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Predicting the Past: Emotional Design and a Vision for Microsoft Surface
August de los Reyes, User Experience Director for Microsoft Surface

September 23, 2008 – 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Presentation Style: Based on The Lessig Method, with gorgeous graphics, video asides, repetition, gentle humour.

An amiable, quiet and well spoken August began sharing his team’s design philosophies which are leading the shift from traditional graphical user computing interactions to a more natural user experience. He took us to a world where, more than ever, data is the point, and showed us some pretty slick concept videos where delivery of that data is a seamless, intuitive key to access the information we want and need.

We listened as he explained how software engineers looked at the from the mechanics level up to the aesthetic, while users did the complete opposite. August’s task was to find the “sweet spot” that leveraged the complexity of the mechanics while enhancing the aesthetics giving the user the most intuitive experience. This is exactly how they approached Microsoft Surface, looking for that sweet place where users would be emotionally engaged with the technology so transparent as to disappear from the participant’s awareness.

By spending a lot of time researching, planning and thinking, engineers ensure users won’t have to. They want to tap into the participants emotional responses, which will ensure an imprint of pleasure, knowledge, and most importantly to Microsoft, brand loyalty.

August took us on a computer interface journey. From the Command Line Interface (CLI) days, when we had to directly input information into a static environment, to now with our Graphics User Interface (GUI) using a mouse cursor, buttons, rollovers and dropdown menus to the idea of the next step: Natural User Interface (NUI). Microsoft Surface wants to take us to a tactile, intuitive world where the technology continues to become more and more transparent. A world where we can concentrate on the tasks rather than the method*.

He also touched on a possible future Experience User Interface (XUI) with technology so seamlessly integrated into our lives as to be organically woven into our world.

*Other companys such as Apple has been taking us on the same journey, of course. Some for longer, some for better. For instance: we’ve had iPods, iTouches and the iPhones for quite some (relatively) time now.

Office Labs: Future of personal health concept video

It was an event I am extremely happy to have had the opportunity to attend. A great speaker, with intelligent articulated content, beer, pizza and even a chance to see a $100 Laptop in use.

I can’t help thinking a few things:

• While the concept videos were slick and fun to watch, Microsoft’s “vision” of the future was very Ally McBeal meets Ikea and not very Korben Dallas moves to Blade Runner’s Los Angeles – dude, the future according to Microsoft is super-tidy!
• Technology is strongly shown being used by, and for, homogenised-coloured people of obvious wealth and abundance – there are no extremes of colour, size or expression.
• Hospital scenes are organised, relaxed and well staffed – patients are happy in their featureless “healing” cells.
• Office scenes show gentile collaboration and seamless integration of process – no shit flying in these places of work.

Yeh yeh I know, they’re concept videos – they’re supposed to be like that and, to be fair, they were probably set on Mars with the purified creme of humanity having left Earth a few generations ago on the Space Shuttle Tom Cruise leaving the dirt and grimey rest-of-us on home-ferma.

The videos got me thinking about our real world, the one I live on right now and will continue to live on for the forseeable future: thinking about how technology can be used to deal with rising sea levels, food distribution, population control, real education, affordable health care, potable water, maintaining species diversity, consuming less, clean energy etc etc.

Seeing the $100 Laptop in that room last night and the One Laptop Per Child project it represents is the practical step towards a future we can all live with. Education for everyone is the key.