Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

For the last few months, I've taken the time to closely observe interactions in physical spaces.  You may remember my post about the experience of visiting an IKEA store in Minneapolis.  I guess you can consider this the second post in an irregular series about physical spaces.

I've summed up my thinking into a couple of principles about interaction in the tangible world that likely translate to the online world as well.

1. Patterns Matter - Consistency is Key

The genesis of this principle was my new apartment.  In each room, there's a switch plate with three switches, and in all of the bedrooms and living room the pattern is consistent: fan, overhead light, other light/lamp.  This is consistent and comfortable, and it didn't take long for me to operate the lights without thinking. But there's one pesky inconsistency: the master bathroom.

You see, in the master bathroom the order is as follows: overhead light, fan, other light.  I've turned on the fan countless times when I really wanted to use the light.  Some might argue that it's just something to learn, and that I should deal with it.  The fact is: I have learned over the last four months and I am used to it, but I still make the mistake at least twice weekly.  It's not a matter of learning; it's a matter of habit and muscle memory.

2. Labeling doesn't always help.

Recently, I visited a local restaurant, and I spent a few seconds trying to turn the water on for this sink.  The lever there looked a lot like sinks that I've used in the past where you pull up for the water to start.  This one, however, you had to push.  Even though it had the label "push" inscribed on the knob, that didn't help until I was already frustrated. Had the faucet looked more like this common push button, I could have avoided this frustration.

One might argue that labeling would also solve my light switch issue, and they're probably correct at first.  The first time I visited the apartment is was daytime. I could have seen the switch, and I may have taken time to read them.  But try figuring that out when you're in the dark...  Exactly... labels don't always help.

(http://flickr.com/photos/toastforbrekkie/104806617/)

3. Build on a known concept.

I listened to a talk by Bill DeRouchey a few weeks ago called "The Language of Interaction," and he does a great job of explaining how we derive meaning from what we already know.  I think his best example is the colors green and red.  Green means go, and red means stop, right?  Why? Why are green and red inseparably connected to those actions? Well, it's the language of interaction. Those are the colors that are used by traffic signals, and before that railroad signals, and before that boat signals.  So if the pattern already is established and understood, why would I use blue and orange for a good/bad rating system?  It doesn't make sense. It's much more intuitive to build upon the green/red language than to create my own.

(http://flickr.com/photos/atomicshark/1288380740/ ) 

So this is my list of interaction principles that I've observed recently.  It's a work in progress and is certainly not complete.  Now it's your turn.  What interactions trip you up on a regular basis and what principles can we derive from your frustrations?