The “intentional fallacy” and the “affective fallacy” of interaction design

How seriously should we (as researchers, practitioners, users, and members of society) seek to understand and factor in the intentions of the designers who made them and the felt experiences of those who use them? Such intentions and felt experiences may include cognitive states, affective states, assumptions and values, predispositions, aspirations, and so forth.

The alternative view dispenses with such subjective qualities and seeks meaning only in the qualities of the artifact itself.

In short, an unusual post on applying literary theory to interaction design.