Sometimes the projects we are asked to design seem so overwhelming that there is no logical place to start. In some cases they probably are so big that there isn’t any logic involved. Chalk it up to why they hired someone else to do it.

When you have to start but don’t know how, pick two things.

To steal a metaphor from E. L. Doctorow “[Interaction design] is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you can still get to your destination.”

When a design seems too big, establish a relationship between two things, let’s say a page and a button, and design their interaction. Once that is done create a new relationship with something else and design the next interaction. Don’t worry about the rest of everything that has to exist and how it’s all going to work together. Just start with two things and grow from there.

You will be surprised how well the overwhelming thing comes together. This method benefits from our brain’s natural ability to spatially model the world. It’s really hard to completely waste your time doing this.

*Interesting note. Pixar has been known to write stories this way. Start with two characters’ relationship, add another character and tell that story, add another, and so on and so forth.

This concludes the first 3 interaction design principles that I have come to use in my career.
#1. Patterns and Prediction
#2. Trick People
#3. Pick Two Things

To be continued…