DesignAday

They’re Heeeeere

It’s been a month since Interaction 12 wrapped up, but the conference goodness didn’t end there. Six keynote videos have been released in the Resources section of IxDA.org. I recommend starting with my favorite, the one that kicked off the conference proper, Luke Williams – The Disruptive Age: Thriving in an Era of Constant Change. Luke, a Fellow at Frog and author of the book Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation in Your Business, brilliantly tells us how to innovate through disruptive thinking. He is an outstanding presenter and was a perfect pick for this year’s conference.

After that, it’s a toss-up between Jonas Löwgren: Exploring, Sketching and other Designerly Ways of Working and Amber Case: From Solid to Liquid to Air: Interaction Design and the Future of the Interface. Jonas is a professor and co-founder of the School of Arts and Communication at Malmö University in Sweden. He is a very accomplished academician, and he shared with us a number of interesting studies his students have carried out. Want to know how to get strangers to run their hands all over your body? Check this out. I think, though, that I would have to favor Amber’s talk, simply because her references to Steve Mann took me back to my early work with wearables. She’s a self-proclaimed cyborg anthropologist, and I found her views on social computing fascinating.

If you’re into the more experimental, artistic side of things, have a go with Anthony Dunne: What If… Crafting Design Speculations and Fabian Hemmert – Hack to the Future. I mentioned breathing phones and coffee spill avoiding disk drives yesterday—this is where you’ll find them and so much more. Finally, and I only save her until last because she gave the closing keynote, Dr. Genevieve Bell: Rage Against the Machine? was a fine way to wrap up that you shouldn’t miss.

And while you’re at it, have a look at S#!t Interaction Designers Say. I have a cameo.

Hypocriticalmorphism

Interaction Designers and UX professionals have been ganging up on Apple for its skeuomorphic user interfaces. I mean, they’ve really been hammering hard. They make claims such as that decorating UIs with Corinthian leather is lying to the user. The UI designers baby us. They are holding back the progression of sophistication in UI literacy by chaining us to our analog past. James Higgs states on Made By Many:

Simply put: [I detest these new apps] because they are lies. They attempt to comfort us (to patronise us) by trying to show how they relate to physical objects in the real world when there is no need. How are we helped to understand what Find My Friends does by the addition of “leather” trim? And how difficult can it be for someone, even a relative digital newcomer, to understand a list of books? Difficult enough that the only possible way they could understand it is to present them in a “wooden” bookshelf format?

I heard several designers deriding skeuomorphism in their Interaction 12 talks to much applause and supercilious laughter. And yet, two of the keynote speakers, Anthony Dunne and Fabian Hemmert, were treated with great respect for showing us examples of physical objects that had been granted animalistic behaviors, such as mobile phones that breathe and disk drives that avoid coffee spills by standing up. This dichotomy struck me as being rather hypocritical. I’ve been puzzling over it, and I have a hypothesis.

Once upon a time, just prior to the release of Mac OS X, the graphics capabilities of computer operating systems were relatively poor. Sure, games included photorealistic imagery, but your typical application was limited to rather cartoonish representations. Our icons, buttons, and textures were decidedly low-res. OS X changed that. Suddenly, it was possible to include shadows, translucency, and sophisticated gradients. That freedom presented UI designers with a completely new vocabulary to explore, and as history has shown us, we will explore it for better and worse. One of the results of this exploration was a wave of applications, mostly from independent developers and startups that jumped on Apple’s newfound popularity, that were informally referred to as “delicious” applications. This name was derived from the application Delicious Library by Delicious Monster, one of the first new OS X applications to employ a visually stunning UI. They displayed photorealistic books, with the actual book covers, on wooden shelves. This was, in fact, so successful that Apple hired Mike Matas, the co-founder and graphic designer of Delicious Monster. It was not surprising, then, to see similar skeumorphic touches start appearing within Apple’s own software, even to the point of duplicating (stealing?) Delicious Library’s aesthetic in iBooks.

Of course, we designers can only applaud something so popular and successful for so long. We are driven to disdain anything that becomes commonplace in the challenge to find the next, great, original idea. We are so over the once lick-able candy coating of early Mac OS X, ready to embrace the Modernist-inspired Metro UI of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

Our physical devices, however, are in a different stage of development. As artists and scientists alike explore the uncanny valley of robotics, we are fascinated with the potential of animation, automation, and even self-awareness in the everyday objects that have thus far been static—unmoving and unresponsive. We are quick to forgive the tackiness of sneezing phones in the name of experimentation.

But I would suggest that skeuomorphism isn’t as bad as many make it out to be. Compare the Notes app on the iPhone with its Metro cousin. There is no mistaking what the app is for on the iPhone. The color of the background, the rules, and the leather bar across the top all scream “notepad!” The only thing to visually distinguish the notes application from any other in Metro is the name. There is a lot to be said for visual identity, familiarity, and personality. No, faux leather trim isn’t going to help me find my friends, and I don’t need wooden shelves to understand that I am looking at a library of books, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend the rest of my life looking at identical, sterile user interfaces, regardless of task and context. Leather is an aesthetic choice, and certainly it will appeal to some and not to others. It’s an awfully popular choice for high-end car interiors, so why not virtual dashboards? Fashion is going to influence interaction design just as it does anything else. Apple has been one of the drivers of fashion in the computer and consumer electronics industries since the introduction of Bondi Blue. We went through brushed metal; now it’s linen and leather. Next year it will be something else.

In conclusion, I encourage you to think about the potential benefits of skeuomorphism just as you consider any other tool in your UI design bag.  Use it effectively when it makes sense to. Don’t give in to hate. That leads to the Dark Side.

Interaction 12: Schwag

Following the conference each year, I write one post about the schwag. There are posts for 2008, 2009, and 2010, but I somehow missed last year’s list. Without further ado, I present the schwag bag of Interaction 12.

1. After two years without bags, we once again have a bag. This one is a two-pocket, black satchel graced with a two-color screening of the conference logo.
2. The name tag was one in a series of 6 double-sided cards that presented the schedule, maps, sponsors, and other relevant information. The cards all had a hole punched in the top-left corner, allowing them to be clipped to a lanyard, also sporting the conference logo. The badge had a place to write in your Twitter handle, and as in past years, stickers were added to identify speakers, local leaders, volunteers, and so forth. It was a nice package of information, but I give it a failing grade as a name tag. There was a 50% chance of being able to read it, as it easily flipped around. I saw one person who had written her name on a Post-it that she stuck on the other side of the badge.
3. The obligatory sketch pad this year was a wiro-bound stack of very light-weight, recycled paper between heavy, black stock covers adorned with the two-color conference logo. A cardboard, ballpoint pen is attached with elastic.
4. O’Reilly advertisement with hip QR code.
5. Map from Moment, sponsor of Dublin Journeys—a business-friendly name for a pub crawl.
6. Fake neoprene, zippered glasses case. Mine is black with orange highlights and the two-color conference logo. How do I know it’s fake neoprene? That’s what the tag on the inside says.
7. Super-cheap ballpoint pen from the Dublin Convention Bureau.
8. And finally, one of the most useful schwag items I’ve received, a 2 GB thumb drive with keyring attachment. It has the conference logo on one side and IC Creative’s logo on the other.

Interaction 12: IxDA Interaction Awards

Friday night of the conference found attendees gathered in the Round Room of the Mansion House, home of the Lord Mayor of Dublin. It was a spectacular venue for the very first IxDA Interaction Awards ceremony, sponsored by Google. With over 300 submissions from 33 countries, the judges had their hands full. The jurying was documented in professionally-produced videos that were used to announce the winners in each of the six categories, as well as Best in Show, Best Concept, Best Student, and People’s Choice.

When I attended the first Interaction conference in 2008, I had a strong feeling that it was an important event—a major pivot point for not just the organization, but for the profession. I had that feeling again during ceremony. Interaction Designers from all over the world were celebrating and honoring the outstanding work of their peers with the same gravitas as the film industry at the Oscars or the music industry at the Grammys. And well we should, for our work is just as significant in the number of people it reaches and the profound effect it has on society.

If you think that I’m overstating the importance of the work or the awards, I encourage you to view the finalists—each is showcased in a short video. The range of work is impressive. The creativity and ingenuity is inspirational.

The team that took on this initiative has much to be proud of, and our community owes them a debt of gratitude. This is the beginning of a tradition that has huge potential for increasing the public awareness of our profession.

Interaction 12: Local

The Local Leader Workshop was held Wednesday morning at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design, and Technology (IADT). The meeting was a great opportunity for local leaders from around the world to compare notes and share ideas for local events. Joshua Kaufmann and David Farkas shared with us the new redux initiative that will help local groups hold conference redux events.

Our goal is to attain a standardized and scalable mini-conference model that’s easily deployable, adaptable to local groups worldwide and is clearly and closely connected to the Interaction12 conference experience. We have a two-fold strategy for attaining this goal. First, we’ll be actively supporting a number of redux events around the world. Second, we will be providing helpful documentation and will encourage other cities around the world to get involved in the redux initiative.

The highlight of the workshop was our guest speaker, Ré Dubhthaigh, founder and director of Radarstation in Dublin. He shared with us his work on a number of inspirational initiatives in what I would call “design advocacy”. Service Design Thinks and the Global Service Jam attempted to build a community around Service Design in Ireland, much as we have around Interaction Design with IxDA. He also started a Design Seminar Series forming a connection between academia and practice. Of most interest to me is Hedge School Dublin.

Hedge School Dublin is a two week learning and design camp where Transition Year students will be given the challenge “Designing for 21st Century Learning”.

30 students from 10 schools across Dublin will work closely together to understand 21st Century Learning, analyse current practices in the design of learning environments, identify potential areas for re-design, create concepts, build prototypes and deliver final solutions.

The workshops will give the students the opportunity to further develop key skills through a design thinking process. Most of all Hedge School Dublin is an opportunity for students to have fun while learning and contributing to a real world project!

Interaction 12: Dublin Observations

Last night, I posted culinary observations about Dublin. Tonight, I’ll finish my cultural observations, and then I’ll move on to posts about the conference proper.

Everyone walks fast in Dublin. While this could simply be due to the fact that it’s a larger, busier city, I don’t think that fully explains it. I’ve been to many larger cities; the speed of pedestrians in Dublin was pronounced. I tend to walk fairly quickly myself, but even people significantly shorter than me were passing me. Everybody walked faster than me.

There also seemed to be a difference in which side oncoming pedestrians expected to pass by me. I’m guessing this is a side effect of the fact that they drive on the opposite side of the road.

The cast majority of intersections were designed such that pedestrians only cross one direction of traffic at a time. At each crosswalk, directions were painted on the road, indicating in which direction you should look for oncoming traffic. “LOOK RIGHT ->”

Given the large number of cyclists, I was surprised to find that there were no bike lanes. Bicycles were completely integrated with automobile traffic. I’m sure the natives are completely used to it, but it really bothered me. Not that I was biking or driving either one, but just watching them made me uncomfortable.

The Lord Mayor spoke to us at the opening reception, giving us a brief introduction to the role that design is playing in city planning. He spoke about the design of their free bike share program. They decided not to make helmets compulsory, and this has resulted in much higher participation. He also pointed out that all of the old manhole and meter covers had been set into granite blocks. Granite is plentiful in Ireland, and while the designs on the covers have worn down, the granite has stood the test of time. In recent years, concrete has been used to save time and money, but the blocks crack and need repair in short order. As Christina Wodtke tweeted, “The lord mayor of Dublin understands interaction design better than many silicon valley CEO’s I know.”

While the toilet in my hotel flushed by lever, contemporary restrooms were equipped with two-button toilets. The larger of the buttons initiated a large, number two flush, while the smaller button used less water for number one.

European electrical outlets accept a different plug than those we use in the U.S., and they have a higher voltage. The UK has their own standard, different from the European standard. I found it interesting, however, that the one outlet in my hotel bathroom wouldn’t accept the UK plug. It was designed to accept both the European and U.S. plugs, and it had a switch to change voltage. The label on it admonished me to use it for shavers only, but I used it for my iPod dock. My hypothesis is that the UK market is too small for shaver manufacturers to cater to, so they’ve provided an outlet that the majority of shavers work with.

My hotel, the O’Callaghan Mont Clare, did not provide washcloths, and bathmats were only provided upon request, according to a sign in the bathroom, although I was provided with one after I used one of the hand towels. I also found it odd that there wasn’t a sheet on the bed—just a comforter.

Interaction 12: Dublin Dining

Interaction 12 was the fifth in a string of outstanding conferences put on by IxDA. I’ll be making a number of posts about the conference in the coming days, but to start off, I’d like to share some observations I made of Dublin, this year’s hosting city.

I’ve been to Scotland a couple times several years ago, but this was my first visit to Ireland. I remember well that in Scotland, when you ordered a Coke in a restaurant, it was always served with a slice of lemon at room temperature—no ice. In Ireland, Coke is also served with lemon, but it is thankfully chilled, and I was either asked if I wanted ice or was given it without asking. I also found it interesting that Coke was most often provided in tiny (8 oz?), glass bottles.

I enjoyed eating fish and chips in the Brazen Head, Dublin’s oldest pub. However, I prefer to eat both battered fish and fries with ketchup, which was nowhere to be found.

All meat was locally sourced (from Ireland), and many of the restaurants specifically stated that all meat was “traceable” in their menus. That said, I found their sausage to be nearly inedible. This confirms my experience in Scotland and on British Airways: they don’t know how to make good sausage in the UK. It’s pasty.

During my first meal, a wonderful seafood feast at Matt the Thresher, I looked up tipping expectations online. I learned that tips are expected in restaurants, but would be laughed at in pubs. I learned by experience, however, that you can’t add a tip when you sign your credit card receipt, which is standard practice in the U.S. Every establishment I visited used relatively primitive, portable card swipes, rather than having them built into registers.

It seemed most restaurants close between lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, it was impossible for visitors to know this, as hours of operation were rarely posted in shop windows. Almost nothing was open Sunday morning when I was trying to get breakfast before heading to the airport. The one restaurant that would serve me wasn’t prepared to accept my payment by credit card.

Interaction 12

I’m flying to Dublin today. Interaction 12 kicks off Wednesday, but since it’s a red-eye flight, I wanted to arrive a day early. I’m taking my wife along this year, so, tired though we may be, we’ll do some site-seeing after touching down early Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning, I’ll be participating in the local leader workshop. The conference proper kicks off with a reception Wednesday evening. As such, posts may be spotty this week. I encourage everyone to check out the IxDA Awards shortlist and vote for the People’s Choice Award. There’s a lot of great work there.