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"Designing Post-humanity" Live at UXmatters (Blogged by Bruce Sterling)

What happens when *everything* is designable? When the boundaries between humanity, technology, and the larger environment disappear? Designing Post-humanity: Everyware In the Far Future, the latest installment of my column on user experience and ubiquitous computing in UXmatters, takes a look at these questions. Post-humans, ubicomp, and science fiction may seem like strange territory for user experience professionals, but by considering these kinds of futures today, we make many important decisions about who we will [all!] be tomorrow.

**Update: Bruce Sterling just posted about it in his Beyond the Beyond blog at Wired. Thanks for noticing, Bruce!

local tags: bruce_sterling, design, everyware, interaction_design, ubicomp, ubiquitous_computing, user_experience

Search Me: Designing Information Retrieval Experiences

I just posted slides from my talk at the recent Enterprise Search Summit in NY "Search Me: Designing Information Retrieval Experience"

Here's the abstract from the session:

This case study reviews the methods and insights that emerged from an 18-month effort to coordinate and enhance the scattered user experiences of a suite of information retrieval tools sold as services by a major investment ratings agency. The session will share a method for understanding audience needs in diverse information access contexts; review a collection of information retrieval patterns, look at conceptual design methods for user experiences, and review a set of longer term patterns in customer behavior called lifecycles, and consider the impact of organizational and cultural factors on design decisions.

This session will presents reusable experience design tools and findings relevant for contexts such as enterprise search and information access, service design, and product and platform management.

Thanks to everyone who came by!

local tags: architecture, design, enterprise, enterprisesearchsummit, ess, ess2009, experience, goals, information, patterns, research, retrieval, search, service, user

New Ubicomp Podcast & Everyware Column

Two quick updates on things happening other places.

First, the latest installment of Everyware: Designing the Ubiquitous Experience (my column for UXmatters) was published back in March. It explores the world of Vernor Vinge's story Synthetic Serendipity from the experience design perspective. Vinge is justly reknowned as an SF author, but what makes Synthetic Serendipity worth reading closely is the dense collection of ideas it shares: augmented reality, wearable computing systems, a network-based co-creation economy open to all participation by people of all ages, the games vs. reality inversion, generational differences in adaptation to technological change, etc.

Mostly, I like Synthetic Serendipity as an entry point into the ubiquitous computing space because it presents a picture of the future from the viewpoint of an ordinary kid, who has ordinary concerns; go to school, play video games, stay out of trouble with friends.

In the companion piece in draft now, I look much further ahead, exploring scenarios that consider what happens when the boundaries separating humans from the environment blur and dissolve, and humanity itself becomes an object of design.

Second, and related, Jeff Parks just posted the podcast of a group discussion on ubiquitous computing that he organized at the IA Summit in Memphis. You'll hear me along with Jeff, Steve Baty, Will Evans, Matthew Milan, John Tirmandi, Joe Sokohl, Todd Zaki Warfel as we share examples, ideas, and questions about the intersection of user experience and ubiquitous computing. Thanks to Jeff for making this happen - it was a fun session, and I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording it.

local tags: everyware, iasummit2009, ubicomp, ubiquitous_computing, user_experience

Designing Frameworks For Interaction and User Experience: IA Summit Workshop Presentation

I've posted my slides and materials from the Beyond Findability workshop Andrew Hinton, Livia Labate, Matthew Milan and I put on at the IA Summit in Memphis recently.

This set of materials addresses some of the most important questions for practitioners considering a framework-based approach to design: why framewarks matter for user experience and interaction design, what frameworks are useful for, and how you can work with them effectively.

Why *do* frameworks matter? As I'm arguing, look around and you'll see profound shifts changing the structural makeup of the digital environment, the contexts and boundaries of the experiences, and the role of professional designers.

For designers, very complicated and interesting problems are on the way: think of Mike Kuniavsky's work defining some of the fundamental concepts behind the 'smart things' that will inhabit this new design environment, such as information shadows and service avatars. It's plain that this world will require new tools, and I believe frameworks are part of that toolkit. (See my column Everyware: Design for the Ubiquitous Experience for ongoing perspective.)

And check out the slides for the rest of the workshop :)

Nothing better than blues, barbecue, and Building Blocks!

local tags: building_blocks, design, frameworks, iasummit, information_architecture, interaction, modularity, user_experience

On Modularity: "Always Look Both Ways When Componentizing the Street"

That's the title of my just-submited guest contribution to Nathan Curtis' forthcoming book "Modular Web Design." (I'm in good company; Todd Warfel and Andrew Payne are two of the other contributors.) When Modular Web Design comes out (follow on Twitter for details), you can turn directly to chapter four, 'Variations', and read my cautionary tale.

What about the rest of the book? I've seen the complete outline, and let me say that if you like modularity as much as we do and you're designing interfaces, this is the book for you. Maybe you're even working with some variation of the building blocks, or a similar design framework? And the cover features Legos!

Of course, if you *don't* like modularity, there's no need to sweat about it: the future has a place for everyone [We'll be busy playing with our Siftables]. Just don't be surprised if it turns out to be smallish, dry, and bit - uhh - box-like...

local tags: building_blocks, complexity, design, frameworks, modularity, siftables

The Architecture of Fun: Massively Social On-line Games

Here's my presentation from the Italian IA Summit on Killzone.com as a leading example of the next generation of Massively Social On-line Games.

As usual, I try to share some of the best thinking on these ideas; in this case I quote liberally from Nicole Lazarro. (I hope she takes this as a compliment.) Her insights into the emotional drivers for social and game experiences and the nature of cross media are - no surprise - right on, and coming true years after first publication.

Some of the more eye-opening material I discovered while looking into the design of this game / community hybrid concerns the direct connection between game mechanics (a design question), the space of possible choices for players, the emotions these choices inspire and encourage, and the resulting experience of the game environment.

From the functional to the psychological, it seems there really is an 'architecture of fun' for both games and social experiences. It is just another example of how architecture of any (and all) kinds is an enormous influencing factor on peoples' experiences.

This is the first of two parts - stay tuned for the follow-up, once we clear the disclosure question.

A slidecast will follow shortly, now that my laptop is back in working order, and I can fire up ScreenFlow.

local tags: community, cross-media, digital, emotional_design, games, game_design, iias09, interaction_design, interactive, killzone, social_architecture, social_media, user_experience

Join Me For 'Beyond Findability' the IA Summit 09 Workshop

If you're keen to help shape the way that the user experiences of the future are conceived and defined, join Andrew Hinton, Matthew Milan, Livia Labate, and yours truly in a full-day workshop / seminar titled "Beyond Findability: Reframing IA Practice & Strategy for Turbulent Times" at the 2009 IA Summit in Memphis.

We've got a lot of great material to share - and shape - on where this new[ish] discipline is headed, from four complementary but distinct professional perspectives (digital agency, in-house services group, management, design consultancy), shared by leading practitioners.

Here's a quick description:

"Changes are happening fast in technology, the economy, and even the various User Experience professions. In the midst of such turbulence, conventional Information Architecture can have trouble seeming fully relevant. Some may see it as a commodity, or a narrow specialty that has little to do with the game-changing emergence of social media, ubiquitous & mobile computing, and the rest.

This full-day workshop will address such concerns with a boundary-pushing foray into IA craft and strategy. We'll show how core IA skills are more relevant and strategically important than ever, and we'll explore how we can extend IA to its full potential in 21st century UX design."

Read more about Beyond Findability here. Register here.

See you in Memphis!

local tags: events, frameworks, ia, iasummit2009, user_experience