Perspectives on the design process: From a focus on artefacts to practices

We argue that in order for the field of interaction design research to respond to the challenges associated with ubiquitous computing environments and other recent developments in interactive technologies, two distinct orientations, predominantly concerned with, respectively, technological innovation and practice development, need to be clearly articulated. Historical evidence presented in the paper suggests that while these orientations are mutually complementary and dependent upon each other, they are also associated with substantially different concerns and priorities. An outline of a model describing the relationship between technological innovation and practice development in the context of interaction design is introduced. The paper identifies product design and practice development as two different perspectives in interaction design, which need to be coordinated. Implications of the analysis for future research agenda of interaction design are discussed.