| Posted November 17, 2025 | By Joshua Lomelino, M.F.A. | Categorized under Memberships Mastery Podcast |
As a graduate student studying game development and app design in 2004 to 2010, I found myself wrestling with questions that felt urgent and unprecedented. Social media was emerging at the time, and I couldn't stop wondering: What would this technology do to society? To me personally? To my children someday?
These felt like entirely new ethical territories—until a persistent thought kept surfacing: maybe we've been here before.
I could already see then the ethical complications that have now fully materialized in our digital landscape today. Yet despite my hesitation, I also recognized enormous potential. Teaching across multiple universities at the time, I was confined by classroom walls while imagining something radically different: reaching students internationally, teaching synchronously and asynchronously, and transcending physical boundaries entirely.
However, exciting as the new opportunities were, I wanted to be intentional. As a designer, I knew my work would help shape what was coming, and I wanted to pull the right levers. So I embarked on a small research project for a class discussion: examining how previous communication technologies had transformed human behavior in measurable, seismic ways.
That early exploration became a short essay I published in the early 2000s as a graduate student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. While it was later updated in 2010, I never finished the conversation I started there.
So this new Membership Mastery series picks up that thread. We'll explore how to create genuine connections in online learning and membership communities—not by chasing what's new, but by understanding the patterns of transformation that have always accompanied new ways of communicating.
To build the future well, we need to understand the past. And what that, let’s get started with the original short essay below.
To more fully understand Interactive Design one must know how modern communication came of age as well as how design is used to facilitate person-to-person interactions and person-to data interactions in simulated virtual spaces. Interactive Design is used as a tool to help organize, enhance, and unify information, processes, and experiences both in physical and digital environments.
In this paper I will discuss how Interactive Design came of age—and, more importantly, how this evolution informs the Interactive Design process. Starting with a brief overview of the interaction of people-to-data, a model of synchronous communication will be developed. I will provide insight into why modern humanity spends its life attached to technology by exploring Maslow's hierarchy of needs in relation to current societal lifestyle and communicational patterns.
Finally I will demonstrate how Interactive Design has become a vital organ in our society and will show how this should inform the design approach in the field of Interactive Design in order to develop more applicable, targeted, and usable designs.
Interactive Design, by its very definition, requires "interaction." Interaction has several connotations, but the pertaining practice for the internet revolves around an interaction between people-to-data and people-to-people. As I investigate how society interacts with each other and with bodies of data, I feel it is important to develop a frame of reference with a brief history of how information has been disseminated throughout past centuries.
Interaction between a society and data can be traced back to the formative years of printing. China is credited with the earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra (868 CE), produced using woodblock printing, not movable type. Movable clay type was later developed by Bi Sheng around 1040–1048 CE. However, it is suspected that book printing may have occurred long before this date" (Bellis). Later, in the mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, developed a wooden press using movable metal type, culminating in his famous 42-line Bible in the 1450s. By 1500, printing presses were operating in more than 200 towns and cities across Europe (Bellis).
Through this method of asynchronous communication, people of all regions of the world would soon have the potential of interacting with ideas, thoughts, and messages, without engaging in face-to-face communication. The printing press was partly responsible for transforming synchronous communication to asynchronous communication on a large scale.
As an example, instead of going to the town center to obtain important news, events, and general information, people would eventually be conditioned not to leave home in order to obtain news, but would instead obtain the information in a newspaper or printed publication. Individual lifestyle patterns and relationships would have been affected as a result.
Centuries later, the same changes to society apply, and the same lifestyle pattern changes are occurring. Instead of leaving home to interact with a person by giving and receiving information we can conduct this communication without even leaving home—by interfacing through "a box." In this fashion the changes that took place in communication centuries ago run in parallel tracks with today, but on a large-scale international platform, commonly referred to as the Web.
At this point there are a couple of important questions to ask. What is communication? Is it valuable and essential to the individual and to society at large? If communication is indeed important to both individuals and to society, then it is perhaps here, at the intersection between design and communication, that the purpose and use of Interactive Design is found.
In order to facilitate this model of discussing societal interaction through Interactive Design, I will turn to Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a foundational element to try to make sense of the attachments many feel to electronic gadgets such as phones, texting, and instant messaging. The writings of Maslow indicate that there are a set of needs, basic to all humanity that have precedence over one another—and are met in sequence. For example physiological needs such as air and food must be met before safety needs. Once those essential criteria have been met, the void for love, esteem, and self-actualization can be filled. "Needs are prepotent. A prepotent need is one that has the greatest influence over our actions.
Everyone has a prepotent need, but that need will vary among individuals" (Gwynne). It is important to note that once the basic physiological needs are met, needs such as love and esteem will often be sought after. Communication is one vehicle that fulfills the need for love and esteem. But with limited face-to-face communication in the modern digital age, how is this fulfillment possible? And what impact does this form of communication have on society at large?
Most would agree that face-to-face interpersonal relationships are holistic and meaningful, fulfilling the higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy. It is in these relationships that people can grow and be fulfilled. However, when these types of face-to-face interactions are a forgotten distant past in modern society, how does communication still occur? This is the challenge to interactive designers—to design systems and environments that are conducive to connecting people-to-people and people-to-data (i.e. Google, Facebook, web sites, and more).
With the arrival of the information age, many spend their days at work and home interfacing with the world through a box (i.e computer, iPhone, Blackberry, or other digital box interfaces). Face-to-face communication has become far less common in day-to-day interactions, especially with international organizations necessitating e-mail and real-time online support and communication. For many knowledge-based jobs, a growing share of communication now happens through screens—email, chat, and video, rather than in-person even if you are in the same building or campus. Just as when society saw vast changes in information exchange and communication when printing became available, people in the information age are experiencing a dramatic shift in the types of interactions they experience on a daily basis.
The field of Interactive Design creates systems and tools for a society that is disconnected in physical location from people and information to be connected through the environments that make "the box" look and feel less like a box. For example, information that exists in Franklin, Tennessee, can be made accessible anywhere in the world. In this fashion Interactive Design shapes each of these person-to-person and person-to-data interactions. Interface design for systems such as e-mail, social networking tools such as Facebook, blogs, and video conferencing interfaces, and web site design all fall into the category of Interactive Design, where the visual, auditory, and interactive experiences are crafted by interactive designers.
If the printing press changed the mode of communication from synchronous to asynchronous, then when did communication through virtual means become synchronous again? A continued look through the history of communication reveals more about the role of Interactive Design. The telegraph offers meaningful insight into the progression of communication technology. Adrian Chan in "Communication Technology" talks about the phenomenon of the telegraph and how it has affected our lives today. Chan stated that "over one hundred and fifty years ago the telegraph ripped communication from the physical world, enabling with a lightning strike the transmission of electric signals, and thus, our ability to talk without seeing each other." Asynchronous communication became possible when the printing press was invented. But with the advent of the telegraph and the telephone, synchronism in communication became reality. Two-way, same-time communication spanning vast distances was possible, practical, and even commonplace.
It wasn't, however, until advancements in the late 1950s and early 1960s that the concept of synchronism was taken into the realm of computers. Timesharing, the concept of linking a large number of users to a single computer via remote terminals, was developed at MIT and demonstrated in 1961 with the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) (Chan). With the addition of a person at each computer, humanity could essentially be in contact with each other throughout a network of machines, thus establishing true communication through a box. Interestingly enough, in this fashion, the Information Age in which we live is not only characterized by information like its name would suggest, but is also largely driven by communication. As Chan goes on to say, "The culture of technology is no longer defined by information and information processing. It's defined by connectivity, relations, and communication."
Many types of synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication are available to connect people all across the world. Take for example the telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, and video conferencing. This level of global connectivity has its strengths and, with those strengths, inherent weaknesses—and this is where the role of interactive designers is so critically needed. With these mediating technologies we hope to achieve cultural membership and the amount of continuity we have with one other is defined.
In the following quote from Adrian Chan, in his research of communication technology, one can see the far-reaching effects of technology that began all the way back with the development of writing and the origins of Interactive Design and how they play out today after their inception many years ago:
There is perhaps nothing more critical to society today than communication. Because we now live locally and globally at the same time, we need communication to translate between the two. And to help us conduct all the commerce and interaction that turns the world on a daily basis. But besides playing its role in our economies and systems, communication is what binds [us] as people. It is what keeps our society healthy and sane. It's how we maintain our relationships, and how we make new friends. How we extend trust, as well as how we maintain it. To sustain communication today we depend on technologies.
The internet, wireless, phones, and computers, these and the many more devices whose ever-expanding web of connectivity has become the very fabric of our culture. Now that everywhere is nowhere and everyplace is no place, we're all equidistant and immediate. Wired or wireless, we're connected in ways that have never before been possible… More connected now than ever, we long for real connections.
If "communication through the box" has become commonplace (and for many people it indeed has) mediators are needed to enhance and unify the experiences that occur in and through the box. This is where Interactive Design serves society—to make these experiences more consistent, unified, and meaningful.
Through all of this discussion an important question must be asked. What happens when the "face" is taken out of "face-to-face?" This question is at the heart of Interactive Design, and it is where we as designers must begin. Where Graphic Design helps us organize information and images into logical patterns of human perception, Interactive Design attempts to organize data and communication systems into understandable, logical, usable, and aesthetically pleasing systems. The heart of Interactive Design is communication amongst people, whether it is conveying information, pictures, video, or synchronous and asynchronous conversations. People are at the heart of the work we do, and it is imperative that we don't forget this when constructing our interactive solutions.
The user and communication requirements of what people want "the box" to do have revolutionized the field of Interactive Design—people are the catalyst of innovation for systems such as online forums, instant messaging, text messaging cell phones, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, to name a few. It is imperative that as designers we don't forget that our work is at the service of people. When starting a design or interface solution think about the people who will be using the system—all solutions stem from this foundation.
In summary, it can be said that computers and technology are used for many things. They are used for business—where the Internet paves the way for international companies and their commerce. For children, the computer may serve as an entertainment or educational platform where learning takes place. The multiplicity of functions is unending. Since computers have become a vital organ of social interaction, society must realize a computer's limitations and exploit its strengths.
Interactive Design has become a primary glue that holds us all together: from business, to entertainment, to relationships Interactive Design is at the heart of each of these touch points in modern life. Face-to-face communication and interactions seem to be diminishing day-by-day. It is here that Interactive Design takes center stage. Where the "face" has seemingly disappeared in "face-to-face," Interactive Design has been ushered in as the countenance of modern communication.
When society is progressively interfacing with the world through a box (computers, mobile devices, and more) people are needed who are highly skilled in designing consistent and successful user experiences. While Interactive Design is many times viewed simply as web site design, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is so much more. Interactive Design is a vehicle that modern society uses to navigate through interpersonal interactions in the Information Age. It is the design of interactions between bodies of data and with interactions between people that Interactive Design derives its meaning and purpose—as we continue to live through the box.
Now it's your turn. What ways can you create to help connect your communities as you design the future of the box. Reach out and send me a message and let me know. I'll connect you with my best strategies and resources I've used to help transform online communities so they can achieve the goals they want and need.
Bibliography
Bellis, Mary. “Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press.” 2010. About.com. Accessed 10 April 2010
Chan, Adrian “Communication Technology and Theory: Research into the Interpersonal and Social Interface.” 2006. Gravity7.com. Accessed 10 April 2010
Gwynne, Robert. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” n.d. University of Tennessee Accessed 10 April 2010 .
“History of the Computer.” PBS.org. n.d. Forum Network. Accessed 10 April 2010
“Printing Press History.” n.d. Printweek.com. Accessed 10 April 2010
“The Printing Press.” 1 May 2007. Ideafinder.com. 10 April 2010
Vannevar, Bush. “ .” n.d. University of Ottawa.
By Joshua Lomelino, M.F.A.
Joshua Lomelino, an award-winning designer and educator, developed a framework that eradicated his debts, allowing him to prioritize family time and achieve financial freedom. He transformed his side hustle into a successful venture and now shares his expertise to help others replicate his success. Josh is passionate about helping others make a substantial income with less effort while making a positive impact.
Over the past twenty-five years he’s helped everyone from student entrepreneurs to Fortune 50 companies all over the globe. He’s worked as a graphic designer, web designer, app designer, and full-time educator. He’s dedicated his life to helping others work smarter, not harder. As the founder of Anomaly Studios he has provided digital marketing services, automation, app and UX design, and so much more. His greatest joys are spending time with family and inspiring others to pursue their creative dreams.