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antonya
New Member
September 26, 2026
Solved

Dialogue vs Dialog on "What is Human Computer Interaction?" Article

  • September 26, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 15 views

Hello! I noticed that in the Figma article What is Human Computer Interaction?, the author writes:

Dialogue. Use clear and concise language to communicate task completion, like  “Purchase Confirmed” pop-ups after completing an online order.

 

On Shneiderman’s website, he writes: 

Design dialogs to yield closure.
Sequences of actions should be organized into groups with a beginning, middle, and end. Informative feedback at the completion of a group of actions gives users the satisfaction of accomplishment, a sense of relief, a signal to drop contingency plans from their minds, and an indicator to prepare for the next group of actions. For example, e-commerce websites move users from selecting products to the checkout, ending with a clear confirmation page that completes the transaction.

 

I understand that they are variations of the same word but I would argue that in this context, it is important to use dialog because Schneiderman is referring to the importance of the graphical interface  (like a dialog box) and the clear completion of an interaction. The clarity is in making sure your users are clearly starting and ending an interaction.

Dialog is to provide users with a clear signal of task completion, like moving users to a clear confirmation page after clicking Complete Purchase when completing an online order. 

 

Also, I was in a lecture for my HCI masters two years ago (at UMD where Schneiderman taught and founded the Human-Computer Interaction Lab) where the professor used Figma’s definition in her presentation explaining Schneiderman’s rules and when she got to “Dialogue”, she told the class “Yeah, dialogue , like, make sure you are communicating using clear and concise language like you are having a dialogue”.

And this has bothered me ever since.

    Best answer by adamsmasher

    Hey, ​@antonya. Thanks for flagging this - seems like you feel pretty passionately about prompting us to have a dialogue about using the correct word. 😅

     

    I’ve filed a request with the team to update the article to use the correct word. Let us know if you see anything else or if you have any questions about using Figma itself. Have a great day!

    1 reply

    adamsmasher
    Figmate
    Figmate
    September 26, 2026

    Hey, ​@antonya. Thanks for flagging this - seems like you feel pretty passionately about prompting us to have a dialogue about using the correct word. 😅

     

    I’ve filed a request with the team to update the article to use the correct word. Let us know if you see anything else or if you have any questions about using Figma itself. Have a great day!