Interaction Design Is Still an Art Form. Ergonomics Is Real Engineering

摘要

The practice of HCI is mainly still an art form. The practice of Ergonomics is a rigorous engineering field. Okay, so I oversimplified in order to get your attention, but listen up: There is a lot of truth in that simplification. The discipline that calls itself "Human-Computer Interaction," or HCI, has two major components: research and practice. The research component is done in universities and research divisions of companies. The practice comes from all those interface and interaction designers out there making real products and Web sites. The research side is a combination of science and engineering, with the major emphasis being on novel applications and means of interacting with machines. I love this stuff, but will have nothing more to say about it here. It is the practice that bothers me. The practice of HCI seems primarily to be an art form and skill, which explains why it is often so bad.