Interface Design

Roles: boundary, contract, protocol, consumer, provider, compatibility

The design of boundaries between components, systems, or users and systems. As a target domain, interface design borrows structure from physical joints (tongue-and-groove, dovetail), diplomatic protocol (handshake, negotiation), and surface contact (friction, seamlessness). The domain foregrounds the tension between constraint and flexibility: an interface must be strict enough to ensure compatibility and loose enough to accommodate variation.

Applied To This Frame (1)

• carpentry → Tongue and Groove