Where did this interaction come from? — a brief history of interaction design

This story is part of an unpublished pamphlet co-authored by Pouyan Bizeh & me on Situated Technologies as a trans-discipline of Design, technology, and art written back in 2016. I have used some materials from that pamphlet for this story to elaborate on some of the key origins of the notions of interaction [design]. This probably can help fellows in HCI, IxD, UX, and product design to understand the origins of their passion/profession.

Photo of SEEK installation held at MIT in 1969 showing number of fabricated cubes that constantly reassembles by robotic arms. They are also some mouses moving in between those cubes. — SEEK Installation in MIT Architecture Machine Group

Notion of Cybernetics

It no longer seems likely that the carrying out of a “purposeful act,” like picking up a book on the table, is a simple one-way process in which the appropriate part of the brain dictates to the appropriate muscle, by means of neurons, what action they must act in order…

Should we all lose faith in UX?

UX, Surveillance Capitalism, and the “Banality of Evil”

GIF illustration of Adolf Eichman with a word cloud combining these three sentences in loop: 1) I was only an operative, I moved people, I didn’t care what happened next. 2) I was only a designer, I made user flows,I didn’t care what happened next 3) I was only a carpenter, I made tables, I didn’t care what happened next. — Illustration based on a photo of Adolf Eichmann at his 1961 trial.

It is not recent news that we are living in an era when everyday objects boot up, connect, and are infused by algorithms of all kinds, driving our governance, lifestyle, and more importantly, our social interactions. The experience design of digital products connects high-quality interactive systems to our lives. …

Creating Space to Boost Innovation

Future City Innovation Lab Co-working Space

I was first exposed to this topic back in 2016 when I was involved in the process of initiating the branch of a Swedish company Tehran. At the time I suggested a 100 square meter innovation space in the basement of the company’s building. Later on, with two interior designer…

Scenario-Based Design In The Context of Street Movement

This story is a brief synopsis of a thesis project submitted to the faculty of School of architecture and planning in the Situated Technologies research group in 2016. The Original title was “Not Another Tool: Designing Resistance Scenarios For Sustaining Street Movements In Response To Riot Control Scenarios”. This work…

Who Tells Us About The Future of AI? Technologists or Storytellers

Caution: There are some spoilers about HBO TV series Westworld S03e03 in this story.

I usually don’t spend lots of time watching TV series. However, some are worth watching. One of which is another successful HBO series: Westworld. It is created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. In this short…