WORKSHOP CALL
Supple Interfaces: Designing and evaluating for richer human connections and experiences
Organizers
Katherine Isbister, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, U.S.A., isbisk@rpi.edu
Kristina Höök, Swedish Institute of Computer Science,
Sweden, kia@sics.se
Topic:
This workshop is aimed at clarifying an emerging innovation space in HCI-systems that interleave themselves gracefully with human life and activity, by supporting human interaction strategies and values that are not an integrated and coherent part of traditional usability considerations. Supple interfaces can be characterized by their focus on:Subtle Signals
Rich human communication and interpretation strategies (e.g. emotion, social ritual, nonverbal communication, kinaesthetic engagement).
Emergent Dynamics
Taking into consideration subtle communication dynamics that require new thinking about system adaptivity and feedback. For example, increased legibility of system moves to help users actively co-construct practice and meaning and push system boundaries in interesting ways.
Moment-to-moment Experience
Privileging the quality of moment-to-moment experience both in terms of design and in terms of evaluation of success of design (e.g. a focus on engagement, pleasure, rapport).
Supple interfaces bring important challenges to designers and
evaluators of interfaces, such as:
- Learning to make astute and appropriate use of new user sensing, interpreting, and input strategies such as biosensors, accelerometers, and gestural and aural detection.
- Thinking in new ways about presenting system dynamics to users to encourage mutual give and take and co-creation of meaning.
- Evolving new methods and metrics for success that capture fleeting experience and non-traditional values for interface.
- Innovating new methods for design, that allow practitioners to quickly see and experience the dynamic and adaptive qualities of the interface at early stages.
A few examples of supple interfaces in both the research and commercial worlds include:
- The Nintendo Wii game platform, with its accelerometer-enhanced controller that allows for a far broader range of game-play styles.
- eMoto, a research prototype of a gestural input device for constructing mobile phone SMS messages with emotional tonality (Sundstrom et al., forthcoming). (emoto.sics.se)
- Research at Microsoft Research Asia on incorporating face-tracking into console video games (Wang et al., 2006).
- IDEOs Windows Home Computing Concept, which uses a suite of interfaces and interventions designed explicitly for home use (www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=11176133).
Submissions:
2-4 page submissions should indicate:- Experience in designing/evaluating interfaces that could be categorized as supple interfaces.
- Primary stance at the workshopwhat you have to contribute, whether it is presenting an example system in some form, presenting an evaluation or design method, or presenting relevant theoretical context.
- Primary goals in attendingwhat you hope to leave with, whether it's new techniques for evaluation or design, a more coherent grounding in theory that can help shape decisionmaking, resources for tackling specific sub-problems you have been facing, or other outcome goals.
Participants will be notified by February 1. At least one author of accepted submissions will need to register for the workshop and for one day of the conference itself. Workshop fees in 2007 are estimated to be $150 for a one-day workshop.
Submit papers to Katherine Isbister (isbisk@rpi.edu)
by January 12, 2007. More information about the
workshop will
be posted on this website as the deadline for submissions
approaches.
The workshop description as it will appear in the CHI conference proceedings: PDF