3141
Salha, Nader "Aesthetics & Art in the Early Development of Human-Computer Interfaces." PhD (Dr. -Ing.)
, University of Bremen, 2012
Keywords/Fields of Study : Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Aesthetics, Art, user interface, GUI, Interaction design, post-usability
280
pages, written in English
, copyright Nader Salha
Abstract: Today, our culture seems to be running on software and revolves around user interfaces. Aesthetics pushed computing into the realm of human perception, cognition and pleasure. The pendulum has now swung in favor of giving aesthetics priority in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field. The aesthetic aspects of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are essential for their success, efficiency, intuitiveness and appeal. GUI design has become to a large extent a matter of aesthetics because GUIs transformed our view of computer programs into a matter of visual perception. This thesis conducts a hermeneutic approach to trace the influence of art and aesthetics within the genesis of early GUIs. Such an historical study has been neglected in the field. As art is commonly understood to be an expressive aesthetic artifact produced by skill, we have found both art and aesthetics to be influential in HCI, and they are gaining more importance as computers become pervasive in our daily life. However, a good interface like a good piece of art is hard to achieve. This research is undertaken at a time when the field of HCI is being reshaped by necessity to be an aesthetics discipline. Familiar computer concepts such as the Desktop Metaphor can no longer be taken for granted. The past might have developed differently, just as the future might develop differently. Examining the classic ground-breaking designs is one way of guarding against that. It can only result in better future interaction designs (IxD).
Department: Computer Science
, University of Bremen
Advisor(s): Dr. Frieder Nake, David Canfield Smith
