For our second issue of interactions magazine, we've selected articles that discuss, embrace, or react to the messiness of inclusive design or the lack thereof. These articles explore the interactions of design and the interactions of importance to design, without positioning design as an exclusive community. (Our particular thanks to Mark Baskinger who went above and beyond the call of duty in providing two outstanding contributions of this nature.)

Click to continue reading "interactions: Bridging Communities".

Design drawing and sketching is an integral component to the development process for many designers. Sketching by hand tends to be very engaging and invites others in for collaboration: drawing by hand can enable you to think differently about a subject or a design problem and can equip you with greater persuasion and impact during collaboration.

Competency in sketching and drawing by hand, however, seems to be diminishing across design disciplines making it a more highly desired skill in contemporary design practice. In addition, there seems to be an apparent phenomenon of fear when it comes to drawing ideas. For many practicing designers, they have convinced themselves that they can't draw and thus position themselves to the periphery in concept generation.

Mark, who teaches visual communication at Carnegie Mellon University, has shared his thoughts about drawing with interactions. This compelling and highly visual article describes a number of techniques to improve visual communication, and offers insight into the importance of a "by hand" approach. Click here to continue exploring "Pencils Before Pixels".