Industrial Age

Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth: Pioneers in Interaction Design History

As an interaction design student, I’ve realized how much our field owes to the work of early innovators like Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth. Even though they lived in completely different times and worked in different fields, both women laid the foundation for how we think about systems, efficiency, and human-computer interaction today.

Ada Lovelace is often called the first computer programmer. In the 1840s, she worked with Charles Babbage on his Analytical Engine, a mechanical computer. What makes her so important is that she didn’t just see the machine as something that could calculate numbers—she imagined it could create art, like music, by following instructions. This early vision of computation as more than math feels like the root of modern interaction design. Her work reminds us to think beyond the technical and consider the creative possibilities of technology.

Lillian Gilbreth, on the other hand, was a pioneer in industrial engineering and ergonomics. In the early 20th century, she studied how people interact with tools and systems, using motion studies to improve efficiency and reduce fatigue. Her focus on designing workflows to fit human needs connects directly to what we do as interaction designers. When we create user-centered interfaces or improve accessibility, we’re following her example of putting people first.

These women remind us that interaction design is not just about technology—it’s about understanding people and imagining new ways to improve their lives. Knowing their stories gives me a deeper appreciation for the history of our field and the responsibility we have to carry their legacy forward.

User-friendly and intuitive interfaces with Gestalt principles and Fitts’ Law

Gestalt Principles, focus on perception and organization. In the future design, design colors and shapes consistently. Group related elements close together to make relationships clear. At the same time, separate main features and secondary actions, to ensure key elements stand out against the background. While design user experience, arrange navigation items in a linear or logical sequence.

Fitts’ Law, focus on efficiency and movement. While designing user interfaces, make interactive elements (buttons, icons) large enough for users to click or tap easily. Leverage screen edges for key functions since they’re easy to target, stop consider to place menu bar or navigation bar in other places, due to edge and corner’s advantages.

Gestalt principles and Fitts’ Law help create designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and intuitive.

Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth

Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth are important in interaction design history because they both made early contributions that influence how we think about technology and human interaction.

As Ada Lovelace is ‘the first computer programmer’, and she wrote the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine, she foresaw the potential of computers beyond calculations. On the other side, Lillian Gilbreth is a pioneer in industrial and organizational psychology. She work on time-and-motion studie, focused on improving efficiency in workplaces. They both ahead of their time in thinking about how people interact with machines and systems.

Gestalt Principles and Fitts’s Law

When I sit down to design an app or a website, I always keep Gestalt principles in mind to make things easier for users. For example, if I’m designing a shopping app, I’ll place the “Add to Cart” button close to the product image and details so it’s clear that they belong together. I’ll also use the same color for all action buttons, like “Buy Now” or “Save for Later,” because it helps users quickly understand they have similar functions.

I will also apply Fitt’s Law to make interactions smoother. For instance, when designing a mobile game, I’ll make the main action button larger and place it near the bottom of the screen, where users naturally hold their phones. By doing this, I make it easier and faster for users to tap on important buttons, improving their experience and making the app feel more intuitive to use.

Gestalt Principles and Fitts’s Law

As an interaction designer when we designing interactive software in order to incorporating with the guest house principle is critical for creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. Because this principle are rooted in Psychology and helps how people preserve their visual elements and their relationships. for example, the principle of proximity Estates that elements placed together are considered relevant, which more effectively guides users.

Also, Fitts’s law focus on optimizing interaction by consider the use of locating object on the screen base on their size and distance. So for example larger interactive elements, bottoms, are faster and easier to click which is particularly important on touching screen or small devices because people like action bottoms for submit or safe should be large enough to minimize workload. So placement is equally important. In addition, please placing bottoms or nteractive elements near the edges or corners are more friendly.

What I will consider Gestalt principles and Fitt’s Law in my future ixd design

First, about Gestalt principles using in my future ixd design.

1.Similarity. This is most about unity in one design. All the typeface/color/logo/overall brand idea/concept/etc have to be in one style. Which means the brand book is very important to made.

2.Good Figure. Make a obvious different between background and content. Thus, users would’t be disturb when they are reading the content.

3.Proximity.I will place all the similar function/bottom/information/icon/ect near each other. Thus, users can find the category they want more quickly and accurately.

4.Continuity.If I’m developing an app, I will first consider the concept map, causal map, and stock flow before starting the actual build. These maps help create a smoother user experience and provide a clear vision of how the app should function.

5.Closure. The end and start should be super easy recognizable for users. Thus , the page for part for end and start have to include clear symbols.

6.Common Region. Think about what element are in one same group. Then make them moving or toward in one direction.

Second, about Fitt’s Law using in my future ixd design. I’d also make sure that interactive elements follow Fitts’ Law to improve usability:

Long in short, the theory of Fitt’s Law is the farther away a target is and the smaller it is, the longer it takes to reach. In opposite, the closer and larger a target is, the easier it is to interact with. Base on this, I will design the bottom, icon, image and etc that are expect to click mostly have to be as big as esay to achieve and click on accurately by mouse or finger.

Gestalt Principles and Fitts’s Law

shuoning Liang 2024/9/24

Gestalt principles have

Proximity：
Arrange related interface elements (such as buttons, text boxes, and icons) closely so that users can more easily understand their relationship.

Similarity
Use the same color, shape, or font to unify the design of controls with similar functions to enhance the consistency of the interface.

Connectedness
Group related information or operation options together through visual connections (such as lines, borders, etc.) to help users quickly understand the hierarchy of information.

Closure
By adding clear boundaries to elements, let the user’s brain automatically complete unclosed shapes.

Continuity
The arrangement of design interface elements should be regular and consistent.

And Fitts’s law has

Target size
Fitts’s law shows that the larger the target, the faster users will click it. When designing, make sure that the buttons or clickable areas are large enough, especially key function buttons (such as submit, save, etc.) to reduce user misoperation.

Target Distance
Reduce the distance between key operating elements to prevent users from moving too much on the screen.

Edges and Corners
According to Fitts’s Law, the edges and corners of the screen are more clickable areas due to physical limitations. Common functions can be placed in these locations to improve interaction efficiency.

Design strategies that combine the two
Logical grouping and quick operations
Group related functions through the proximity and similarity of the Gestalt, and optimize the distance based on Fitts’s Law. For example, arrange the editing options in the toolbar (such as cut, copy, and paste) closely, and the buttons are large, which is convenient for users to operate quickly.

So, what I will do?
1.Use the similarity of the Gestalt to design consistent interactive buttons, while ensuring that the size and position of the buttons comply with Fitts’s Law, so that users have consistent perception of operations on different pages, and do not need to spend extra time looking for or clicking.

By combining the Gestalt principles with Fitts’s Law, you can create an intuitive, responsive, and visually clear interactive interface, greatly improving the user experience and satisfaction.

Gestalt principles and Fitt’s Law


Gestalt Principles are principles/laws of human perception that describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns and simplify complex images when we perceive objects. Designers use the principles to organize content on websites and other interfaces so it is aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand.

Gestalt Principles has the following basic rules: Common Fate,Symmetry and Order, Similarity, Pragnanz, Invariance, Figure/Ground, Multistability, Continuity or Continuation, Common Region, Closure, Emergence.

Fitts’ Law states that the amount of time required for a person to move a pointer (e.g., mouse cursor) to a target area is a function of the distance to the target divided by the size of the target. Thus, the longer the distance and the smaller the target’s size, the longer it takes.

Based on Fitts‘ Law, some standard interface elements such as the right-click pop-up menu or short drop-down menus have had resounding success, minimizing the user’s travel distance with a mouse in selecting an option—reducing time and increasing productivity. Conversely, long drop-downs, title menus, etc., impede users’ actions, raising movement-time demands.

Gestalt Principles & Fitts’s Law In Action

Powerful designs are often designed with intention. Intentional designers create purposeful designs by following rules, including but not limited to Gestalt principles and Fitts’s laws. Whether deliberately or subconsciously, these rules define the way we interpret and process information, because they exist everywhere: From the signs we see, to the interfaces on our screens, to the logos on billboards. These principles make up our daily living, yet many live in a Gestalt and Fitts constructed society obliviously.

In digital interfaces, Gestalt’s law of proximity, similarity, and continuity specifically coincide nicely when considering readability. For example, a dropdown menu. The uniformity in menu selection options are grouped in a similar orientation to indicate that they are components of the same category. Different dropdown menus are differentiated through proximity. Spacing acts as a barrier to separate and indicate that the two menus do not coexist together, but exist on its own. When considering a website, the dropdown selections directly influences the output display of the webpage. Continuity and common fate guides the users in how their eye processes the screen, whether it be to read vertically, horizontally, follow arrows, view images first, or view text first. Fitts’s laws enhances that experience by predetermining the ideal amount of button padding, and the target touch points of digital screens needed for a fluid user experience.

Acknowledging why these systems exist and came to be are important in creating mindful and effective designs. I plan to refer and reflect on how I design by further applying these principles when approaching design thinking. The more aware a designer is about their decisions, the better their designs are. These pre-constructed laws are the foundational components that help create meaningful digital experiences.

Fitt’s law & Gestalt Principles 

I wasn’t realize how psychology can play an important role in interaction design until reading about Gestalt Principles and Fitt’s Law. I didn’t really think of why most of the interactive interfaces are following similar principles, all the studies and experiences have given the best way to build a great user experience.

When doing something needs to guide users silently, Gestalt Principles can be great references. Users may follow the way that designers want them to go, for example some path to important location in video games. And maybe not only visually, also texts can provide similar effects. According to Gestalt Principles, people’s imagination can be powerful and do a lot work, so unconspicuous elements that don’t disturb main design in the interface can be considered.

Fiit’s Law can help me to decide the layout of interfaces and where the most important buttons or icons should be. They should locate at the easiest place on a screen that users can access, and for sure this will depend on different devices, an Ipad and a kiosk will be layouted differently. Users may not have accurate feelings about distance in screens, so sometimes Fitt’s Law may also help to indicate users softly.

Both Fitt’s Law and Gestalt Principles are great and if I can use them well in my design works, I believed that better user experiences will be made.

Some thought for Fitt’s Law & Gestalt Principles

Establishing a clear hierarchical structure is crucial in interaction design. By classifying each module and function based on the Gestalt principle (especially the proximity principle), I can arrange related functions coherently within the module. By utilizing the principles of similarity and closure, I can quickly create preliminary wireframes, while the graphic background principle enhances my model by ensuring that important elements stand out.


Combining these principles can help optimize the layout of the interface, making it more reasonable and intuitive. This design strategy enables users to quickly grasp the software’s layout, improving their ability to effectively achieve their goals.


From the perspective of Fitt’s law, I can further optimize the user experience by adjusting button size, spacing, and edge targets. Combining clear feedback of hovering state and independent elements enhances the touch experience and makes users more comfortable.


Ultimately, this integration approach conforms to the user centered design principle, resulting in a smoother and more enjoyable software user experience.

Some thought for Fitt’s Law & Gestalt Principles

KY – 2024 9 24

I think Fitt’s Law covers a small part of UX, which is thinking about the user’s experience. How to increase user comfort by minimizing the distance and time between the starting point of the interaction and the goal of the interaction.


Gestalt principles, on the other hand, are more visual, focusing on design principles that tell the story of how people are guided step-by-step through different ways of structuring color to the visual point of view.

The Value of the Gestalt Principles & Fitt’s Law

After reading about the Gestalt Principles, I was not only surprised by how these principles contributed to the user experience, but also by how I had been unconsciously incorporating these laws into my own design work. The fact that I have used these principles without realizing it shows how natural and important they are in design. For example, the Gestalt’s Law of Past Experiences states that past experiences shape our perception of visual elements. Given that, designers can make interfaces feel intuitive and allow for users to navigate the software easier. An example would be our understanding of colors and how they are used in real life vs. on apps/websites (like red and green). The Law of Similarity also affects how users perceive design elements, as they should also look similar or dissimilar depending on the intended purpose. For instance, the confirm and cancel button should not be next to each other (they could be though; however, I am unsure if that is considered good or bad design practice given that I have seen both) and should not be filled in with the same color.

As for Fitt’s Law that discusses the relationship between the distance and time of a target in relation to the success of an action, the types of menu designs particularly fascinated me because I recently noticed Pinterest transitioned from their familiar “long-press for pie menu” feature to a rectangular center menu. Being a long-time user, I was unhappy with the change; however, I now understand why it was necessary, as it affects movement and can be unintuitive for first-time users (and probably a bunch of other issues that they found through user testing).

Understanding why these laws exist is crucial for building designs that resonate with users and improve their experience. Now, with a clearer understanding of both Gestalt Principles and Fitt’s Law, I am able apply them more effectively and confidently to my work to create intuitive and user-friendly designs.

Gestalt’s Principles and Fitt’s Laws in IXD

Gestalt principles and Fitt’s laws are very useful for designers to keep in mind while designing interactive interfaces.

While making a software, I  would consider Gestalt’s Law of Proximity to ensure that I am grouping elements that have similar usage or are used together more often, to make navigation more intuitive, while also maintaining visual balance within the elements (making grouped elements have similar shape, colors, or visual traits). I would also try to use familiar design patterns as it makes it more intuitive for users to interact with the interface. 

For Fitts’s Law, I would focus on optimizing target size—especially for frequently used actions—by making buttons larger and easier to tap or click, thus reducing the time and effort needed to interact with them. Placing targets closer to the user’s hand position/cursor makes it easier for them to reach, so I would consider keeping elements like menu items either at the screen’s edge to avoid overshooting, or somewhere in the middle, depending on whether it is a mouse driven or touchscreen interface. As linear menus are most common, I would use them and place items according to the frequency of their use. Lastly, I’d be mindful of space between targets to prevent accidental clicks on adjacent buttons, particularly in mobile or touch-based interfaces

How do you consider Gestalt principles and Fetter’s law when designing interactive software

Creating user-friendly software interfaces has always been a hot topic with me. His writing may not still be totally relevant (I mean come on, it was 35 years ago), but as I have continued to learn and progress in the field, applying basic Gestalt and Fitts principles definitely makes for much more user-friendly interfaces. This is how some of these concepts have been affecting the process for my designing.

Gestalt principles are the rules that humans follow to group sets of objects, and which seeks to explain how people naturally organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are met. Designing an Interface & Empathy towards the Layouts When creating an interface design, I value it from users perspective. For instance, I apply the rule of proximity by grouping similar buttons so that users realize they are interrelated. I also make use of similarity in having the same colors or shapes for buttons that serve similar purposes. As a result, users are able to find patterns and navigate through the software better.

This all relates to Fitts’s Law, which refers to the time a user spends from moving there cursor to selecting an area, often something that needs clicking or tapping like a button or link. Larger, closer targets are faster to click. I also try to make more important buttons bigger, and have them easily accessible for the user. For example, I put the “Submit” button at the end of form and over-sized it so that it is more prominent. This eliminates the amount of time and effort it takes an individual to engage with the interface making the experience more pleasant.

I hope to use the principles by Gestalt and Fitts law for that, i order to create organized also yet efficient software. So when a user says an interface is intuitive, it means that they can complete tasks with less wasted energy and fewer mistakes. This increases overall satisfaction and reduces churn so that users continue to utilize the program. As I progress with my design, these principles are becoming part and parcel of what could be a vibrant user interface.

Importance of Gestalt principles and Fitt’s Law

I’d never heard of Gestalt principles before but I’ve used some of the principles before without knowing what they were. For example, the principle of proximity. It makes sense to put things that are related close together, so that things that are different stand out and appear separated. I think many of the principles are intuitive and we may do them without realizing. However, having an active awareness of the principles is very useful. Consciously being aware of my design choices will make me make better choices. Being aware of the Gestalt principles also helps broaden my mind to more design options. I found the principle of closure especially interesting. I think it’s a smart way to add more elements and interest to a design while keeping the look minimalistic. This is something that is very useful when creating logos. The Gestalt principles are extremely important for deciding what design elements to use in different situations. I will use them in the future to create work that is visually pleasing and intuitive to use.

Fitt’s law states that people will be faster to click on bigger targets and that targets should be close. I see how important this is, since it saves people time and makes navigating more smooth and efficient. When designing interactive software in the future, I will make sure to make buttons big enough for the user to click on them easily. There have been times when I’ve been using my phone and the button was really small, so I had to struggle to tap on it perfectly with my finger. It’s very annoying when this happens. I will also make sure to space the buttons and elements out well so that it doesn’t take an annoyingly long time to click or scroll.

Why are Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth important to know about for IXD History?

As a college student studying interaction design, it feels important to study Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth because they show how early ideas shaped the way we approach technology and design today.Ada Lovelace, known as the first computer programmer, didn’t just write code, she thought about how to make machines more than just number crunchers. Her work on Charles Babbage’s analyzing machine showed that machines could process data and symbols creatively, almost mimicking the way humans think. In a world where we are constantly interacting with technology, her vision reminds us that our designs today have the potential to shape the future.

Also，on the other side， Lillian Gilbreth introduces a human-centered approach to her work in ergonomics and psychology. She focuses on making everyday tasks easier and more efficient by understanding how people interact with their environment (whether in a factory or at home). For someone like me, learning to design easy-to-use interfaces and improve people’s lives feels directly relevant to her work.Gilbreth’s emphasis on human needs reminds us that good design is not just about aesthetics or functionality-it’s about understanding people and designing systems for them. These women’s contributions help us see how long-held ideas about people and technology influence the decisions we make in IXD today.

Key Design Principles: Gestalt Psychology, Fitts’ Law, and the Vision of Memex

“Gestalt Principles”- PART 1 – pp 96 – 97
Introduces the main principles of Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, and Symmetry in Gestalt psychology. Explains how these principles affect people’s perception and organization of visual information.
Proximity:
Place related elements closer together to indicate that they belong to the same group or have the same function. For example, group navigation buttons together so that users can intuitively recognize that they are used for page navigation.
Similarity:
Use the same color, shape, size, or font to represent elements with similar functions or attributes. For example, essential operation buttons should be marked with the same color in the software interface so that users can quickly identify and distinguish different types of operations.
Elements in different states can be distinguished by similarity. For example, various colors or styles can represent selected and unselected items. Still, they should maintain a certain similarity so that users can understand their relationship.
Continuity:
Use the principle of continuity to guide the user’s eyes. For example, continuous lines or shapes can be used to connect related elements so that the user’s eyes can naturally follow the lines and understand the overall layout and structure of the design.
In web design, continuous layout and navigation elements can be used to guide users smoothly between pages. For example, a continuous menu bar or breadcrumb navigation allows users to clearly know where they are in the website and where they can go.
Closure:
Use the principle of closure to create concise and expressive graphics. In interface design, only a part of the progress bar is displayed, and users can infer the overall progress based on that part.
Symmetry:
Designing a symmetrical layout can give people a sense of stability and harmony. In fields such as web and APP design, symmetrical layouts can be used to attract users’ attention and convey a professional and orderly impression. For example, important information or action buttons can be placed symmetrically on both sides of the interface so that users can find and use them more easily.

“Fitts Law” – PART 1 – pp 98 – 107
Mainly describes the principles and formulas of Fitts’ Law. Explains the relationship between the time required to move to a target and the distance and size of the target. The application of Fitts’s Law in human-computer interaction, such as mouse operation, touch screen interaction, etc., is analyzed through experimental data and actual cases. According to Fitts’s Law, the user interface design is optimized to improve the efficiency and accuracy of user operation. The user’s operation time and error rate are reduced in specific designs. For example, essential buttons are designed to be more significant and close to the user’s operation area.

“As We May Think, Foreseeing the Future, On the Trail of the Memex”- PART 1 – pp. 70 – 95
The concept and function of “Memex” (an imaginary information storage and retrieval device) are introduced. People can draw inspiration from the idea of “Memex” to obtain personalized information storage and retrieval and associative information organization. In interaction design, users can customize interface layout, information screening conditions, etc., through user portraits and personalized settings to improve the efficiency and accuracy of information retrieval.

NO IXD without ADA (ix) and Lillian (d)

Ada Lovelace is one of the most important people in IXD because she helped formulate to bring the “IX” in ixd to life. 

As someone who believed that compute was more than just numbers, she helped progress the complex systems thinking to adopt symbols, music, art and other areas of science. 

Her keen interest pushed the boundaries in data processing, cryptography but most importantly, AGI (not in those exact words) 

Without these algebraic computations, it would be impossible for us to run our designs on Figma and bring them to web versions in real time, In real life. 

Lillian Gilberth deserves huge praise in terms of bringing the D to “IXD”, simply because she helped pioneer and innovate in ergonomic and functional design which has helped us propel the way we think of life. 

Her keen attention into (human centred design) allows people today to design keeping in mind various stakeholders as well as motivate them to use it with ease due to the psychology behind it.

Without these two, we might not have IX D.

The Impact of Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth

To begin with, I totally support that Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth are significant figures in Interaction Design History, not only for their pioneering contributions that influence modern design principles, but also for their way opened for women to be engaged into this industry.


Ada Lovelace is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, where she envisioned the machine’s potential beyond mere calculations, laid the groundwork for computational thinking, an essential aspect of digital interface design. Even though she was born in a well-educated family with resources with poetry and science, her mother lead her to the way of science, which could probably make her different from the other ladies in her age or with similar background)


Moreover, Lillian Gilbreth is a pioneer in human factors and ergonomics, Gilbreth introduced ideas about user-centred design. She studied how people interact with machines and environments, which is foundational to IXD. Her focus on improving efficiency and comfort influenced how we design tools and interfaces that consider the user’s needs and behavior.