The Fundamentals of Interactive Design

Chapter 1: Interactive Design as a discipline
What is interactive design? What does an interactive designer do?
Interview: Darrell Wilkins, creative director
The design document
Using new technology
Case study: Kaiser Chiefs' website
Project: Create concepts and storyboards
Chapter 2: Ideas, prototypes and experiences
Where do ideas come from?
Influences and the creative process
The medium informs the design
Emotional attachment to the product
Designing experiences
Interview: Lydia Swangren, UX designer
Case study: Multi-platform delivery
Project: Engage through interactivity
Chapter 3: The industry process
The pitch
Interview: David Burrows, design consultant
Art direction and aesthetic
Case study: WrestleMania viral campaign
Project: Create a campaign pitch
Chapter 4: Audience, usability and testing
Design for the audience
Usability in design: rules and principles
Usability and content
Usability and visual communication
Usability testing
Interview: Trevor May, mobile designer
Case study: Glastonbury app
Project: Create an interactive promotion
Chapter 5: Motion graphics and shareable media
Motion and interactivity
Augmented reality
Video and motion graphics
Interview: Krystal Schultheiss, motion graphics developer
The video production process
Viral videos
Social media
Interview: Steve Smith, senior developer
Case study: pq-eyewear website
Project: Create a campaign for a TV series
Chapter 6: Games
Computer games
Games as an interactive medium
Interview: Pete Everett, advergame designer
Case study: Coca-Cola Open the Games
Project: Create an advergame

Michael Salmond is a digital interaction designer, artist and digital theorist and currently teaches interaction and digital design at Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida, USA. Gavin Ambrose is a practising graphic designer whose client base includes the art sector, galleries, publishers and advertising agencies. He has written and designed several books on graphic design, branding and packaging.

The Fundamentals of Interactive Design is a fantastic entree into the field of Interactive Design. Ambrose and Salmond have created a timely, and nearly timeless text (relative to the speed by which things are rendered obsolete in digital media) that is thoughtfully organized to provide the beginning designer both the theory and professional skills to succeed. Succinctly pragmatic advice is paired with stunning and diverse examples from all areas of interactive design, making for a wonderful sourcebook for anyone looking to test their skills in this emerging form of design communication. Jess Larson, Professor of Studio Art, University of Minnesota, Morris, USA