Freedom of fun, freedom of interaction
Stephan S.A.G. Wensveen, Kees Overbeeke, Tom Djajadiningrat, Steven Kyffin · interactions · 2004
The modernist tradition still drives our society and our scientific endeavors. Modernity stood for technology push, progress through industry, linearity, money, the abstract, and the logical. But it has resulted in a feeling of uneasiness, even coldness. That is why, we think, there is now such a drive to get human and societal values back in the equation: Think of human-centered engineering, the experience economy, funology, and the like. In this article we give an example of the direction interaction-design research might take. We describe an approach that exploits all human skills, including perceptual-motor and emotional skills. We then reflect on the question of why industry has been slow to adopt this approach. What can design research do to contribute to an engaging experience? We begin with the understanding that to incorporate fun, beauty, engagement, and emotions in person-product interaction, we have to respect all human skills. In HCI-research the primary focus has been on interaction that relies on the cognitive skills of the user. Today, we are seeing new approaches to interaction