Stop 06 · Interaction Design & Micro-interactionsTopics · 1/9

Interaction Design Principles

In short

Every tap is a tiny conversation. The user does something, the product answers. Interaction design is making sure that answer comes fast, makes sense and never leaves anyone guessing.

Designing how a user interacts with a product moment to moment — what happens on tap, hover, drag — grounded in giving clear, immediate feedback for every action a user takes.

The jaadu, as a bus conductor, nods and blows a whistle while a passenger taps his shoulder.

Think of it like this

The bus conductor's whistle

You tap the conductor's shoulder and say 'next stop'. He nods, blows the whistle, and the bus slows. You asked, he confirmed, the result happened. If he just stared blankly, you'd panic and shout again. Good interfaces nod back every time.

Watch it happen

One tap, one clear answer

User

Interface

System

Tap 'Add to cart'

1/5The user acts. They expect something to change straight away, not in two seconds.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Make actions visible

People should see what they can do. A hidden swipe or unlabelled icon is an action most people will never find.

Answer every action

Each tap, click or swipe needs a visible response. Silence makes people tap again and again.

Be consistent

If a long-press opens a menu on one screen, it should do the same everywhere. Surprises cost trust.

Let people undo

Mistakes are normal. An undo button makes people brave enough to explore your product.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Designing only the static screens and forgetting what happens between them.

Do this instead

Sketch the moment after each tap too: pressed state, loading, success. That in-between part is the interaction.

Oops

Making the same gesture do different things on different screens.

Do this instead

Pick one meaning per gesture and keep it. Write it down so the whole team follows it.

Your mission

Audit five taps

~20 min

Quick check

A user taps 'Send' and nothing changes for two seconds. What is the most likely result?

Go deeper

1Audit an app for a moment where user action gets no visible feedback, and note the confusion it causes.
2Learn the core principle: every user action should produce a visible, immediate system response.
3Practice designing a button's full interaction states: default, hover, pressed, disabled.