Talk by Jody Medich, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Kicker Studio, on designing for physical thinking: the importance of Physical Interface given at IDSA 2012 in Boston.
2. co founder & creative director of kicker.
nui products & r&d 1-10 yrs. out.
controversy over what the ‘natural’ means. we’re noticing a disturbing reliance on visual and
language based interactions with screens. yes, we’ve added touch, but we’re touching glass.
that’s no fun.
natural = human. the human interface is not strictly visual and language based. in fact,
language is one of our last skills to develop.
here today to implore your help, as industrial designers, as experts at making OBJECTS to
help me forge a new practice in physical interaction design, or what i like to call design for
physical thinking. i don’t have solutions for you, but i know the answers will come from
people like you.
3. hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in
products and tools. where’s my jet pack?
4. hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in
products and tools. where’s my jet pack?
this led to this.
at least it’s wearable, but it’s basically just a shrunk down screen.
5. total recall 2012’s version.
ok. so if this is where hollywood sees the future of the phone, i guess i can possibly buy that.
it’s pretty cool that when i touch any sort of glass it projects video. ok.
but here’s where i get upset that hollywood is predicting the future. here’s this phone,
embedded in my hand but to use it i do this
really? this is not comfortable, in fact it makes no sense, BUT it makes great cinema.
movement translates well to the screen and to today’s audiences -- people who don’t have
phones implanted in their hands.
but think about it in reality. i am already annoyed that i have to hold my phone to talk. now i
don’t have the phone, but i have to do that gesture anyway.
6. thanks to minority report, there has been a huge growth in the area of gestural interface, the
pros/cons of which are a different talk.
i’d like to point to a different, more concerning trajectory.
minority report
8. which seems to lead to google glass
all these interfaces are almost entirely visual. sure there’s a little bit of touch here and there,
but for the most part we’re building ourselves into a corner where the only way to take in
information is through the visual.
that’s great for movies -- a strictly visual medium -- but not for humans.
9. Post Human
how did we get here? movies aren’t entirely to blame -- cybernetics
disembodied mind
i want you to all call to mind a computer scientist from the late 80’s...
10. Evolve beyond the body.
yeah, he looked something like this didn’t he? and it was definitely a he. no wonder they
wanted to evolve beyond the body. their “minds” were far superior.
but we need to prevent this because if they succeed, they will become gods because no one
will ever be able to match their brain power again. this is because we don’t just think with our
brains, we think with our whole bodies.
11. Embodied Cognition
growing body of research that shows we process thought throughout our bodies.
“Embodied Cognition”
smell brings back a memory
go outside and the temperature snaps you back to a specific event in your childhood
these are examples of embodied cognition
series of sketches from tbwa
notice it’s not located in the head, or even heart, instead it appears we experience these
thoughts with our whole bodies
12. Design for Physical Thinking
How can we improve technology by
embracing embodied cognition?
talk to you about some different types of physical thinking
13. Flattened Space
17” monitor flattens any sense of space
Limits user’s ability to visually sort, remember & access
Becomes a memory game of “where is that?”
Provides a vary narrow field of view on content & data.
14. Space to Think
spatial semantic systems
- memory
- sorting = connections & insights
especially helpful to women, who tend to rely on landmarks to navigate
15. Mediated Activity
i don’t know about you, but when i just jump straight to the computer, my work tends to
come out stilted.
current interactions limit our physical activity, causing us instead to jump through a series of
mental hoops of menus, key commands and ‘tools’ to draw something as simple as a circle.
16. Actual Physical Activity
Many people think through movement.
How many of you think better when you walk around? How bout when you write?
writing helps you remember by
- notation, sure
- more centers of your brain = more likely to remember
studies:
children math use their hands
actors
technologies:
GPS
Accelerometers
Gesture Detection
Bio-sensors
17. Tap Interface
designing with glass is not evil and bad, but does everything have to be glass? especially the
kind of glass we use for touchscreens which is always cold and slick.
A recent study, published last year in Science, reveals that what we touch impacts our
cognition of the world around us.
tested car buyers by placing some in soft chairs and others in hard ones. People sitting in stiff
chairs rather than soft held out for an extra 2% price cut.
This study suggests that there is a very direct relation between emotion, behavior and
surfaces. And conversely, by creating different physical experiences, it triggers people’s
unconcious emotions, thoughts and behaviors. In other words, if everything is cold glass, we’re
going to be some cranky people.
close your eyes, get pen. ok to go in your pocket or bag, just keep your eyes closed.
18. Tactile Interface
able to differentiate items by touch
our first sense to develop
often rely on it in the real world to help us master tools
car is a tactile interface cause your eyes are supposed to be on the road
19. Design for Physical Thinking
Move Beyond the Screen
but i want to urge you to design beyond the screen
technology does not have to have a screen
21. ew. these look like coffee.
The timers and heaters are essential.
22. Hourglass mental model
-- double walled glass allows for warmth without burning the hand
-- see the color
-- activate through physical interaction
23. HEAT FLIP STEEP POUR
Heres how it works
Kicker Tea Pot allows the interface to disappear, so the focus is on the tea, not the
technology.
24. Design for Physical Thinking
Make physical objects.
Pay attention to how we inhabit the world.
Design beyond the screen.
charge them with their task
25. Thanks for listening.
Any questions?
@kickerstudio
jody@kickerstudio.com
www.kickerstudio.com
ph. 415-796-3434
Editor's Notes
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co founder & creative director of kicker. \nnui products & r&d 1-10 yrs. out. \n\ncontroversy over what the ‘natural’ means. we’re noticing a disturbing reliance on visual and language based interactions with screens. yes, we’ve added touch, but we’re touching glass. that’s no fun. \n\nnatural = human. the human interface is not strictly visual and language based. in fact, language is one of our last skills to develop. \n\nhere today to implore your help, as industrial designers, as experts at making OBJECTS to help me forge a new practice in physical interaction design, or what i like to call design for physical thinking. i don’t have solutions for you, but i know the answers will come from people like you. \n
hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in products and tools. where’s my jet pack?\n
\n\nthis led to this.\n\nat least it’s wearable.\n
hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in products and tools. where’s my jet pack?\n\nthis led to this.\n\nat least it’s wearable.\n
hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in products and tools. where’s my jet pack?\n\nthis led to this.\n\nat least it’s wearable.\n
hollywood is awesome at r&d. seeds the populace with want that come back to them in products and tools. where’s my jet pack?\n\nthis led to this.\n\nat least it’s wearable, but it’s basically just a shrunk down screen. \n
total recall 2012’s version. \n\nok. so if this is where hollywood sees the future of the phone, i guess i can possibly buy that. it’s pretty cool that when i touch any sort of glass it projects video. ok. \n\nbut here’s where i get upset that hollywood is predicting the future. here’s this phone, embedded in my hand but to use it i do this\n\nreally? this is not comfortable, in fact it makes no sense, BUT it makes great cinema. \nmovement translates well to the screen and to today’s audiences -- people who don’t have phones implanted in their hands. \n\nbut think about it in reality. i am already annoyed that i have to hold my phone to talk. now i don’t have the phone, but i have to do that gesture anyway. \n
thanks to minority report, there has been a huge growth in the area of gestural interface, the pros/cons of which are a different talk. \n\ni’d like to point to a different, more concerning trajectory. \n\nminority report \n
led to corning glass \n
which seems to lead to google glass\n\nall these interfaces are almost entirely visual. sure there’s a little bit of touch here and there, but for the most part we’re building ourselves into a corner where the only way to take in information is through the visual. \n\nthat’s great for movies -- a strictly visual medium -- but not for humans. \n
how did we get here? movies aren’t entirely to blame -- cybernetics\ndisembodied mind\n\ni want you to all call to mind a computer scientist from the late 80’s...\n
yeah, he looked something like this didn’t he? and it was definitely a he. no wonder they wanted to evolve beyond the body. their “minds” were far superior. \nbut we need to prevent this because if they succeed, they will become gods because no one will ever be able to match their brain power again. this is because we don’t just think with our brains, we think with our whole bodies. \n
\ngrowing body of research that shows we process thought throughout our bodies.\n“Embodied Cognition”\nsmell brings back a memory\ngo outside and the temperature snaps you back to a specific event in your childhood\nthese are examples of embodied cognition\nseries of sketches from tbwa\nnotice it’s not located in the head, or even heart, instead it appears we experience these thoughts with our whole bodies\n
\ntalk to you about some different types of physical thinking\n
17” monitor flattens any sense of space\nLimits user’s ability to visually sort, remember & access\nBecomes a memory game of “where is that?”\nProvides a vary narrow field of view on content & data. \n\n\n
spatial semantic systems\n- memory\n- sorting = connections & insights\nespecially helpful to women, who tend to rely on landmarks to navigate\n\n
i don’t know about you, but when i just jump straight to the computer, my work tends to come out stilted. \n\ncurrent interactions limit our physical activity, causing us instead to jump through a series of mental hoops of menus, key commands and ‘tools’ to draw something as simple as a circle. \n\n
Many people think through movement. \nHow many of you think better when you walk around? How bout when you write? \nwriting helps you remember by\n- notation, sure\n- more centers of your brain = more likely to remember\nstudies:\nchildren math use their hands \nactors \n\n\ntechnologies:\nGPS\nAccelerometers\nGesture Detection\nBio-sensors\n
designing with glass is not evil and bad, but does everything have to be glass? especially the kind of glass we use for touchscreens which is always cold and slick.\n\nA recent study, published last year in Science, reveals that what we touch impacts our cognition of the world around us. \ntested car buyers by placing some in soft chairs and others in hard ones. People sitting in stiff chairs rather than soft held out for an extra 2% price cut.\n\nThis study suggests that there is a very direct relation between emotion, behavior and surfaces. And conversely, by creating different physical experiences, it triggers people’s unconcious emotions, thoughts and behaviors. In other words, if everything is cold glass, we’re going to be some cranky people. \n\nclose your eyes, get pen. ok to go in your pocket or bag, just keep your eyes closed.\n\n
able to differentiate items by touch\n\nour first sense to develop\n\noften rely on it in the real world to help us master tools\n\ncar is a tactile interface cause your eyes are supposed to be on the road\n
but i want to urge you to design beyond the screen\ntechnology does not have to have a screen\n
non-tech\ndesign for sight, smell, warmth\nrespect ritual\n
ew. these look like coffee. \nThe timers and heaters are essential. \n
Hourglass mental model \n-- double walled glass allows for warmth without burning the hand\n-- see the color\n-- activate through physical interaction\n\n\n
Heres how it works\n\nKicker Tea Pot allows the interface to disappear, so the focus is on the tea, not the technology. \n
hci was a good first step. responsible for things like graphics based operating systems and keyboard/mouse. \nfocused on an equal balance of machine and human language. we learn computers and then make ways to interact with them. we were still building computers/technology at that time. it was all a developing field. but now, technology has tools to communicate more naturally with us, and as ID you are primed to take advantage.\nwikipedia says: Because human–computer interaction studies a human and a machine in conjunction, it draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. On the machine side, techniques in computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, and development environments are relevant. On the human side,communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology, and human factors such as computer user satisfactionare relevant. Engineering and design methods are also relevant. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HCI, people with different backgrounds contribute to its success. HCI is also sometimes referred to as man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–human interaction (CHI).\n