itsual Interaction Design
Overview
Interaction design focuses on the dialogue between user and system — what happens when someone acts, and how the system responds over time.
When to Use
- Designing complex workflows or multi-step processes
- Defining feedback, transitions, and motion
- Improving perceived performance and responsiveness
- Specifying gestures, shortcuts, or advanced interactions
Core Concerns
- Affordances and signifiers
- Feedback and system status
- Timing, motion, and transitions
- Error prevention and recovery
- Modes, shortcuts, and power-user paths
- Consistency of interaction patterns
Principles
- Provide immediate, understandable feedback
- Make consequences predictable
- Prevent errors where possible; make recovery easy when not
- Use motion to explain, not to decorate
- Respect user control and agency
Verification
- Users understand what just happened after an action
- Loading, success, and error states are intentional
- Interactions feel consistent across the product