions between humans and computers”. It was really interesting to learn about new inventions developed by the group like ActiTouch (2019): “a robust, touch detection for on screen augmented and virtual reality interfaces”. Previous products which utilised computer hand-tracking and the skin as an interface, struggled to differentiate touching the surface with hovering over the skin, forcing users to make exaggerated motions to complete actions. The ActiTouch utilises a two components: receiver integrating into an AR/VR headset and a transmitter worn like a smartwatch on the users wrist. The components creates an electrical circuit which creates signals that indicates whether the two arms are touching. This, in conjunction with the headsets ability to track the hands movements produces an efficient touch detection and tracking precision. This innovative development creates possibilities like making phone calls or scrolling through your music library on the palm of your hand and creates opportunities for interaction designers to produce new, interesting formats that fit this device.