Blogs

  • Technology and nature

    Jonathan Grudin Posted: Fri, November 06, 2015 - 3:00:07

    The black water mirrored the tropical forest above it so perfectly that the shoreline was impossible to pinpoint. The reflection included the palms with cannonball-clustered fruit that had stained the…

  • Multiple scales interaction design

    Mikael Wiberg Posted: Mon, November 02, 2015 - 11:54:10

    ”Attention to details” has always been a key concern for interaction design. With our attention to details we ensure that we as interaction designers think carefully about every little detail…

  • Action and research

    Jonathan Grudin Posted: Fri, October 09, 2015 - 6:01:55

    Three favorite research projects at Microsoft that were never written up: automated email deletion, an asynchronous game to crowdsource answers to consulting questions, and a K-12 education tool. I expected…

  • Scripted interaction

    Mikael Wiberg Posted: Mon, October 05, 2015 - 10:51:06

    "Interaction design" is a label for a field of research and for a practice. When we design interactive tools and gadgets we do interaction design. But what is it that…

  • Go West!

    Deborah Tatar Posted: Tue, September 01, 2015 - 4:18:05

    As a professor, I now get to witness young people aspiring to “go West.” They know the familiar trope “Go West, young man,” ascribed to the 19th-century publisher Horace Greeley.…

  • Building troops

    Jonathan Grudin Posted: Wed, August 19, 2015 - 10:44:32

    “Will you miss Khaleesi?” asked Isobel. At that moment, the samango urinated on Eleanor’s shoulder. “Ummm, yes?” Eleanor replied. The primates at the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre outside Tzaneen, South…

  • Central control

    Jonathan Grudin Posted: Tue, July 14, 2015 - 11:14:10

    Two impressive New Yorker articles described powerful, laser-focused leaders whose vision affects technology design and use. Xi Jinping consolidated control of the world’s largest country. Jonathan Ive did so at…

  • Critical waves

    Deborah Tatar Posted: Mon, July 13, 2015 - 11:41:13

    I have just been trying to figure out how to explain some of our design ideas inside the various ACM/CHI-ish communities in the upcoming paper-writing season. I have found that…

  • Design by the yard

    Monica Granfield Posted: Tue, June 30, 2015 - 10:34:26

    Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected. — Steve Jobs How do you build a common language with which to communicate…

  • Customers vs. users

    Jonathan Grudin Posted: Wed, June 03, 2015 - 10:41:03

    Perspectives on handwriting and digital ink in schools. Going through customers to reach users is a challenge as old as HCI. When computers cost a fortune, acquisition decisions weren’t made…