Reviews / Why join our community?

T
IO
N D
ESIGN
FO
U
For companies Frequently asked questions Contact us

N
C

DA
RA
UX COURSES COMMUNITY LITERATURE ABOUT IDF Log in Join our community 

TIO
INTE

N
Est. 2002

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Your constantly-updated de nition of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and collection of topical content and literature

865  SHARE 528  SHARE 268  SHARE 69

SHARES

YOU ARE HERE:

Literature  Topics  Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

What is Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)?

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary eld of study focusing on the design of computer technology and, in particular,
the interaction between humans (the users) and computers. While initially concerned with computers, HCI has since expanded to cover
almost all forms of information technology design.

Here, Professor Alan Dix explains the roots of HCI and which areas are particularly important to it.

The Meteoric Rise of HCI

HCI surfaced in the 1980s with the advent of personal computing, just as machines such as the Apple Macintosh, IBM PC 5150 and
Commodore 64 started turning up in homes and o ces in society-changing numbers. For the rst time, sophisticated electronic
systems were available to general consumers for uses such as word processors, games units and accounting aids. Consequently, as
computers were no longer room-sized, expensive tools exclusively built for experts in specialized environments, the need to create
human-computer interaction that was also easy and e cient for less experienced users became increasingly vital. From its origins, HCI
would expand to incorporate multiple disciplines, such as computer science, cognitive science and human-factors engineering.

Powered by academic investigation, HCI became a crucial instrument in popularizing the idea that the interaction between a computer
and the user should resemble a human-to-human, open-ended dialogue. Initially HCI researchers focused on improving the usability of
desktop computers (i.e., practitioners concentrated on how easy computers are to learn and use). However, thanks to the rise of
technologies such as the Internet and the smartphone, computer use has increasingly moved away from the desktop to embrace the
mobile world, and HCI has steadily encompassed more elds:

“…it no longer makes sense to regard HCI as a specialty of computer science; HCI has grown to be broader, larger and much more
diverse than computer science itself. HCI expanded from its initial focus on individual and generic user behavior to include social
and organizational computing, accessibility for the elderly, the cognitively and physically impaired, and for all people, and for the
widest possible spectrum of human experiences and activities. It expanded from desktop o ce applications to include games,
learning and education, commerce, health and medical applications, emergency planning and response, and systems to support
collaboration and community. It expanded from early graphical user interfaces to include myriad interaction techniques and devices,
multi-modal interactions, tool support for model-based user interface speci cation, and a host of emerging ubiquitous, handheld and
context-aware interactions.”

— John M. Carroll, author and a founder of the eld of human-computer interaction.

The UX Value of HCI and Its Related Realms

HCI is a broad eld which overlaps with areas such as user-centered design, user interface design and user experience design. In many
ways, HCI was the forerunner to User Experience (UX) Design.

Despite that, some differences persist between HCI and UX design. Practitioners of HCI tend to be more academically focused, and are
involved in scienti c research and developing empirical understandings of users. Conversely, UX designers are almost invariably
industry-focused and involved in building products or services—e.g., smartphone apps and websites. Regardless of this divide, the
practical considerations for products that UX designers concern ourselves with have direct links to the ndings of HCI specialists about
users’ mindsets. With the broader span of topics that HCI covers, UX designers have a wealth of resources to draw from, although much
research remains attuned to academic audiences. Also lacking the luxury of time which HCI specialists typically enjoy, designers must
stretch beyond our industry-dictated constraints to access ndings that may harness key insights into achieving the best designs for
their users. By “collaborating” thus, designers can drive impactful changes in the market and society.

Learn More about Human-Computer Interaction

The Interaction Design Foundation’s encyclopedia chapter on Human-Computer Interaction, by John M. Carroll, a founder of HCI, is an
ideal source for gaining a solid understanding of HCI as a eld of study: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-
encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/human-computer-interaction-brief-intro

Keep up to date with the latest developments in HCI at the international society for HCI, SIGCHI: https://sigchi.org/

Learn the tools of HCI with the IDF’s course on HCI, taught by Professor Alan Dix, author of one of the most well-known textbooks on
HCI. You can nd it here: https://www.interaction-design.org/courses/human-computer-interaction?ep=ditte-hvas-mortensen

LITERATURE ON HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION (HCI)

Here’s the entire UX literature on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

FEATURED ARTICLE

A Brief History of Human Computer Interaction

Human Computer Interaction is the academic discipline that most of us think of as UI design. It focuses on the way that human beings
and computers interact to ever increasing levels of both complexity and simplicity.

It’s perhaps easy to see that until the mid to late 1970s that this discipline wasn’t particularly important. The few people who had
access to computers were academics or professionals with a few incredibly dedicated (and wealthy) hobbyists thrown into the mix.
Without a broad base of users; it wasn’t necessary to focus on how those users interacted with computers – they just made do with
whatever was to hand or created what they needed themselves.

Show full article

LEARN MORE ABOUT HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION (HCI)

Take a deep dive into Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with our course Human-Computer Interaction -
HCI.

Interactions between computers and humans should be as intuitive as conversations between two
humans—and yet many products and services fail to achieve this. So, what do you need to know so as to
create an intuitive user experience? Human psychology? Emotional design? Specialized design
processes? The answer is, of course, all of the above, and this course will cover them all.

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is about understanding what it means to be a user of a computer

(which is more complicated than it sounds), and therefore how to create related products and services
Human-Computer Interaction
that work seamlessly. It’s an important skill to master, because it gives any company the perspective and
- HCI
knowledge needed to build products that work more e ciently and therefore sell better. In fact, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the Computer and IT occupation to grow by 12% from 2014–2024,
ENROLLMENT CLOSES IN
81% faster than the average for all occupations. This goes to show the immense demand in the market for
2 BOOKED
professionals equipped with the right computer and IT skills.
days

This course provides a comprehensive introduction and deep dive into HCI, so you can create designs
View course
that provide outstanding user experiences. Whether you are a newcomer to the subject of HCI or a
professional, by the end of the course you will have a deep understanding of what it means to be a user
and how to implement user-centered design for the best possible results.

This course is based on in-depth videos created by the amazing Alan Dix. You'll be in great company with
this renowned professor from Lancaster University, a specialist in HCI and co-author of the classic
textbook, Human-Computer Interaction.

ALL LITERATURE

Order literature by: Most shared in this topic

Ch 2: Human Computer Interaction - brief intro Ch 35: Data Visualization for Human Perception

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is an area of research and practice Data visualization is the graphical display of abstract information for two
that emerged in the early 1980s, initially as a specialty area in compute… purposes: sense-making (also called data analysis) and communicatio…
BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 1: Interaction Design - brief intro Ch 30: Personas

The aim of the following chapter is to provide an introductory overview The persona method has developed from being a method for IT system
of the concept and the eld of interaction design, loosely grounded in… development to being used in many other contexts, including…

BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 15: Usability Evaluation Ch 44: Affordances

Put simply, usability evaluation assesses the extent to which an 44.1 Abstract The concept of affordances originates from ecological
interactive system is easy and pleasant to use. Things aren’t this simpl… psychology; it was proposed by James Gibson (1977, 1979) to denote…
BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 8: Contextual Design Ch 17: Disruptive Innovation

Contextual Design is a structured, well-de ned user-centered design A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that
process that provides methods to collect data about users in the eld,… helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on t…

BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 19: Visual Aesthetics Ch 5: Visual Representation

Visual aesthetics, as discussed in this chapter, refers to the beauty or How can you design computer displays that are as meaningful as
the pleasing appearance of things. We discuss the importance of visua… possible to human viewers? Answering this question requires…

BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 16: Activity Theory Design iteration brings powerful results. So,

do it again designer!
Foreword: Why activity theory? This chapter is about a theory that was The iterative design process is a simple concept. Once, through user
developed decades ago. Some of the basic ideas of the theory were… research, you have identi ed a user need and have generated ideas to…

BOOK CHAPTER 329 SHARES 1 MONTH AGO

Ch 32: 3D User Interfaces Ch 23: Wearable Computing

Ever since the advent of the computer mouse and the graphical user Wearable computing is the study or practice of inventing, designing,
interface (GUI) based on the Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointer… building, or using miniature body-borne computational and sensory…
BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 14: Context-Aware Computing Ch 10: End-User Development

A tablet computer switching the orientation of the screen, maps Computer users have rapidly increased in both number and diversity
orienting themselves with the user’s current orientation and adapting t… (Sca di et al 2005). They include managers, accountants, engineers,…

BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 38: Human-Robot Interaction Ch 13: Requirements Engineering

This chapter introduces and critically re ects upon some key challenges Requirements Engineering is, as its name suggests, the engineering
and open issues in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research. The chapt… discipline of establishing user requirements and specifying software…

BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

Ch 22: Card Sorting Ch 4: Social Computing

The term card sorting applies to a wide variety of activities involving the As humans we are fundamentally social creatures. For most people an
grouping and/or naming of objects or concepts. These may be… ordinary day is lled with social interaction. We converse with our famil…
BOOK CHAPTER BOOK CHAPTER

‹ 1 2 3 ›

About us Connect with us Stay in touch

The Interaction Design Foundation is a 17- Reach us at [email protected] or Join 132,980 designers and get our weekly
year-old nonpro t community, founded in through our online contact form. design tips in your inbox.
Denmark.
Or nd us on: Your email Sign up
See 7 compelling reasons to join us or read
in-depth reviews from our members.

 
 
 
 


Learn about our mission to lower the cost of

What is UX (user experience)
Have questions? Check our frequently asked
design education, or come work with us.
questions.
design?
Read our de nitive guide on UX (User
Experience) Design.

Copyright / IP Policy General Terms of Use Privacy Policy What is UX (User Experience) Design?