After reading this paper, Interaction Criticism: A Proposal and Framework for a New Discipline of HCI by Jeff and Shaowen Bardzell, I came away with several insights to add to my personal design philosophy.
In the paper the authors claim that the HCI design process is missing an integral final step, the step of interaction criticism. There are many other art and design oriented fields, such as film and literature, which already have a culture of expert critics. It is suggested that HCI should borrow from these fields, and also that the inability to properly reflect could stagnate the growth and acceptance of HCI.
With regards to the overall idea and concepts contained in the paper, I am convinced that it is important to cultivate a corpus of critique knowledge. This is especially important in an emerging field. Another thing to add is the manner in which this paper was written. Many HCI papers take a scientific approach to a field that is intrinsically abstract. This paper takes more of a literary and artistic approach that I feel more adequately tackles the abstract nature of design. The true nature of design cannot be defined. Art is the better medium for defining the “indefinable.” Note that I am not suggesting that design is art, although it can be.
The parallel of HCI design to film and books is obvious (as noted in the paper). Film and books are the result of the creator and are experienced by an audience. They are the result of design just the same as any type of technology. HCI already borrows methods and techniques from many other fields (such as pyschology and anthropology). It seems only fitting to continue this transdisciplinary tradition by snatching up some literary and film influence.
