HCI 09: "Do you want to replace the existing normal?"

What if.... we stopped trying to adapt the world to fit our human needs and adapted ourselves to fit the way the world works?

Heresy in the world of HCI, this premise was the underlying question in Anthony Dunne’s keynote talk at the annual meeting of usability and experience design experts, HCI 09, which opened this Wednesday. The Head of Design Interaction at the Royal College of Art, Dunne’s perspective comes from a career in design rather than technology; and a belief in building for the contrariness of humans rather than for their consistencies. Instead of developing technologies which identify elements of our behaviours then convert them into well defined and well managed processes, he says, we should embrace and build upon our human ability to feel ambivalent; frightened; delighted; anxious; uncertain; attached; guilty; aroused; all of the above, often at the same time. Designing, in other words, for what most of us are: a ‘mess of neuroses’.

His active projects are certainly challenging to the adaptive, responsive, human-centred world of HCI. Dunne presents a futuristic vision of a world powered by human waste, where children’s lunch boxes include a compartment labelled ‘poo’; to be filled and returned to mummy at the end of the day for re-entry into the cycle of food and energy; where animals are used as living kidney dialysis machines; where blood stored in a cute teddy-shaped bag is a source of energy; and where an elegant wall decoration – the statistical clock – sombrely intones that day’s fatalities from technology related accidents as they are reported on internet news sites. More comprehensibly (if not conventionally), Dunne described robots which experience panic attacks when an unknown person appears; and which scan micro-movements of our facial muscles to pick the exact product we want – before we realise it ourselves – when we’re browsing.

Provocative, certainly, and Dunne is clearly aware that much of his vision picks at ethical boundaries which probably should not be breached. But to criticise his work on that basis is to miss the point. Designing for human complexity, stupidity, irrationality and messiness whilst also trying to create something useful, functional and beautiful is an ambitious goal which will inevitably raise questions and frequently outrage. But from this springs innovation: Dunne points out that designing products which accommodate what we already do, and already know, changes nothing. Working with people as they really are; designing for what might be or how we would like things to be; speculating – what if? – is what can persuade, influence and improve our lives.

Associated Link: Dunne and Raby

'Internet addiction' linked to Depression
Source: BBC, 9 February 2010
 
There is a strong link between heavy internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

Could *You* be more Usable?
Source: UN, 8 February 2010
 
Bet you could.

Stowe Boyd on 'Steampunk' thinking about the Future of Computing
Source: Stowe Boyd's blog via Experientia, 6 February 2010
 
Are established metaphors of user experience holding us back from new ways of structuring our interaction through computers?

Nokia's User Experience Programme
Source: UN, 5 February 2010
 
Nokia has put together a rich and informative website covering the key elements of user experience.

Interfaces magazine: latest issue available now
Source: HCI News Service, 4 February 2010
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available in pdf format, free from the Interaction Website.

A Lighter Brigade of Chargers
Source: UN, 3 February 2010
 
Lots of gadgets, one charger. At last.

Mobile Touch Screens could soon Feel the Pressure
Source: MIT Technology Review, 2 February 2010
 
A quantum switch could add pressure sensing to mobile screens.

Usability, Usability, Usability: why the iPad will Succeed
Source: Econsultancy, 1 February 2010
 
The tech critics love it, hate it, love it again, shrug it off. What do usability experts say?

British Airways - at last some good news
Source: Loop11, 30 January 2010
 
In a recent website usability study for the world's leading airlines, the British Airways website proved to be the most user friendly, with Malaysia Airlines and Virgin Atlantic having the lowest user experience rating.

Computation of Emotions in Man and Machine
Source: Royal Society, 29 January 2010
 
Advances in computer technology now allow machines to recognise and express emotions, paving the way for improved human-computer and human-human communications.