#IxDA

[designaday]

Interaction 23: Zurich

Given the conference location, my wife and I took the opportunity to front load my trip with a few extra days for sightseeing. Our flight left Thursday, February 23rd, and we arrived in Zurich Friday morning. Motel One was nice enough to let us check in early, so we napped for a couple hours, showered, and then walked over to Old Town.

You’re looking at Grossmünster, one of four major churches in the city, across the Limmat river, which flows north from Lake Zurich. A parade of people supporting Ukraine proceeded down beside the river and across the bridge. We wandered around the area, enjoying the architecture while exploring twisting, cobblestone alleyways.

In one such alley, we came upon Les Désaley, one of the highest-rated fondue restaurants in the city. It didn’t open until 6:00, so we hung out at Grossmünster with some of the demonstrators, watching the sun set behind Fraumünster, one of the other major churches.

We weren’t the first people standing outside of Les Désaley when they opened their doors as the bells of Grossmünster rang out.

What could be better for our first meal in Zurich than fondue for two?

[bacanismo]

Interaction 23 - 2 March by IxDA Global Selections from Interaction 23 in Zürich https://flic.kr/p/2ojQB5c

[amp-wrks]

Designing Interactions with the Earth from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

When we take in the number and magnitude of threats to the survival of humans as well as countless other species, the future looks grim. As we view the array of disruptions and disasters coming at us in the rush of climate change, we are apt to lose ourselves in resignation and grief. How can we find anything positive to guide us? How might we invoke technology and agency in ways that promote healing of the earth and of ourselves? In this time of daunting challenges, what does successful transformation look like? And how can designers be part of such transformations?

Brenda often reminds design students that “We can’t design from despair.” A corollary is: “hope is an active verb.” In the developments and inventions examined in this talk, we will see how hope is an essential ingredient. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be a success. When design ideas don’t work as we’d imagined, we reflect on our “interesting failures” and learn. And then we move on.

How does the planet feed 8 billion people in the face of the pollution and habitat destruction caused by industrial farming of plants and animals? How might we reframe “conservation” as restoration? How might we attenuate plastic pollution and keep fast fashion out of landfills? How can we address the drivers of deforestation? How might we design and engineer methods for slowing glacial melt and atmospheric heating? There are innovative and promising answers to those questions bubbling up in the minds of designers, scientists, engineers, and transdisciplinary teams all over the world. Brenda’s keynote will review some of those efforts, identify what they have in common, and explore how we might employ those commonalities as heuristics for designing positive interactions with the Earth.

-------

Brenda Laurel, Principal at Neogaian Interactive United States

Brenda Laurel is an independent scholar whose interests include interaction design, XR, theater, media theory, and Gaian systems. She has worked in interactive media since 1976, in the computer game industry from Atari to Activision, and in research at Atari Research, Interval Research, and Sun Labs as a Distinguished Engineer. In 1988, she co-founded the Game Developers Conference. At the Banff Centre for the Arts, she co-designed and produced the ground-breaking VR piece, Placeholder. She led a research team on gender and technology at Interval Research (1992-1996) and co-founded Purple Moon, an interactive media company for girls, in 1996. She designed and chaired the Graduate Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design (2001-2006) and the Graduate Design Program at California College of the Arts (2006-2012), both emphasizing design research and transmedia methods and skills. Furthermore, she also taught in the Games and New Media program at the University of California at Santa Cruz (2012-2015). ‍ In 2015, she received the Trailblazer Award from Indiecade. She was awarded the Nextant Prize from the Virtual World Society in 2016 and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Videogame Alliance in 2018. In 2022, she was inducted into the inaugural class of the IEEE Virtual Reality Academy. She has served on the boards of IxDA, StoryCenter, the Virtual World Society, and the Communication Research Institute (Australia). She earned an MFA in Theatre and a Ph.D. in Drama Theory and Criticism at The Ohio State University. Her books include The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (1990), Utopian Entrepreneur (2001), Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (2004), and Computers as Theatre, (1991, Second Edition 2014).

True to her generation, Brenda is a hard-core fan of both the Grateful Dead and Star Trek. She is an avid snorkeler, abalone diver, and amateur underwater photographer, but since she has moved from northern California to the high desert in Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, she now photographs chollas, petroglyphs, and clouds.

[4me4you]

4me4you features “In The Balance”

Artist: synthographic.arts

4me4you showcases Designer | Author | Synthographer: Robert Reimann 

4me4you proudly presents the work of Robert Reimann: Designer, Author, and Synthographer.

Robert Reimann is a renowned figure in both the design and digital art worlds. As the co-author of the seminal design reference About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, his influence on the user experience (UX) community is undeniable. He also co-founded the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), which now connects over 150,000 designers globally. However, Robert’s artistic journey extends far beyond his contributions to UX, showcasing a rich blend of traditional and digital art forms.

He created his first intaglio print at age 11, a moment that sparked his enduring fascination with traditional printmaking techniques. 

This early training later merged with his love for digital art, which began in the 1980s when he worked with Silicon Graphics 3D workstations. 

By the 1990s, Robert was designing groundbreaking tools like Paint Alchemy 2 for Photoshop and Penello for Autodesk, gaining recognition in the computer graphics world.

Today, Robert continues to explore the frontier of generative AI and human creativity. His work, a blend of photography, hand-drawn elements, and AI-generated prompts, bridges traditional art forms with cutting-edge technology. With themes ranging from social and political issues to deep psychological explorations, his pieces often take days or even weeks to complete, reflecting a painstaking process of refinement and iteration. His art has been showcased in exhibitions such as Digital Directions and Renascence, where his unique style and technique push the boundaries of modern artistic expression.

SEE MORE:

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/synthographic.arts/

[styledeficit]

going going

A book apart - winding down. (Carefully worded posts on LinkedIn from authors about not being paid)

IxDA

[revev2]

Reflecting on IxDA’s Journey and Our Continued Commitment

Abdelkarim Benabdallah, Leader of IXDA Tunis As the leader of IXDA Tunis and a proud member of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) global community since 2018, it is with a heavy heart that I share some significant news about the future of our beloved organization. Recently, the IxDA board announced a difficult decision that marks the end of an era for us all. The Announcement In an…

[illustir]

Looking back over my notes and reactions from Interaction16 where I gave a talk calling chat interfaces the "UI for AI". Feels good to be right.

[kitsune-dazai]

so smart good ixda

Chuuya I’m sad and need a hug :(

-@kitsune-dazai

What's wrong? I'm here. I'll give you a hug.

[designaday]

First Snow

We got our first snow of the season this evening. It was snowing as I was driving into Pittsburgh to teach my class, but stopped by the time I got there. As I finished my lecture, a couple of my students pointed out that it had started snowing. They seemed pretty excited. “This is our first snow,” they told me. I cracked a big grin. I love snow, but there’s nothing better than witnessing someone else experience it for the first time.

It took me back to my sophomore year of high school. My marching band had been invited to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. We spent much of the day before walking around Manhattan. I went to the top of one of the twin towers. I saw Rockefeller Center.

We had to be lined up at 5:00 in the morning. And wouldn’t you know, for the first time in something like twenty years, it snowed the morning of the parade. There was a good five inches on the ground. And it was cold. We had winter uniforms, but we weren’t wearing those. I remember standing on top of the grates where the warm air would occasionally blow up from the subway. We stood there watching our band director chat up Miss America. He claims he went on a date with her after the parade. I’m a drummer, so I didn’t wear gloves. By the time we started the parade, I couldn’t feel my fingers.

I also remember that there was a band there from Hawaii. Rather than fly in to New York, they had bussed all the way across the country, performing places as they went. More than one of their busses had broken down, and so only part of their band had made it. The rest were strewn out across the U.S. Those who were there were extremely excited. It was the first time they had seen snow. I’ll never forget that.

And then there was the year that IxDA’s Interaction conference was held in Seattle: 2019. I understand that Seattle doesn’t actually get much snow. On Wednesday, we started hearing about a big snowstorm that was expected to hit on Friday. That afternoon, I received a notification that might flight home Saturday morning had been canceled just due to the expectation of snow. That was a problem, because my church was going to be celebrating the tenth anniversary of our contemporary service, and there was no way I was going to miss that. My band was counting on me to be there. Alaska Air told me they could get me on a flight Tuesday. Screw that. I booked a flight out of Portland Saturday morning and then reserved a rental car from a place just around the corner from my hotel.

Sure enough, it started snowing Friday. Seattle doesn’t know how to deal with snow, so it just shut down. We were supposed to have our closing party in the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture, but they canceled on us. There we all were, wrapping up the Interaction Awards at the Fisher Pavilion with the snow coming down outside. Kiat Lim, our Regional Coordinator from Korea, was there with his wife taking pictures with a look of awe on his face. He explained that it was the first time they had seen snow. I so enjoyed watching them go outside and play in it.

I was up at the crack of dawn the next morning, dragging my suitcase through maybe three inches of snow to stand at the door of the car rental waiting for them to open. The roads were a little dicey in places, but there was hardly anyone else on them, and I know how to drive in the snow. I made it to Portland, caught my flight, and was in church the next morning.

Gotta love snow!

[bacanismo]

Interaction 23 - 2 March by IxDA Global Selections from Interaction 23 in Zürich https://flic.kr/p/2ojVLDU

[virtualciti]

The Poor are Hurt. Rich kids return home, colleges hostels r emptied. Workplaces r emptied, workers stay put. We extend curfew. Workers head home. We want to give food/ shelter. We forgot that there is a difference between the poor & destitute. The destitute is happy, the poor is hurting. Let's stop treating poor like destitute. The poor are not here for free food. They need respectful treatment. The poor also understand social distancing don't hurt their intelligence. This is a classic User Experience Design Problem. Join today! Learn with the best mentors. @PMOIndia https://twitter.com/virtualciti/status/1244457249994465282?s=08 #uxdesign #uidesign #uiuxdesign #ixda #userexperience #uxinsititute #uiuxinstitute #uiuxprogram #uiuxcourse #uiuxdegree #uiuxcollege #learnuiux #uiuxlessons #uiuxonline #uiuxclasses #sxill #sxillschool #Skillindia #worldskills #skilling #worldskillskazan2019 #skillindiamission #mesc (at Chandigarh, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-WAWjZH_u6/?igshid=vbxgu0zrvvyz

[4me4you]

4me4you features “In The Balance”

Artist: synthographic.arts

4me4you showcases Designer | Author | Synthographer: Robert Reimann 

4me4you proudly presents the work of Robert Reimann: Designer, Author, and Synthographer.

Robert Reimann is a renowned figure in both the design and digital art worlds. As the co-author of the seminal design reference About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, his influence on the user experience (UX) community is undeniable. He also co-founded the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), which now connects over 150,000 designers globally. However, Robert’s artistic journey extends far beyond his contributions to UX, showcasing a rich blend of traditional and digital art forms.

He created his first intaglio print at age 11, a moment that sparked his enduring fascination with traditional printmaking techniques. 

This early training later merged with his love for digital art, which began in the 1980s when he worked with Silicon Graphics 3D workstations. 

By the 1990s, Robert was designing groundbreaking tools like Paint Alchemy 2 for Photoshop and Penello for Autodesk, gaining recognition in the computer graphics world.

Today, Robert continues to explore the frontier of generative AI and human creativity. His work, a blend of photography, hand-drawn elements, and AI-generated prompts, bridges traditional art forms with cutting-edge technology. With themes ranging from social and political issues to deep psychological explorations, his pieces often take days or even weeks to complete, reflecting a painstaking process of refinement and iteration. His art has been showcased in exhibitions such as Digital Directions and Renascence, where his unique style and technique push the boundaries of modern artistic expression.

SEE MORE:

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/synthographic.arts/

[ephea]

“See chooooow.” - @mapledappa “Art” . Polymorphic void. Space therapy ‭. Asymmetrical Anomaly. ‬ #ixda #trustandresponsibilty #designthinking #designingforgood #ethicalpersuasion https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Fe_QvBA9V/?igshid=emd3wqr8f2f6

[tacianomm]

Esta semana vou compartilhar na Campus Party um pouco da minha experiência como Gerente de Produto trabalhando com uma equipe de desenvolvimento na Índia e outra de negócio em São Paulo. A primeira será um bate-papo mais aberto sobre os desafios e curiosidades de se trabalhar remoto com uma equipe de uma cultura totalmente diferente. A maioria das empresas ainda tem preconceito ou acham que é ultra difícil gerenciar uma equipe remota, dividindo opiniões entre experiências ótimas para alguns e traumatizantes para outros. Portanto, quero compartilhar alguns dos desafios, enganos e ganhos de um produto que hoje tem 175mil usuários e foi desenvolvido inteiramente com uma equipe Dev na Índia. A segunda será especificamente sobre esta área nova que é a Gestão de Produto, que preenche uma lacuna que a maioria das startups brasileiras ainda não percebeu, entre o Negócio, o Desenvolvimento e o Design. Farei um panorama geral sobre a área e as atribuições de um Gerente de Produto, tanto para quem deseja ser um no futuro, quanto pra quem já é um pouco e ainda nem sabia disso. #campusparty #campuspartygoias #cpgoias #ixda #cpgoiasixda #ixdagoiania https://www.instagram.com/p/B139_X3p1Ov/?igshid=16x4kt4uvpela