HCI at the movies
Originally published at jkparker.ca. Please leave any comments there.
As a user interface designer, I get a kick out of seeing some of the cool (or ridiculous!) interfaces that filmmakers dream up. Interactions, an HCI journal, had a neat article about this phenomenon a couple years back:
Can you remember the first science fiction movie you ever saw? What about the first science fiction program you ever saw on television? Can you remember what you thought about the user-interface design or user experience of any computer-based telecommunication system presented in these shows? And what about today? Do you cast a critical eye on the technology and its use whenever you watch the latest movie or video presentation about a world of the future?
CHI at the Movies and on TV, Aaron Marcus
I saw Iron Man last month and appreciated it as a great superhero movie, but also loved the fact that Robert Downey Jr.’s workshop had an elaborate gesture-based interface. Not something we’re likely to see in the mass market anytime soon, but not so far off from the bleeding edge of research!
The summer movie I’m really looking forward to, though, is Get Smart. If there was ever an opportunity for the filmmakers to dream up some ridiculous interfaces, this is it! (Shoe phone, anyone?)
Miss 604 is giving away tickets to a preview showing that’s happening tomorrow night, and I’d love to have them.