soft switch - Nour Diab Yunes

Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces – Carolyn Snyder

Carolyn Snyder proposes a definition of paper prototyping as 'a variation of usability testing where representative users [...] [interact] with a paper version of the interface that is manipulated by a person "playing computer" ' (italicized in original, p.4).

The aim of her book is to extend the practice of paper prototyping to a variety of HCI platforms for non-expert users to adopt as a practical tool for creating and testing their products during the development process.

Sketching User Experiences (1)- Bill Buxton

In "Interacting with Paper," Bill Buxton proposes paper prototyping which he calls 'paper interfaces' as an alternative and a better solution to testing user experiences before starting the design process. The author suggests that paper holds powerful affordances that represent systems of control that users respond to and experience, both in terms of a sketch's control over users' actions (control commands) as well as its faculty to lead users to focus on the 'experience' and 'usability' of an interface rather than on its aesthetic feel or design.

Terri Timely’s Synesthesia

“An Interview with Don Norman.” – Howard Rheingold

Norman stressed the importance of understanding the logic behind the act of designing, which includes considerations for the human factor. In this interview he sets ground rules for 'good design' and focuses on the idea that design should be inherently 'humane'; which is to say that technological tools need to be thought of with a user-centered approach. "Cultivate Sensitivity to Design" explains how experimenting (observing, testing, etc.) helps designers reach a place of "empathy" for the user and simplifies complex products or systems in accordance to audience feedback.

Oliver Sacks on Visual Hallucinations

defining: Ubiquitous Computing

In 1991, Mark Weiser defined ubiquitous computing (which he also calls "embodied virtuality", as opposed to virtual reality) as invisible and indistinguishable from the "fabric of everyday life"; that is, from human behavior. Which is to say that ubiquitous computing aims at providing humane tools with which beings can continue dealing with their world in very much the same behavioral ways.