Moving across the boundaries: visual communication repositioned in support of interaction design

This paper is a theoretical contribution to the research area of Aesthetics of Interaction, but from a Visual Communication perspective. In order to convince those that still see Visual Communication as merely style and artifice, and an internalized and subjective design process, I will use the theses of Dourish ‘Embodied Interactions’ and McCullough’s ‘Digital Ground’ to connect to current HCI research. A Pragmatist philosophical position will be adopted from which to explore this Phenomenological area. This will present the design discipline from a fresher perspective of intellectual, considered and rhetorical discourse, into a richer understanding of the discipline by dispelling two unhelpful myths. Then an argument can be made to reposition Visual Communication as a stronger influence upon Interaction Design.