C.A. Le Dantec Introduction: Design Futures Special Issue. interactions 25(2), 33–35, 2018.

Abstract

As interaction designers, our attention is often split. Much of our time is spent attending to and perfecting the details of the products and services currently circulating in the world: refining established interaction techniques, tightening visual design language for economy and communication, shoring up the pathways our customers follow to get professional and personal stuff done. The other part of our time is spent envisioning the next product or service—or bigger still, the next category of products and services. By necessity, this work is less tethered to the daily constraints of styleguides, user-interface toolkits, and interaction idioms that rule current platforms. Breaking out of the daily constraints, however, can be difficult—we have a well-honed understanding of how different interface elements affect usability and accessibility, we have developed a vernacular in user experience that guides both customer and designer through complex tasks and engaging technology-mediated encounters. Breaking free of these familiar contours often requires a change of frame, an intentional move that lets us interpret the world anew, or interpret a world full of experiences to which we might not have personal access.