Range: Exploring Implicit Interaction through Electronic Whiteboard Design
Wendy Ju, an interaction design researcher, writes: “Imagine, for a moment, a doorman who behaves as automatic doors do. He does not acknowledge you when you approach or pass by. He gives no hint the door can or will open — until you wander within six feet of the door, whereupon he flings the door wide open. If you arrived after hours, you might stand in front of the door for awhile before you realize the door is locked, because the doorman’s stare gives no clue.” [Design Issues] How can we make interactions like automatic doors work less like the fictional doorman and more like real doormen, who smoothly and implicitly react to your approach?
In “Range: Exploring Implicit Interaction through Electronic Whiteboard Design,” Wendy draws out a framework for better implicit interactions. She splits the design space into two major axes: background <–> foreground, and reactive <–> proactive. For example:
- Background reactive: automation
- Background proactive: ambient technology, agents
- Foreground Reactive: direct manipulation, command interfaces
- Foreground proactive: alerts
Wendy went on to describe how successful implicit interactions often slide between several quadrants.
Conference report from CSCW 2008.