Meanings come from skillful, rigorous, and evidential use of text and imagery, rather than from layout and stylistic and device elements. Meaningful content in the form of meaningful text and imagery contributes far more to the impact of interactivity design than decisions about decorative elements of form. In the vernacular, a common notion is that the design is associated with the aesthetics of the elements of form, abstracted away from the construction of meaningful content. In the contrasting perspective of visual thinking, it is the meaningfulness of the visual and textual content that most affects the quality of a design.

Visual Thinking: Ontological Design
A more sophisticated view is the
perspective of ontological design—
that is, the notion that our actions
are determined—designed in a
sense—by our use of what we
design, intentionally and uninten-
tionally. In this view, designs are
acts of choice about future ways
of being. Lewis Hine’s photographs
of child laborers in the early 20th
century (see above) that led to
the enactment of child labor laws
in the U.S. illustrate this notion.
Hine’s photographs are ontologi-
cally designed. Photography—imag-
ery—in this sense of social activ-
ism is not only a form of design
but also a fundamental one that is
critical to any notion of interactiv-
ity. Ontological design entails a
values-rich perspective on sense-
making and meaning-making.

Visual Thinking: HCI
and Interaction Design
We are fortunate in HCI and design
to have many great contemporary
thinkers (see “Scholarship” sec-
tion for an example of but a few)
who have greatly elevated the
discourse about HCI and interac-
tion design’s agency in the world
by providing text-based resources
focusing on design theory, ethnog-
raphy, critical theory, feminism,
philosophy, cultural studies, eth-
ics, and associated domains. The
goal of this article and the Visual
Thinking Backpage Gallery is to
prompt our collective mastery of
design by focusing on our con-
struction and use of imagery as a
core and fundamental competency
in addition to our many other com-
petencies—that is, to elevate the
visual discourse in much the same
manner that these contemporary
thinkers have elevated the textual
one. In adding to our competen-
cies, we can further develop our
transdisciplinary mindset (see [ 1]),

v• the photographs of Lewis Wickes Hine are ontologi-cally designed. His photos, like this 1908 image showing a young spinner working a cotton mill in North carolina, inspired the enactment of child labor laws in the U.S.

September + October 2011