Dan Lewis James

The future is gestural

As a designer you have to be careful what language you use to communicate information to users. This could mean naming conventions in navigational elements or using easier to understand language to name links (based on my previous posts this may be naming at the genus level). Beyond this are the new interfaces beginning to be developed that are able to push these boundaries even further and provide the user with a much simplified interaction through something we are familiar with before language – movement.

Consider these developments in this new wave of interface design.

Aurora browser concept is a browser designed by Adaptive path it uses bodily movement. Aurora explores new ways people could interact with the Web in the future based on projected technological trends and real-world scenarios. The Aurora browser displays the history of sites you have visited depending on semanitcs, tags and timeframe, these are then collected into clusters that can be sorted using hand and arm movements.

Microsoft Surface is a Multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects.

Both these examples show a move beyond language and interpreting design through gestural interfaces. There seems to be a rush of new design concepts looking to exploit the advances in gestural concepts and since these interfaces are beginning to appear on more and more phones (iPhone, Samsung etc) it will soon become a familiar tool for everyday people to use.

The most interesting development for me is that language can form a barrier between the user and the interface, this barrier can be removed or curtailed simply by understanding the way in which the human mind interprets language but as gestural technology advances these barriers are being broken down even more. Consider how much easier the iPhone is to use simply by removing the complicated sets of buttons that vary from phone to phone and allowing the use of the everyday buttons everyone is familiar with. This is the future of interaction design as it provides the user with a direct experience of technology through direct interaction rather than a communicated response.