Architecture and Interaction Design

In a magazine, Architecture Review April 2007, there is an article by Francis Duffy entitled "Designing Interactions". The question asked is "What can architecture learn form the computing sector, and how might it influence the way architects think about offices and the city."

It was really great to see our field getting highlighted outside the industry. Felt even better that it was given such great importance and that someone was trying to incorporate our principles to help with the world of architecture. I found it funny that the article stated how we have taken their terminology such as "architecture" and "information architect" and applied it to our own domain. Duffy declared that it was time to take things from us to apply to them :)

Some of his main points were that architects need to be more consumer conscious and design buildings for the enhancment of quality interactions amongst people and their spaces wherever they may be (school, shop, offices). Duffy encourages architects to develop their version of interaction design to show how the "intelligent design of real places" can assist their clients.

It is interesting to read that architects will be turning to HCI principles to help them build better structures based on what is important to their clients. It seems like there will be a new mind set to build buildings based on the type of interaction its inhabitants will have instead of just constructing a building.

I know there is a flash-intro debate.. but this is ridiculous

The other day, I went to a website and was trying to see the contents of a drop down menu across the top. When I got to the page, a little graphic on the side "started". I don't even remember what the promotion was for but a HUGE dinosaur head suddenly took more than HALF the screen! I was getting incredibly annoyed at how the head kept growing and what makes it worse- there was no "close X" button! That is how long the graphic was active that I had time to frantically search for an option to turn it off. When the head grew to its full graphic size it then quickly decreased and went back to the little original little graphic on the side....it reminded me of a ghost trying to get out of the ghost busters trap box and suddenly getting pulled back in.

Problem #1: NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH THAT! What was the point of that animation?? Yes it called attention but it totally frustrated me and made me anxious. The whole animation was incredibly overwhelming. It had nothing to do with the site I was on. It was a just a graphic ad.

Problem #2: If there was a need to put that animation there for financial reasons, why was the user not given the option to turn it off or close it??

I give this little incident two thumbs down!!!