Chris Crawford’s definition of interactivity in his book, “The Art of Interactive Design,” led me to rethink what is considered “interactive.” In the very first pages, Crawford mentions that he believes the term “interactive” has been overused and that “we’ve lost track of the word’s true meaning.” I very much agree with Crawford, as I also found myself frequently using the word “interactive” without a clear understanding of what interactivity really is. At the start of the reading, I realized that I had utilized the word “interactive” everywhere without having a clear idea of its meaning, as I could barely define “interactivity” by myself. Moreover, the reading’s mention of printed books and movies as instances where the term “interactivity” is misapplied made me think that the term is often oversimplified and misused in various domains. I questioned why the term “interactivity” had been so misapplied and oversimplified in various domains. Then, I thought that the reason behind these misapplications and oversimplifications was perhaps because “interactivity” was poorly defined in the first place. So, this reading also made me reflect on the importance of having a clearly structured definition.
In this reading, Crawford defines interactivity by making an analogy to a two-way conversation in which two actors alternately listen, think, and speak. I think the essence of his definition is the presence of giving back and forth. It should not be only one entity that is “reacting” to something or someone, but rather, there should be a reciprocal reaction. This made me think that the most important aspect of interactivity is the presence of a reciprocal process of listening, thinking, and speaking.
This reading also made me think about the key difference between user interface design and interactivity design. I believe that both are similar as they are both user-centric designs. However, I think it is the approach that makes them different. While user interface design is focused on “optimization” for efficiency, interactivity design focuses on the creation of a holistic interactive experience that incorporates both form and function. Also, one of the key aspects that makes interactivity design differ from user interface design is the “thinking” element that Crawford mentions while explaining his definition of interactivity. I think interactive design focuses on having an approach that considers the user’s cognitive engagement.