Notes from Device Design Day
[Nice 1-day conference](http://devicedesignday.com/) by [Kicker Studio](http://www.kickerstudio.com/) last Friday. A few notes:
*Kim Goodwin and Michael Voege, IxD + ID*
– When ID & IxD can work together from the start, can be a good convergence process. Start wild, gradually narrow down
– ID often requires more *emotional* cues from people in user research
– Daily, quick checkins are useful between design teams even in the separate design phases
*Stuart Karten, Hearing aids*
– People of *all* ages wanted the hearing enhancement one hearing aid company was offering; not just the old
– [Modemapping](http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2007/09/more_on_modemapping_a_cool_visualization_tool.html): research technique to chart all the activities a person does throughout the day by time and quality/happiness, to discover common pain points and patterns across people, then list out functional, behavioral, and social needs in those.
– Sample themes for ID of hearing aids: jewelry, algorithms/nature,
performance enhancement.
– Capacitive touch on the ear has issues when people brush their hair back
– Using an iPhone/Android app can be a good way to test touch interactions; just simulate the product onscreen and use the iPhone to respond to touch input
*Wendy Ju, Implicit Interactions*
– [Joe Malia’s privacy scarves are awesome](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2006/06/what-happens-wh.php)
– Many important interactions take place in the “attentional periphery”: a doorman’s offer to open a door; a dog wagging its tail. Each communicates status, an offer, and acknowledgment of you.
– Implicit interaction axes: Foreground/Background, Proactive/Reactive. A single interaction can move around these quadrants. Most UIs today are Foreground + Reactive; lots of potential in the others
*Mike Kuniavsky, Information as a material*
– [FedEx Senseaware](http://www.senseaware.com/), a passive (soon active) device + web info system for packages
– Multiple screens (phone, tablet, desktop, tv) are “holes in space to the same thing”
– Are you building an APPLIANCE (limited functionality, focused UI) or a TERMINAL (infinite functionality, general UI)?
– A terminal: “a transparent window into services”
*Ian Myles, Astro Design*
– Concept design can be a fancy concept movie or a simple sketch with localized glowing; both convey the idea but the latter is much simpler
– [Intel Moorestown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyQ_NWt_sjA&feature=related) device; ultra widescreen (32:9) suggests new
interactions/uses
*Dan Harden, Frog -> Whipsaw*
– Interesting Skymall items: [laser scissors](http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Industrial-Laser-Scissors/dp/B001OFOFJM); [overhead book holder](http://www.activeforever.com/p-236-levo-book-holder.aspx?CMPID=Froogle_levo-book-holder)
– “A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his workand his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.” – [LP Jacks](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._P._Jacks)
– “Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” – [Marcus Aurelius](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius)
– Livescribe pen lets you draw interface elements and then use them by touching: [http://waynehodgins.typepad.com/ontarget/2008/08/cool-tools- live.html](http://waynehodgins.typepad.com/ontarget/2008/08/cool-tools-live.html)
– “There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are _obviously_ no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no _obvious_ deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult. ” – [C.A.R. Hoare](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._A._R._Hoare)
– [Vudu remote control is beautiful](http://www.google.com/images?q=vudu%20remote%20control&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1328&bih=806)
– [InfiniteZ virtual holographic display system](http://www.infinitez.com/zspace/product)
*Julian Bleecker, Design Fiction*
– “[A Survey of Human-Computer Interaction in Science Fiction Movies](http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1363200.1363210)”
– “[Yesterday’s tomorrows: notes on ubiquitous computing’s dominant vision](http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1229069)” – Genevieve Bell
– “[Scientists on the Set](http://sppus.highwire.org/content/12/3/261.abstract)”, “[The Future is Now](http://sss.sagepub.com/content/40/1/41.abstract)”, & upcoming book “Science on the Silver Screen” by [David Kirby](http://www.davidakirby.com/)