Interaction Per Se: Understanding “The Ambience of Interaction” as Manifested and Situated in Everyday & Ubiquitous IT-Use

Interaction is a core concept in the fields of Ubiquitous computing, Ambient systems design, and generally in the fields of HCI and Interaction Design. Despite this, a lack of knowledge about the fundamental character of interaction still exists. Researchers have explored interaction from the viewpoints of user-centered design and design of graphical user interfaces, where interaction stands for the link between technology and humans or denotes the use aspect. A framework is proposed for exploring interaction as a design space in itself between a human and the technology. It is proposed that this framework for interaction as a design space for Interaction Design, in which the very form of the in-between, the interaction, be explicitly targeted. It is an opportunity to go beyond user and usability studies to seek answers to fundamental questions concerning the form and character of interaction as implemented in today’s interactive systems. Moreover, this framework is an opportunity to expand and explain a new design space for Interaction Design. The proposed framework, anchored in two exemplifying cases, illustrates the character and the form of interaction as it situates itself in online, ubiquitous and everyday IT use.