JLynn

In his paper, Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design, Nathan Shedroff defines and discusses "Information Interaction Design." In a nutshell:

• Information Design: organization of data into information
• Interaction Design: the creation of the interactive experience. Look to the performing arts for richest development in this area
• Sensorial Design: addresses influence and interaction that the creation/presentation of of media has with the five senses.

Overall, I thought the paper was interesting. But he made some pretty broad statements that I didn't agree with. While I understand the paper was meant to provide just a cursory explanation of the topic, I'd be interested to see his rationale for them:

"The process of creating is roughly the same in any medium," (p.1) I have a hard time equating the process of taking part in an impromptu conversation, with the process of say, writing a novel, which gives the producer of the interaction a great deal more time deliberate.

He illustrates his "continuum of Interactivity" by placing certain activities on the continuum. He starts by saying that reading a book and watching TV are passive activities - and I agree - but then he goes on to say that painting and TV production is interactive. I thought is was strange to discuss the degree of interaction of both the audience AND the producer; his illustration confuses me because the former activities are activities of an audience, while the later are activities of the producers. I guess I'm looking for a clearer definition of "interaction."