Section One explores the foundation of the rich field of Interaction Design.

In Chapter 1: Multiple Roots, and an Uncertain Future,  the historic roots of this field are described, and the relationship between engineering and business is explored. Additionally, the future is painted as an unknown field of potential for this field, as the study of human behavior has become of a primary interest to the worlds of business and marketing in recent years.

Chapter 2: Computing and Human Computer Interaction  describes how Human Computer Interaction arose as a field advocating for usability and efficiency. This is paralleled by a similar growth in the field of Industrial Design, with emphasis placed on human factors and anthropometrics. Both fields have evolved as user-centered professions, laying the groundwork for the field of Interaction Design (which, as practiced presently, seems to combine both physical and digital design into artifacts, services or systems).

Section 1 concludes with a contributed essay by Chris Connors, entitled Interaction Design in an Engineering Centric World.