environments the future of interaction design

ENVIRONMENTS The Future of Interaction Design

I am an interaction designer.

interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010 | illustration by www.formerfactory.com

I am also a dancer.


Choreography


Defining a structure to foster specific types of movement and interaction—anticipating the way that users and information want to flow & makes affordance for change over time. - Dan Klyn, from his definition of Information Architecture http://vimeo.com/8866160

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interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010 | illustration by www.formerfactory.com ”

Now in the case of dance, choreography involves things like initiation of movement, phrasing, shape, interaction with space, and effort to convey emotion.

Both interaction design and dance utilize order, patterns, relationships, taxonomy, and time—for the purpose of creating meaning and engaging the audience.


Exploring new ways to engage the audience through interactivity and active participation.

interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010 | illustration by www.formerfactory.com | Environments Laboratory OSU, 2000-2001

In 2000, as dancers we were ahead of the curve in terms of thinking about interaction in a more tangible sense. While as a designer working in my first internship, I was still thinking about whether the navigation should be on the left-side or the top-side of the webpage.

My work as a dancer felt so out there. At first, I didn’t make the connection regarding the potential that my two worlds presented.


Fast forward to today. None of it seems very “out there” anymore.

- Example shown,“Reactable” electronic music instrument developed within the Music Technology Group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain by Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger. <www.reactable.com>

interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010

codified metaphoric integrated


A significant transition in the very nature of the products that are going to emerge in the future… These new products are going to look less and less like the repacking of the basic PC graphical user interface… no longer mainly passive entities that we have dealt with in the past… buildings are going to become increasingly active and reactive - Bill Buxton from his book “Sketching User Experiences,” 2007

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” interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010 | illustration by www.formerfactory.com

I believe that active environments (sensitive to movement and intent) are going to play a more prominent role in our future design challenges.


Looking at active environments, what are some of the dimensions we’ll be dealing with?


2D vs 3D • Acceptance • Active vs passive • Affordance • Architecture/layout Authentication • Blob vs human • Boundaries • Cognitive load • Competitive vs collaborative • Content orientation • Context • Culture • Discrete vs continuous Duration • Enacting • Ergonomics • Feedback • Frame of reference • Habitual vs triggered • Human factors • Input blindness • Intent • Interference • Latency • Learning/adoption • Locus of control • Managing expectations • Meaning • Mediated vs non-mediated • Mental model • Modality • Motor-skill variance • Multi-user • Non-arbitrary movements • Nuanced movements • Open vs closed systems • Optical flow • Orientation • Paths of motion • Physical proportions • Physical strain • Pitch/roll/yaw • Points of view • Position • Proximity • Range of movement • Resolution • Rules • Sequence • Shape/form • Shifting context • Similarities vs differences • Spatial relationships • Staging • Timing • Ubiquitous vs bound • Understanding movement • Variations in lighting…

interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010

Well, there is a lot of potential good that can come from this space. I am imagining environments that are active, but not overactive.

Environments that are purposed to enhance activities, conversations, collaboration, and play.


Potential application: Whole Body Education—bringing content to life through physical interaction (kinesthetic learning) and multi-sensory exploration.

Keeping kids engaged and fostering abstract thinking (not to mention what this can do for childhood obesity)


Potential application: The treatment of Autism and Attention Deficit Disorder.


Potential application: Increased efficiency and safety during medical procedures (Procedure Theater).


And of course… Better games, and more engaging performance & art!


Where to begin? We’ll approach this space like we have each prior evolution of technology that our practice has had to deal with—learning through doing, through experience.

We’ll just dive-in, explore, make mistakes. We’ll adapt.


I want to turn your attention to an active environment that explores: • Human body as an interface with technology • Movement…predominantly shape and space • The challenges when interacting with technology in this new way • To define Interaction Design with respect to physical environments • To generate dialogue


Key aspects of exploration for this project… 2D vs 3D • Acceptance • Active vs passive • Affordance • Architecture/layout Authentication • Blob vs human • Boundaries • Cognitive load • Competitive vs collaborative • Content orientation • Context • Culture • Discrete vs continuous Duration • Enacting • Ergonomics • Feedback • Frame of reference • Habitual vs triggered • Human factors • Input blindness • Intent • Interference • Latency • Learning/adoption • Locus of control • Managing expectations • Meaning • Mediated vs non-mediated • Mental model • Modality • Motor-skill variance • Multi-user • Non-arbitrary movements • Nuanced movements • Open vs closed systems • Optical flow • Orientation • Paths of motion • Physical proportions • Physical strain • Pitch/roll/yaw • Points of view • Position • Proximity • Range of movement • Resolution • Rules • Sequence • Shape/form • Shifting context • Similarities vs differences • Spatial relationships • Staging • Timing • Ubiquitous vs bound • Understanding movement • Variations in lighting… interaction10 Kendra Shimmell Copyright: 2010

How our system works… >


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXNX4qPz5r4

My body as interface… >


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2clEJfMNjk

Audience participation =) >


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Fp4im9wCI

Special thanks goes to… • Robert Wechsler, www.palindrome.de for our collaboration in the realm of active environments • Nand Dussault of www.formerfactory.com • Adaptive Path www.adaptivepath.com • Lextant www.lextant.com • Lane Kuhlman for great conversations about tangible interfaces www.lanekulman.com • Shirley Tobias for her editorial insights • Suzanne El-Moursi for support at the 11th hour • Finally, IxDA www.ixda.org for providing the framework for this type of exploration


www.palindrome.de

www.formerfactory.com

www.adaptivepath.com

www.lextant.com

www.lanekulman.com

www.ixda.org