Bill MoggridgeCritiques

A masterful synopsis of what interaction design is, how it came about, what it's useful for and how to do it. Contains many insightful interviews with major figures from the history of computing, some of which can be seen on the accompanying DVD. Lavishly produced, this is a readable work which can also be used as a reference. Very well thought through.

In Designing Interactions (2007) Moggridge outlines a much-needed canon of interaction design by focusing on milestone works and interviewing their creators. It was very successful, and deservedly so. In this book, Moggridge tries the same approach with the intention of understanding how the "new media" transform society's media structures. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this attempt falls kind of flat on its face. One reason could be that the book covers only the mainstream of "new media" (Facebook, Twitter, current.tv, Wikipedia, Wired and so on) without addressing any more conceptually important developments. Or perhaps is it because there is no trace of analysis informed by media studies or any other relevant branch of social science? Yet in my opinion, the most likely explanation is that what is interesting about the "new" media is that they are collaborative -- but Moggridge's approach of interviewing CEOs, journalists and lead designers leaves the users and their uses completely out of sight. We are left with an extremely one-sided producer's perspective, which may be useful to some extent but clearly tells less than half the story.

A truly remarkable book, painting a rich picture of interaction design practice by means of some forty journalistically rendered interviews with outstanding designers and a substantial piece of reflection on the author's own experience as an interaction designer. There are several strengths to the book: It adopts and illustrates a consistent design perspective (as opposed to, e.g., a HCI perspective); it gives roughly equal weight to hardware and software design; it covers the history of interaction design for personal computing as well as related fields including games, multimedia and service design; it is well designed and produced in itself, with a beautiful flow between sections and with generous and appropriate image material. The appended DVD provides interview segments and, more importantly, some demos to illustrate key topics. The only drawback I can find is a slight bias towards Silicon Valley people and practices, which is certainly historically justifiable but still constrains the overall picture somewhat. Nevertheless, I would consider this book to be required reading for all students, teachers and practitioners who need a comprehensive and up-to-date view of interaction design practice.

Each chapter is a single interview. Can be used independently. Lots of pictures. Good source for supplemental readings for class assignments.

This is a comprehensive and thoughtful review of the development of interaction design from the early days in Silicon Valley to future scenarios. The chapters are organised around interviews with key people involved, directly or indirectly, in the development of interaction design, including Doug Engelbart, Bill Atkinson, Bill Verplank, Jeff Hawkins, Rob Haitani, David Liddle, David Kelley, Brenda Laurel, Will Wright, Fran Samalionis, Takeshi Natsuno, Terry Winograd, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Hiroshi Ishii, Durrell Bishop, Dunne and Raby, John Maeda, and Jane Fulton Suri. The foreword is from Gillian Crampton Smith. Video interviews are included on an accompanying CD. The book also has an excellent supporting site (http://www.designinginteractions.com/), as well as a sample chapter. The book itself was co-designed and -produced by the author.

Stories about famous things and people, great images, readable and browsable

When I touched the first a NeXT station and NeXTSTEP, I was not really thinking of its design and ease of interaction. Reading 'Designing Interactions' remembered me the old days and the incredible user interface we had in hands when working under NeXTSTEP. Building interaction with machine is not a simple thing and takes ages before having something really simple to use. The book is covering aspect like services, games or mobile device. The book is pleasant to read with a clear typesetting and well-balanced with the text and illustration. Not far away for being an art book...½

Amazing library of thoughts from innovative design thinkers of today

Pros: A solid overview of the history and current landscape of Design - user interface, interaction design, user experience, product design, and rapid prototyping. An inspiring read for novices and veterans.

Cons: IDEO and crony-centric. UI design erupted around the globe and not just in San Fran. NCSA, MIT, and many other non-US-based groups pushed design in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.