Now it’s different. I don’t post. I barely comment. Sometimes I double-tap just to prove I’m still conscious. The algorithm already knows what I like, so it just feeds me stuff. I can scroll for hours and leave zero trace besides all the data it’s collecting behind the scenes. It is so detached and disconnected from real intention. 

That shift from creating to just consuming is a huge change in how we use the internet. Early platforms gave you tools and said go make something. You had profile editors, blogs, even little janky Photoshop knockoffs. The whole vibe was: your input matters. Interaction design was focused on helping people create, not just scroll. There is too much accessibility and content out there. 

Now it’s all about keeping things smooth. Autoplay, infinite scroll, and swiping with one thumb so you never have to think. You can still make stuff, but it’s hidden behind a plus button and way too many filters and panels. It’s easy, sure, but it’s not the default anymore.

Then the iPhone came along. It wasn’t just a phone. It was also a camera, a music player, a map, and a way to go online. The touchscreen made it feel more natural. People could tap, swipe, and pinch instead of pressing buttons. And with the App Store, it became something different for everyone. You could download tools, games, and creative apps. It became a part of everyday life.

This shift also changed how designers thought about interaction. It wasn’t just about getting something to work. It was about making it feel right for the person using it. Touch gestures became normal. Icons replaced buttons. Apps had to be simple, clear, and work well on small screens in all kinds of places. The focus became making experiences smooth, useful, and personal.

Now technology is part of our everyday routines. We use it to talk, learn, play, and get around. We carry it with us all the time. As someone studying interaction design, I’ve realized that good design should feel simple and helpful. It should fit naturally into people’s lives and make things easier without being distracting. The iPod and iPhone didn’t just introduce new tech—they changed the way we live with it.

It is interesting to see what stayed the same however.  We still use windows, icons, menus, and buttons, the gestures maybe are the same but the look of them are different and smoother.. The basic idea of clicking on things to open them, dragging files, and having a desktop with folders especially File Explorer remains similar to the originals. 

I think technology now can be further simplified and more satisfying to use. AI could help personalize interfaces more because lately everyone wants an assistant. I think we should work towards making PCs our second brain, have things organized easier and more intuitively.  Accessibility also needs to improve because interfaces should work better for people with disabilities and issues typing etc. And as screens get smaller and phones are used more and more, there needs to be more solutions and benefits to using PCs and a way to push them in a different direction.

Suchman’s work pushed that designers must study and understand the user instead of just guessing or assuming. This brings on interviews, user research, and personas, where a designer really understands the problem area and where the user is stuck and facing difficulty. 

I think this is so important because even in my own experience I have found that instructions are sometimes hard to understand and you can tell when something was designed without accessibility in mind or sustainably sourced because the solution either does not apply to everyone or does not solve everyone’s problems.

It was also a big deal because it showed different and more user friendly ways that information could be organized and interacted with. Looking at it now it looks very vintage and basic, like a clunky old computer. But it is so important in it being one of the first computers to incorporate all the things we take for granted in computers today. 

Sources 

Baker, Chris. “The Xerox Star: A Revolutionary, Forgotten Computer.” Gizmodo, 26 Mar. 2019, www.gizmodo.com/2019/03/26/the-xerox-star-a-revolutionary-forgotten-computer/.

Johnson, Jeff, et al. “The Xerox Star: A Retrospective.” Computer, vol. 22, no. 9, 1989, pp. 11-26, 28-29. IEEE, https://doi.org/10.1109/2.35211.

Pow, Whitney (Whit). “How the Computer Taught Us to See.” Camera Obscura, vol. 39, no. 2 (116), 2024, pp. 1–39. Duke University Press, https://doi.org/10.1215/02705346-11207789.

The fact that this was done so far in the past, predicting trends and technology we hold for granted now is extremely interesting. It is hard to imagine a time where such technologies did not exist and that is why Engelbart blew the world away with this demo. I believe the most influential of all was the idea of collaboration and real time collaboration on a computer. Even now this is a concept that has excelled our endeavors in technology and continues to aid in designing cross platforms and with people around the world. 

Another important element of this demo was the way it was presented. The way it was done was a live performance with different media, similar to how current media advertises and showcases products now. This was the first time anything like this had been shown and presented in such a way. It definitely inspired technology design to take a different form and 

Sources

Salamanca, Claudia. The Mother of All Demos. 12 Dec. 2009. University of California, Berkeley.

Both TikTok icons and hieroglyphs use pictures to communicate. TikTok’s icons show actions in their app, while hieroglyphs told stories and showed beliefs. 

We can compare Tiktok’s icons to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

Considering music, Egyptian hieroglyphics tended to stick to instruments to depict music being played. While Tiktok started out as a music app and expanded to social media, it kept its logo as a musical note. Contrasting from the hieroglyphics as one is depicting an instrument and the other depicts a musical note played by an instrument, simplifying the meaning of music as universally music notes now depict that sound/music is being played. 

One other interesting aspect of Tiktok is its integration of its own emojis. Users seem to enjoy using the Tiktok emojis, which are also expressive icons sometimes more than the default iPhone ones. 

This shows that people enjoy new and different ways of expressing themselves. 

Humans naturally understand visually which is why signs and drawings can connect people regardless of what language they speak. This universal idea is why emojis and icons work. 

Sources

Gadalla, Moustafa. Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music. Tehuti Research Foundation, 2000. 

Emojipedia. “TikTok Emoji List & Emoji Meanings.” Emojipedia, 2024, 

https://emojipedia.org/tiktok.

Baker, A. J. “Emojis Are Hieroglyphs, Says Curator of Israel Museum Exhibit.” The New York 

Times, 22 Jan. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/arts/design/emojis-hieroglyphs-israel-museum.html

Alshenqeeti, Hamza. “Are Emojis Creating a New or Old Visual Language for New 

Generations? A Socio-Semiotic Study.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies, vol. 7, no. 6, Dec. 2016, pp. 56-69, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1126897.

Lovelace was actually considered the first computer programmer. Even though she was deeply involved in computers and their field, she believed in creativity. She believed that machines had way more potential than just calculation, envisioning them as tools for creativity such as the arts, music or painting. This was unheard of at her time, so for her to believe so strongly for technology to evolve in this way was inspiring. 

Gilbreth, on the other hand, helped study and understand how people interact with tools. Specifically focusing on human needs and experiences. She instead focused on designing tools for efficiency and usability, helping users greatly. Even today her work inspires putting the users needs first and working around their problems. 

In conclusion, although their fields were different, both contributed to shaping human-centered technology. Both of these women show us how good design requires both functionality, usability, and how users experience and interact. Lovelace imagined how machines could go beyond simple calculations and inspire creativity which is exactly what Interaction Designers do, bridging the gap between design and technology and users. Gilbreth’s focus on ergonomics and usability pushes the comfort and usefulness of a product, why should a user use it in the first place? It fills the need to understand what the user wants and why. Together, their work bridges the gap between technology and human interaction.