An interface is defined as all the points of contact between a computer-based product and the user. Interface design needs to progress through three stages of product design: What is the purpose of the product? How does the product function to meet its purpose? How does it look and feel? With a solid understanding of these stages, you are able to develop products that meet user needs. Course topics include: user-centered design, mental models, object-action interaction models, information architecture, user personas, designing for errors, and usability. Today, every profession develops a set of cognitive tools and a culture that envelops activities, artifacts, knowledge, and practice among its community members. Cognitive Tools for Interaction Design offers students an introduction to the culture, job, conceptual framework, and vocabulary of modern human-computer interaction (HCI) designers. Individual differences in personality types, memory limitations, perceptions, learning styles, background knowledge, social knowledge, reasoning styles, categorization strategies, and attention controls are critical factors in developing usable methods for interaction design.

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