I have recently attended a design conference/workshop that focused on people centered design. During which, I kept coming back to role that language plays in interaction design. In which one can define two main roles in any interaction. The SENDER and the RECEIVER.

Designers (the pen wielder of the sender) must use labels that clearly tell the story of the content/data and terms used as calls to action (buttons) must both guide users actions and manage their expectations simultaneously.To often during the design process the use of language is given little thought. This can be very confusing for people that are engaged (the receiver) in the lexicon of a system. Another common pitfall is using language that is out of context in which it is used.

Not only can they language that designers choose for a system (lets say a web application) help foster a user-friendly experience, but it can also set a tone for the brand promise or at least align itself with the brand essence.

This lead me to the ubiquitous login screen on my own music sharing website. It currently has the name of the site (/MUSIC), the tag line (listen to more music), and username label/input box, password/input box ect... Well, that is not how I talk to people, it does not fit the essence of the site...

It should say something more like... "Hey Welcome back to the Music/" is this "person's name"? (i could get that from a cookie) with a yes link/button or "Sorry not sure who you are..." "who is this?" with first name input box and last name input box. This will allow me as a developer to do all the same things though out the site the the login credentials become the persons name (no need for much security for my little site).

So this is just one example of a better designed experience, just by thinking about language as user interface.