IAT 432 March Aesthetics & Interface Criticism

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "IAT 432 March 28 2011. Aesthetics & Interface Criticism"

Everett Black
8 years ago
Views:

1 IAT 432 March Aesthetics & Interface Criticism

2 Defining Aesthetics Comes from the Greek means sense-perception (Aisthesis). Aesthetics is about sensing, about creating artificial experiences and exploring how illusions function through materials Materials: words, space, colors, movement, sound, paint, pixels, pages, musical instruments and other more graspable materials of art and in modern culture. 2

3 Aesthetics in Industrial Design Traditional approach form & appearance Transferred to interfaces appearance Limits: neglects the dimensions of meaning making (representation) and context of use (interaction) 3

4 Moving beyond aesthetic appearances 4

5 1. Aesthetics of Representation How something (e.g., a piece of information, an abstract concept, an real object) is represented using a material or medium. How representation is related to the material through which it is represented and to how representation is related to the cultural context in which it functions. 5

6 6

7 7

8 2. Aesthetics of Interaction Aesthetic is not just a property of an object, but are rooted in the human experience through use and the cultural context of that object Aesthetics are a dependent on context of use Experience may include emotional, affective, pleasurerelated aspects and ideas of attractiveness Evaluation scope broadens in time and space 8

9 9

10 Interface Criticism as an Evaluation Method Goal: explore the aesthetic aspects of a user interface design Approach: Humanities Relies on: Semiotics Type of method: Analytical; subjective; qualitative. Process: Application of a set of criterion to an interface. 10

11 1. Stylistic References Interfaces inherit style from their predecessors e.g., Apple, vs Windows vs Linux Or variants of these styles using terms like Baroque, Renaissance What stylistic references exist in the interface? Are these suited to representational and functional tasks? 11

12 I-phone inherits i-tunes 12

13 2. Standards Formal adherence to standards E.g., windows style guide for XP Deviations? What tradition or standard is built on? Are there deviations? Do these support aesthetic representation and interaction? 13

14 Windows style guide 14

15 3. Materiality Materiality of a computer-mediated interface refers to the code, algorithms, pixels the material aspects of the technology. How much of the materiality (i.e., pixels, code etc) of the interface is apparent to the user? If it is visible how does this impact the user experience? 15

16 Immediacy & Hypermediacy Immediacy refers to when the interface hides the technology and/or material aspects of representation and the user is not aware of them (unless something breaks). Hypermediacy rerfers to when the interface makes the technology and/or materiality of representations visible. 16

17 Immediacy & Hypermediacy cont How transparent is the interface? Are there more than one view of the interface? For each, does it show the materials of the computer or attempt to hide them? If it shows and hides material aspects, to what aim does it do this? What is the experience for the user? 17

18 4. Remediation Remediation refers to the making of new media forms from old ones. How does the interface use or reuse the materials of other media (i.e., how does it remediate other material aspects of other media forms e.g., text pages, photographs, etc)? 18

19 idog Example 19

20 Materiality How much of the materiality of the interface is apparent to the user? If it is visible how does this impact the user experience? Code, pixels and circuits are hidden Black box contributes to familiarity of idog as a toy (stuffed animal or pull along dog) and realness of dog (make-believe) 20

21 Immediacy/Hypermediacy How transparent is the interface? Are there more than one view of the interface? For each, does it show the materials of the computer or attempt to hide them? If it shows and hides material aspects, to what aim does it do this? What is the experience for the user? Interface is obvious (buttons are meant to be pushed) and at the same time digital aspects are hidden Interaction is not hidden dog responds to buttons in ways that clearly show it is different from a real dog or stuffed dog. More of an active playmate? 21

22 Remediation How does the interface use or reuse the materials of other media? Basic toy dog form Face (e.g., eyes, nose) is replaced with interactive buttons retaining the old/realistic and adding digital functionality Agency is transferred from child to toy Does this reduce make-believe? Does this enhance play duration? 22

23 5. Hybridity Hybridity refers to the balance between functional/control and cultural aspects of the interface. How does the interface support control and functionality? How does the interface create an aesthetic, cultural experience (e.g., using narrative, characters etc)? Does some part of the interface support one more than the other? How will this affect the user experience? 23

24 How well does the device combine function and control with digital representation of the event through real time interaction? 24

25 6. Representational Style There are different styles of representations (natural, realistic, symbolic, allegorical, metaphorical, analogical ) What kinds of representational are apparent in the interface? How do these representations support the user experience? 25

26 Realism (Agent in a UI) 26

27 Naturalism (Pictorial UI) 27

28 Symbolism 28

29 Allegorical (Agent in UI) 29

30 Metaphorical (UI) 30

31 Analogical (like a library etc) 31

32 7. Challenges to Users Expectations Challenges to users expectations refers to aspects of the user experience that might challenge or cause the user to reflect on their experience. List the elements that are likely to amuse, surprise or challenge the user in some way. 32

33 Example 33

34 8. Development Potentials Support for development of unanticipated use (i.e., development potentials) refers to aspects of the interface which might be interpreted in ways other than that which the designer intended and thus provide opportunities for other kinds of uses. Does the interface offer opportunities for unanticipated use? 34

35 Example 35

DOMAIN Ill: Cognitive Development

DOMAIN Ill: Cognitive Development Purpose: To develop new skills, knowledge and the ability to acquire and process new information through play and interaction with others and the environment. The cognitive development domain includes