Books by Erik Stolterman Bergqvist
Things That Keep Us Busy - the elements of interaction
MIT Press, 2017
An investigation of interactivity, interfaces and their design, and the webs of complex interacti... more An investigation of interactivity, interfaces and their design, and the webs of complex interactions that result.
We are surrounded by interactive devices, artifacts, and systems. The general assumption is that interactivity is good—that it is a positive feature associated with being modern, efficient, fast, flexible, and in control. Yet there is no very precise idea of what interaction is and what interactivity means. In this book, Lars-Erik Janlert and Erik Stolterman investigate the elements of interaction and how they can be defined and measured. They focus on interaction with digital artifacts and systems but draw inspiration from the broader, everyday sense of the word.
Viewing the topic from a design perspective, Janlert and Stolterman take as their starting point the interface, which is designed to implement the interaction. They explore how the interface has changed over time, from a surface with knobs and dials to clickable symbols to gestures to the absence of anything visible. Janlert and Stolterman examine properties and qualities of designed artifacts and systems, primarily those that are open for manipulation by designers, considering such topics as complexity, clutter, control, and the emergence of an expressive-impressive style of interaction. They argue that only when we understand the basic concepts and terms of interactivity and interaction will we be able to discuss seriously its possible futures.
The Design Way-- Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World
Thoughtful Interaction Design
Information Systems Development – Methods-in-Action
Design av informationsteknik - materialet utan egenskaper
Journal articles by Erik Stolterman Bergqvist
International Journal of Design, 2021
Research aimed at supporting or improving designing has to be grounded in a foundational understa... more Research aimed at supporting or improving designing has to be grounded in a foundational understanding of the nature of designing. If that is not the case, chances are that improvement attempts will have consequences that will destroy the core of designing, and the approach can no longer provide desired outcomes.
International Journal of Design, 2021
Research aimed at supporting or improving designing has to be grounded in a foundational understa... more Research aimed at supporting or improving designing has to be grounded in a foundational understanding of the nature of designing. If that is not the case, chances are that improvement attempts will have consequences that will destroy the core of designing, and the approach can no longer provide desired outcomes.
The Meaning of Interactivity - some proposals for definitions and measures
New interactive applications, artifacts and systems are constantly being added to our environment... more New interactive applications, artifacts and systems are constantly being added to our environments, and there are some concerns in the HCI research community that increasing interactivity might not be just to the good. But what is it that is supposed to be increasing, and how could we determine whether it is? In order to approach these issues in a systematic and analytical fashion, relying less on common intuitions and more on clearly defined concepts and when possible quantifiable properties, we take a renewed look at the notion of interactivity and related concepts. The main contribution of this article is a number of definitions and terms, and the beginning of an attempt to frame the conditions of interaction and interactivity. Based on this framing, we also propose some possible approaches for how interactivity can be measured.
In the middle of the present struggle to keep interaction complexity in check, as artifact comple... more In the middle of the present struggle to keep interaction complexity in check, as artifact complexity continues to rise and the technical possibilities to interact multiply, the notion of interface is scrutinized. First, a limited number of previous interpretations or thought styles of the notion are identified and discussed. This serves as a framework for an analysis of the current situation with regard to complexity, control, and interaction, leading to a realization of the crucial role of surface in contemporary understanding of interaction. The potential of faceless interaction, interaction that transcends traditional reliance on surfaces, is then examined and discussed, liberating possibilities as well as complicating effects, and dangers are pointed out, ending with a sketch of a possibly emerging new thought style.
An almost explosive growth of complexity puts pressure on people in their everyday doings. Digita... more An almost explosive growth of complexity puts pressure on people in their everyday doings. Digital artifacts and systems are at the core of this development. How should we handle complexity aspects when designing new interactive devices and systems? In this article we begin an analysis of interaction complexity. We portray different views of complexity; we explore not only negative aspects of complexity, but also positive, making a case for the existence of benign complexity. We argue that complex interaction is not necessarily bad, but designers need a deeper understanding of interaction complexity and need to treat it in a more intentional and thoughtful way. We examine interaction complexity as it relates to different loci of complexity: internal, external, and mediated complexity. Our purpose with these analytical exercises is to pave the way for design that is informed by a more focused and precise understanding of interaction complexity.
The role of prototypes is well established in the field of HCI and Design. However, there is stil... more The role of prototypes is well established in the field of HCI and Design. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the fundamental nature of prototypes due to their complex and dynamic nature. There have been attempts to identify different types of prototypes such as low-vs. high-fidelity prototypes, but these attempts have mainly been centered on prototypes for evaluation rather than prototypes supporting design exploration. There have also been attempts to provide new ways of thinking about the activity of using prototypes such as experience prototyping and paper prototyping, but they do not provide a discourse for understanding fundamental characteristics of prototypes. In this article, we propose an anatomy of prototypes as a framework for prototype conceptualization. We view prototypes not only in their role in evaluation but emphasize their generative role in enabling designers to reflect on their own design activities in exploring a design space. The framework is founded on two case studies that reveal two key dimensions: prototypes as filters and prototypes as manifestations. We explain why these two dimensions are important, and how this conceptual framework can benefit our field by establishing more solid and systematic knowledge about prototypes and prototyping.
People, as well as things, appear to have character--high-level attributes that help us understan... more People, as well as things, appear to have character--high-level attributes that help us understand and relate to them. A character is a coherent set of characteristics and attributes that apply to appearance and behaviour alike, cutting across different functions, situations and value systems--esthetical, technical, ethical--providing support for anticipation, interpretation and interaction. Consistency in character may become more important than ever in the increasingly complex artifacts of our computer-supported future. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Background The number of interactive digital artifacts is growing surrounding personal lives, and... more Background The number of interactive digital artifacts is growing surrounding personal lives, and individuals have an increasing need to describe, analyze, and interpret what it means to own, use, and live with a large number of interactive artifacts. It becomes critical from a design perspective to better understand the relational aspects among multiple artifacts beyond the use of individual ones. In this article, we examine the nature of networks of interactive artifacts and the way people understand and handle these networks. We introduce the concept of device landscapes as a conceptual tool for the analysis and examination of personal networks of interactive artifacts.
Interaction design research has rapidly evolved into a unique discipline embracing practicing pro... more Interaction design research has rapidly evolved into a unique discipline embracing practicing professionals, design educators, and academic researchers. As with many evolving disciplines, attracting attention from a large number of people with different backgrounds, interests, and ways of seeing tends to cause 'disciplinary anxiety', which inevitably leads to the question of what constitutes 'good research'. What is rigorous and relevant interaction design research? How do we recognize and evaluate it? In this paper, we argue that most current attempts at dealing with issues of rigor and relevance in interaction design research tend to be on loan from other disciplines, and tend to overlook, conceal, or knowingly exclude some of what makes interaction design research such a unique field. Our primary contribution is that what may be perceived as three different design research activities-design practice, design exploration, and design studies-have their own purposes, intended outcomes, and internal logic. Each form of research must thus be examined in its own right and the notions of rigor and relevance for each of them have to be based on a firm understanding of the particular purpose of each approach. We would argue that this is not done consistently in the field today, which leads to misunderstandings, confusion, and mistakes when interaction design research is reviewed, discussed, and assessed.
This paper takes up the problem of understanding why we preserve some things passionately and dis... more This paper takes up the problem of understanding why we preserve some things passionately and discard others without thought. We briefly report on the theoretical literature relating to this question, both in terms of existing literature in HCI, as well as in terms of related literatures that can advance the understanding for the HCI community. We use this reading to refine our frameworks for understanding durability in digital artifice as an issue of sustainable interaction design in HCI. Next, we report in detail on our ongoing work in collecting personal inventories of digital artifice in the home context. We relate our prior and most current personal inventories collections to the framework that owes to our reading of the theoretical literature. Finally, we summarize the theoretical implications and findings of our personal inventories work in terms of implications for the design of digital artifice in a manner that is more durable.
Developing IT Design Ability Through Repertoires and Contextual Product Semantics
Digital Creativity, 1998
A rich repertoire of templates and a developed language for design qualities are two essential co... more A rich repertoire of templates and a developed language for design qualities are two essential components of professional design ability. We discuss ‘tools’ for the individual designers development of a repertoire and a use—quality language. Three examples are presented of how IT artifacts can be described and analysed in a way that is conducive to repertoire development. In our sample analyses, we identify a number of genre‐bound, contextual use qualities that represent steps toward a use‐quality language for IT design. These qualities are social action space, tight coupling, dynamic Gestalt, autonomy, intrinsic motivation and playability. We discuss how these tentative steps relate to product semantics in more mature design fields, and provide examples of exercises in repertoire and use‐quality language development for classroom and individual use.
This paper describes our ongoing research about what it takes to design things that can be ensoul... more This paper describes our ongoing research about what it takes to design things that can be ensouled or can achieve heirloom status as a matter related to sustainable design. This paper draws on research on fifteen deep narratives that we collected to uncover detailed accounts of relationships between each participant and a single particular loved artifact or collection of a single type. Three themes emerged from our analysis of the narratives: (i) intimacy accumulated as an association with an object over time, (ii) investment of effort to learn and control functionality, and (iii) implicit values related to the patterns of collection of artifacts. In conceptualizing these three themes as an analytical frame, we arrived at two unifying notions that generally apply across many of the narratives and that serve as catalysts to design principles, namely the notion of rarity of an object, and the notion of aficionado-appeal of an object. We conclude by considering how these unifying notions can be used reflectively and judiciously to prompt design principles for interaction designers at least, and possibly as design principles in-and-of-themselves.
In this article it is argued that an information system must be treated as an artefact with a for... more In this article it is argued that an information system must be treated as an artefact with a format. We need to see information systems design as based on architectonic and not tectonic thinking. Design based on architectonic thinking emphasizes (1) the task of giving form to a design proposal, and (2) the task of creating an overall structure for the information system. These two activities are closely related because they both deal with the issue of seeing the idea or whole of systems, and the problem of how to give form to that whole. The paper begins with an exploration of the concept formative faculties in relation to`given' and`non-given' objects. The concepts of parti and format are then presented as a way to grasp thè whole' of an information system. How formats can be used in information systems design is discussed as well as how this leads to the act of sketching as an important but neglected activity in information systems design. Sketching is promoted by introducing diathenic graphologue as the art of`giving form to the unknown'. The paper ends by suggesting how formats and diathenic graphologue can be practised and included as important aspects of information systems design education and training.
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Books by Erik Stolterman Bergqvist
We are surrounded by interactive devices, artifacts, and systems. The general assumption is that interactivity is good—that it is a positive feature associated with being modern, efficient, fast, flexible, and in control. Yet there is no very precise idea of what interaction is and what interactivity means. In this book, Lars-Erik Janlert and Erik Stolterman investigate the elements of interaction and how they can be defined and measured. They focus on interaction with digital artifacts and systems but draw inspiration from the broader, everyday sense of the word.
Viewing the topic from a design perspective, Janlert and Stolterman take as their starting point the interface, which is designed to implement the interaction. They explore how the interface has changed over time, from a surface with knobs and dials to clickable symbols to gestures to the absence of anything visible. Janlert and Stolterman examine properties and qualities of designed artifacts and systems, primarily those that are open for manipulation by designers, considering such topics as complexity, clutter, control, and the emergence of an expressive-impressive style of interaction. They argue that only when we understand the basic concepts and terms of interactivity and interaction will we be able to discuss seriously its possible futures.
Journal articles by Erik Stolterman Bergqvist
We are surrounded by interactive devices, artifacts, and systems. The general assumption is that interactivity is good—that it is a positive feature associated with being modern, efficient, fast, flexible, and in control. Yet there is no very precise idea of what interaction is and what interactivity means. In this book, Lars-Erik Janlert and Erik Stolterman investigate the elements of interaction and how they can be defined and measured. They focus on interaction with digital artifacts and systems but draw inspiration from the broader, everyday sense of the word.
Viewing the topic from a design perspective, Janlert and Stolterman take as their starting point the interface, which is designed to implement the interaction. They explore how the interface has changed over time, from a surface with knobs and dials to clickable symbols to gestures to the absence of anything visible. Janlert and Stolterman examine properties and qualities of designed artifacts and systems, primarily those that are open for manipulation by designers, considering such topics as complexity, clutter, control, and the emergence of an expressive-impressive style of interaction. They argue that only when we understand the basic concepts and terms of interactivity and interaction will we be able to discuss seriously its possible futures.