Instructional Design

Instructional Design is how to “do something” or the explanation of “how something works”

It is the practice of design to make the activities in our lives less confusing and lower the amount of frustration in completing tasks.

• We interact with instructions through our daily life, eg. audio instructions, ticket machines or parking meters, operating domestic appliances
• Poorly designed instructions can create frustrating experiences for users
• Visual instructions – language free (maximises global market but less ability to understand with lack of step description)
• Research into accurate and informative instructional design is a must
• WORKING MEMORY – How we manipulate information stored in our short term memory.

• Things that are closed together are viewed by the user as related. (DO NOT DESIGN WITH THIS FAULT)
• Photography can be too detailed for instructional design as there is not differing subject matter weight.
• I believe the point about information/subjects viewed close together being seen as related is the most important point as illustrated instructions can be confusing to distinguish when there is a lot of concentrated information in a small space.

kinds of interaction

• Instruction – by clicking buttons
• Conversation – back and forth dialogue
• Manipulation – drag and drop elements
• Exploration – open, playful, game like

Instructions on how to operate an elevator with dialogue. Also includes individuals who are blind by incorporating braille into the design.