The Eames couple, Gerstner, and Sutnar were pioneers of Interaction Design techniques, and their work spanned a wide array of disciplines. All of them put the user and usability at the center of their work, and made integral breakthroughs when combining form and function. Ray and Charles Eames designed and iterated a prolific amount of chairs, each with a different focus in mind. Designing for specific users and uses is critical to good interaction design. Gerstner developed the idea and early foundations for responsive web design, using elements like grids, systematic design, and integral typography to create flexible identity systems which maintained brand identity while being able to adjust and sustain elements of the design. This idea translates to logos and corporate identities, as well as designs for multiple devices. Sutnar formed techniques for early information and user experience design through his foundations in industrial design. He used elements of print and graphic design to further ideas about hierarchy, scale, and other facets of web design, drawing the comparison between a magazine cover to the homepage of a website.
Additionally, Henry Dreyfuss created principles which continue to affect user research methods. He especially put the average user at the forefront of his creations, which sought to conserve a person’s time, efforts, nerves, and prevention of injuries. Through extensive research of the human body and finding averages through human samples, he truly brought the role psychology and experimentation plays in design to the spotlight. Dreyfuss observed how people used phones in ways others hadn’t anticipated, and based the next iterations of his designs to suit those needs and users better. In this way, he has impacted user research by paving the way for observations and specific needs being targeted.
