Using Social Science Theory to Inspire Surface Design: A Case Study of Proxemic Interactions

Greenberg, S. and Marquardt, N. (2016)
Using Social Science Theory to Inspire Surface Design: A Case Study of Proxemic Interactions. In Surfnet: Designing Digital Surface Applications. (Maurer, F., Ed.). University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, SurfNet, pages 26-38, March. Download the complete book. ISBN 978-0-88953-388-2-(PDF).

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Abstract

Designers of novel surface interaction techniques and applications are influenced by many factors. Some designers follow a mostly iterative approach to system refinement, where they seek to improve existing methods by exposing and solving inefficiencies. Some try to better understand user needs such as through observational studies and by using software engineering techniques to craft requirements analysis. Some base their work around the affordances of technical innovations, where these new technologies expose a plethora of design opportunities that were not previously possible. Some incorporate advances made in other interaction fields to surface design, where methods developed elsewhere are adapted to the surface medium. Some rely on intuitions and personal experiences, where they generate ideas, sift through them, and apply, test and refine what they consider to be the best candidate designs. Our own approach takes a somewhat different direction: we use social science theory to both guide and inspire our research on surface designs. Our basic premise is that our understanding of human-human interaction can be applied – albeit with some caveats – to human-computer interaction (HCI).

Keywords

Proxemics, digital surfaces

Bibtex entry

@INBOOK { 2016-Surfnet.BookChapter,
CLASS = { CHAPTER },
AUTHOR = { Greenberg, S. and Marquardt, N. },
EDITOR = { Maurer, F. },
TITLE = { Using Social Science Theory to Inspire Surface Design: A Case Study of Proxemic Interactions },
BOOKTITLE = { Surfnet: Designing Digital Surface Applications },
YEAR = { 2016 },
MONTH = { March },
PAGES = { 26-38 },
ADDRESS = { University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada },
PUBLISHER = { SurfNet },
URL = { http://nsercsurfnet.ca/system/publications/files/000/000/049/original/SurfNet_Book_-_Designing_Digital_Surface_Applications.pdf?1457974578 },
KEYWORDS = { Proxemics, digital surfaces },
NOTE = { Download the complete book. ISBN 978-0-88953-388-2-(PDF) },
}