How does Drucker define the term "interface"? How about the process of designing interfaces? What is her opinion of interface design processes as they are generally handled today?

Drucker describes the term “interface” as “a mediating structure that supports behaviours and tasks" (Drucker 138). She explains that the commonly accepted understanding of interface is a fixed, representational portal into the online world, but the flaw in this thinking is that it ignores the complicated construction behind the portal. The interface not only shows us the online world, but it also acts as a mediator for us into it. Drucker believes that the proper process of designing an interface involves both the means to access information, but also the information itself. While the function of the interface is important, it is not the essence of the interface. It must take into consideration cultural differences and be flexible enough to create individual, human experiences.

Drucker has a disliking of how interfaces are designed today. Professional interface designers typically create a mechanic design that translates the users’ needs into a function, creating a clear but static interface. This is done because it is the best software practice, but not because it is the best interface practice. It focuses on the “user” as a general persona vs a “humanistic subject” which acknowledges that every user will be different, and no one interface will accommodate all. Drucker wants to see the humanistic subject become the focus for interface design, which would allow more diverse design.

What is Drucker's notion of "Humanistic Design"?

The humanistic design is how Drucker would approach fixing her issues with current interface design. Her idea of a humanistic design is one that acknowledges that there will never be one user experience that accommodates all people. Instead of ignoring that, designers would lean into it. Subjectivity is not typically used as the ideology for designing an interface that is easy to understand because it creates too much variability. User-oriented designs seeks to make the interface as obvious as possible. Drucker argues that subjectivity is necessary for a better design. Instead of focusing on the “user”, humanistic design focuses on the “subject”. A subject-oriented interface recognizes that the subject’s point of view will impact the experience, no matter how hard a designer tries to streamline it. If designing with this knowledge in mind, the interface can accommodate more autonomy (preferences, customs, whims etc.). As she describes,

“We need to theorize interface and its relation to reading as an environment in which varied behaviors of embodied and situated persons will be enabled differently according to its many affordances. This shifts us away from the HCI world, and the interface, into fields closer to graphic design and media theory, an important move in reading and designing interface (Drucker 146).”

As a process, what factors do you feel are central to the design of interfaces that are missing from this article?

While Drucker’s article was very successful at describing the theories and ideas behind interface design, it was perhaps too theoretical and lacked some practical applications. One important aspect of interface design that I found lacking from Drucker’s narrative was user research. Understanding the behaviours and expectations of the user allows the designer to create an interface that is intuitive and actually needed. It is only by conducting primary and secondary research and analyzing that data that a designer can gain insights into the necessary design elements. Another aspect of the interface design process not fully developed here is accessibility and usability. I would argue that (especially with a humanistic design in mind) these two things are crucial. Interfaces should be easy to navigate and clear. If not, a user is far more likely to abandon the site. Interfaces should also be usable by the most amount of people possible, for example, those with disabilities like impaired vision or hearing. Creating designs with accessibility in mind will result in greater usability for all users. While Drucker brushed upon these ideas generally, the article might have benefited from stepping away from conceptual jargon and outlining the actual steps required for designing an interface.