The presentation at the Computer History Museum, featuring Fei-Fei Li, offered deep insights into AI’s transformative role and its human-centered approach. One key point was how AI’s development—such as ImageNet—ushered in a new era of deep learning and machine learning. Li emphasised the responsibility we hold in harnessing AI’s potential for good, especially in areas like healthcare and education. As she noted, “AI is made by people, used by people, and will impact people’s lives.”
This presentation reshaped my perspective on interaction design (IXD), pushing me to think beyond functionality and aesthetics. Li’s focus on the societal implications of AI reinforces the importance of empathy in design, ensuring that technological solutions are inclusive and serve broader human needs.
For example, her discussion of “spatial intelligence” highlighted how AI can revolutionise various industries, from healthcare to robotics, through 3D reasoning and problem-solving in physical spaces. This encourages me to incorporate similar forward-thinking approaches in my own design work, considering how interactions might evolve in environments beyond screens—like augmented reality or robotics.
As a college student studying interaction design, it feels important to study Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth because they show how early ideas shaped the way we approach technology and design today.Ada Lovelace, known as the first computer programmer, didn’t just write code, she thought about how to make machines more than just number crunchers. Her work on Charles Babbage’s analyzing machine showed that machines could process data and symbols creatively, almost mimicking the way humans think. In a world where we are constantly interacting with technology, her vision reminds us that our designs today have the potential to shape the future.
Also，on the other side， Lillian Gilbreth introduces a human-centered approach to her work in ergonomics and psychology. She focuses on making everyday tasks easier and more efficient by understanding how people interact with their environment (whether in a factory or at home). For someone like me, learning to design easy-to-use interfaces and improve people’s lives feels directly relevant to her work.Gilbreth’s emphasis on human needs reminds us that good design is not just about aesthetics or functionality-it’s about understanding people and designing systems for them. These women’s contributions help us see how long-held ideas about people and technology influence the decisions we make in IXD today.
I was deeply touched by Feifei Li’s sharing of her AI journey. Her experience demonstrates the spirit of perseverance and the persistent pursuit of knowledge. From her story, I learned the following points:
Perseverance and Courage: You cannot give up easily when facing difficulties and challenges. On the road to interaction design, you will also encounter various problems and must have enough courage and perseverance to overcome them.
Interdisciplinary thinking: Feifei Li’s research involves a variety of fields, such as computer science, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience. This reminds me that in interaction design, I can’t limit myself to a single subject knowledge but actively draw on the results of other fields to broaden my horizons and cultivate interdisciplinary thinking ability.
Social responsibility: Feifei Li is committed to promoting technology development and is concerned about its impact on society. She emphasizes that AI should serve human beings and solve problems in the real world. As an interaction designer, I should also thoroughly consider the needs of users and the interests of society when designing medical apps to improve the quality and efficiency of medical services.
Implications for IXD practice:
Innovative Design Ideas: Feifei Li’s AI journey has shown me the great potential of AI in the medical field. When designing medical APPs, I can consider introducing AI technologies, such as intelligent diagnosis and personalized treatment suggestions, to provide users with more convenient and efficient medical services. The image recognition technology of AI can also be utilized to help users quickly identify drug packages or symptom manifestations and provide preliminary diagnostic advice. For example, if the user takes a picture of the drug label, the APP automatically recognizes the drug information and gives medication reminders.
User Experience Optimization: After learning Feifei Li’s thoughts on the relationship between technology and human beings, I will pay more attention to optimizing user experience. When designing medical apps, we should fully consider users’ needs and psychology, design simple and clear interfaces, provide easy-to-operate functions, and make users feel cared for and supported in the process of using.
Teamwork and communication: The success of Feifei Li must be connected to teamwork. I must also communicate and cooperate with developers, doctors, patients, and other parties in the interaction design project. This viewing made me realize the importance of teamwork, and I will try to improve my communication and teamwork skills.
“Gestalt Principles”- PART 1 – pp 96 – 97 Introduces the main principles of Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, and Symmetry in Gestalt psychology. Explains how these principles affect people’s perception and organization of visual information. Proximity: Place related elements closer together to indicate that they belong to the same group or have the same function. For example, group navigation buttons together so that users can intuitively recognize that they are used for page navigation. Similarity: Use the same color, shape, size, or font to represent elements with similar functions or attributes. For example, essential operation buttons should be marked with the same color in the software interface so that users can quickly identify and distinguish different types of operations. Elements in different states can be distinguished by similarity. For example, various colors or styles can represent selected and unselected items. Still, they should maintain a certain similarity so that users can understand their relationship. Continuity: Use the principle of continuity to guide the user’s eyes. For example, continuous lines or shapes can be used to connect related elements so that the user’s eyes can naturally follow the lines and understand the overall layout and structure of the design. In web design, continuous layout and navigation elements can be used to guide users smoothly between pages. For example, a continuous menu bar or breadcrumb navigation allows users to clearly know where they are in the website and where they can go. Closure: Use the principle of closure to create concise and expressive graphics. In interface design, only a part of the progress bar is displayed, and users can infer the overall progress based on that part. Symmetry: Designing a symmetrical layout can give people a sense of stability and harmony. In fields such as web and APP design, symmetrical layouts can be used to attract users’ attention and convey a professional and orderly impression. For example, important information or action buttons can be placed symmetrically on both sides of the interface so that users can find and use them more easily.
“Fitts Law” – PART 1 – pp 98 – 107 Mainly describes the principles and formulas of Fitts’ Law. Explains the relationship between the time required to move to a target and the distance and size of the target. The application of Fitts’s Law in human-computer interaction, such as mouse operation, touch screen interaction, etc., is analyzed through experimental data and actual cases. According to Fitts’s Law, the user interface design is optimized to improve the efficiency and accuracy of user operation. The user’s operation time and error rate are reduced in specific designs. For example, essential buttons are designed to be more significant and close to the user’s operation area.
“As We May Think, Foreseeing the Future, On the Trail of the Memex”- PART 1 – pp. 70 – 95 The concept and function of “Memex” (an imaginary information storage and retrieval device) are introduced. People can draw inspiration from the idea of “Memex” to obtain personalized information storage and retrieval and associative information organization. In interaction design, users can customize interface layout, information screening conditions, etc., through user portraits and personalized settings to improve the efficiency and accuracy of information retrieval.
This is the icon for “Trending” in YouTube. It is symbolizing “fire”, probably representing “fire” or “hot”. If you click on the trending, it will jumped to the page showing the recently hot videos. The fire icon in YouTube metaphor is widely recognized in modern culture to mean something is “hot” or popular, thus giving this icon an instant understanding among users. The metaphor for the YouTube “Trending” icon is direct and modern: fire equals heat, and heat equals attention or excitement.
The fire pictograph in Mayan in the another hand, probably only presenting bonfire. The fire pictograph is having lots curves, and be blowed from the right toward left.
Ada Lovelace is one of the most important people in IXD because she helped formulate to bring the “IX” in ixd to life.
As someone who believed that compute was more than just numbers, she helped progress the complex systems thinking to adopt symbols, music, art and other areas of science.
Her keen interest pushed the boundaries in data processing, cryptography but most importantly, AGI (not in those exact words)
Without these algebraic computations, it would be impossible for us to run our designs on Figma and bring them to web versions in real time, In real life.
Lillian Gilberth deserves huge praise in terms of bringing the D to “IXD”, simply because she helped pioneer and innovate in ergonomic and functional design which has helped us propel the way we think of life.
Her keen attention into (human centred design) allows people today to design keeping in mind various stakeholders as well as motivate them to use it with ease due to the psychology behind it.
What this communicates today is a simple, functional idea—your delivery address or place of residence. What needs to be learned here is that the house is used as a quick, recognizable symbol for home or location. Unlike its ancient counterparts, this modern icon is straightforward and minimalist, designed purely for function without cultural depth. It uses familiar elements like a roof and walls to signify a home, providing users with an easy and universal representation of a delivery destination.This is the house symbol, used over centuries ago. What this communicated back in the day was – place of stay and shelter. What needs to be learned here is that house – not only means residence, but a place of belonging where people from similar lineage stayed. The Mayan symbol is much more complex to understand at first glance, but as you look deeper you can understand that these are icons which are based out of specific homes used by the Mayans – as it shows the roof, the doors, the windows etc. What this communicates today is your personal profile, representing an individual user’s identity within the app. What needs to be learned here is that this symbol is a simplified version of a human figure, designed for quick recognition. Unlike ancient representations of people, this icon is minimalistic and functional, focusing only on the concept of a single user. It doesn’t communicate deeper details like status or lineage—just the basic idea of an individual profile, allowing users to easily access their account settings and personal data.The person symbol “Winik” signifies a cultural depiction and representation of people that belong to their specific culture. Upon study, I learnt that the glyph changes according to specific person it represents, which helps determine their age, status and rank. The metaphoric representation here is definitely more complex as it uses symbols from the cloud, eye and other glyphs, which signifies that the person is more than a divine and spiritual being.
To begin with, I totally support that Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth are significant figures in Interaction Design History, not only for their pioneering contributions that influence modern design principles, but also for their way opened for women to be engaged into this industry.
Ada Lovelace is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, where she envisioned the machine’s potential beyond mere calculations, laid the groundwork for computational thinking, an essential aspect of digital interface design. Even though she was born in a well-educated family with resources with poetry and science, her mother lead her to the way of science, which could probably make her different from the other ladies in her age or with similar background)
Moreover, Lillian Gilbreth is a pioneer in human factors and ergonomics, Gilbreth introduced ideas about user-centred design. She studied how people interact with machines and environments, which is foundational to IXD. Her focus on improving efficiency and comfort influenced how we design tools and interfaces that consider the user’s needs and behavior.
By looking at both Mayan graphs and airbnb’s icons and graphs, I realized there are many similarity from the creations to their meanings.
The first thing I realized is their shape, you can really tell that each of the icons or graphs are limited to a certain size, and they are all around to be this big, in my personal opinion, I think the creator trying to make people easy to read, and clearly to determine the meaning behind the icons and graphs.
More than that, let me take an example from Mayans’ glyphs, the spirit and the location or map icon from the airbnb. In the spirit glyph, we can easy to see a circle, some curves and many dots in the right size, circles and curves are somehow just like human’s face, and those dots maybe telling a story of spirit and mind since they are full of ideas and thinkings. On the other hand, the airbnb location icon is made by a beacon and a curved paper or map, the beacon can potentially be considered as the location of something, and the map shows the scale. In conclusion, both the glyph and icon are really start with some objects that can be shown a real life thing then people assume the meaning behind to form a complete glyph and icon that everyone can understand and get used to it.
First, I do fully agree and support Erin Pinot’s point that in the history of ixd, contributions from women have often been overlooked. In this case, highlighting figures like Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth corrects this historical oversight and tell the world how brilliant woman are. Also that highlight of Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth enriches our understanding of the field’s evolution. Both women made foundational contributions that resonate with principles central to Ixd.
Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth have made invaluable contributions to the evolution of IXD, and their individual academic achievements are also outstanding. Ada Lovelace is the first computer programmer. Her work on analytical Engine, included creating the first algorithm intended for implementation on a machine. This work laid foundational principles for computer science and programming. Lillian Gilbreth spend her life for building the field of industrial engineering around the world. She is also the first female member of the society of industrial engineers; the first woman ever appointed to the national academy of engineering; the first woman who receive the hoover medal for distinguished public service; She was the first female psychologist with U.S postage stamp named for her; etc. All Lillian Gilbreth did is incredible, remarkable and continue to inspire.
Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth are the role model for woman. They show me that there are no limit on what woman can do. Their accomplishments encourage women to be brave and pursue their goals. Woman can accomplished anything. No one can define our potential.
Ada Lovelace & Lilian Gilbreth are two of many redefining female pioneers who have been discredited for their insurmountable advancements in STEAM. Our duty as designers and practitioners within STEAM, is to make visible the accomplishments that have been watered down by the industry and to restore equity within these fields.
The exclusion of women in top occupations and positions of power is unassailable. This reoccurring issue is not only prominent within IXD, but through Law, Finance, Construction, and STEM in its entirety. This heightens the importance of learning about both history and herstory.
Lovelace was a mathematician who laid the groundwork of modern algorithms. She is considered, “The first computer programmer” and expanded the bounds of what a computer is envisioned to do. This includes envisioning a computer system that not only works with numbers, but with symbols that produce images and sound. Despite her accomplishments, she was still labeled as the wife of Charles Babbage or the daughter of Lord Byron. Her achievements should stand on its own, and it is painful seeing women being overshadowed by the successes of their male peers purely based on bias.
Gilbreth was an engineer and management consultant that significantly improved industrial management efficiency. Her refrigerator foot pedal invention with GE appliances was one of the early works of accessibility in product design. Alongside this, she was Purdue University’s first female engineering professor, advocating for women in engineering. She made an everlasting impact on modern managerial and HCI practices. Similar to Lovelace, her efforts were undermined by the recognition of her husband. It was only when he was no longer a part of the equation, then her work began to be noticed. It is sad to consider that if her husband was less short lived, Gilbreth accomplishments may not have been recognized at all.
The groundwork Lovelace and Gilbreth paved is the reason why women in STEAM exist. It is importantly to reflect on the trailblazing women who brought us together in this very class. By influencing an entire demographic to exceed past their confinements and expectations, they have redefined what it means to be a woman. We carry on that legacy.
Here is the ‘Browser’ section in Gmail. Multiple icons are used to represent different categories. Such as a trash can is using to symbol spam, a clock is using to symbol delay, etc.
What concepts need to be learned?
I think the concepts behind Gmail’s icons are: 1. All the icons are created based on real-world symbols. 2. Each icon represents a whole word or concept, not just a single letter.
In addition, the appearance of Gmail’s icons and the original Sumerian alphabet, Mayan pictographs, or Egyptian hieroglyphics is different. The original symbols rely more on lines, while Gmail’s icons rely more on shapes.
What metaphors are being used?
Gmail’s: 1.star = important; 2.inbox = mailbox; 3.arrow = sent; 4.plus = create a new; etc.
original Sumerian alphabet: 1.quadrangle = sun; 2.triangle+f = bird; etc.
Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth are important in Interaction Design history because they made early contributions to how we interact with technology and systems. Also, their outstanding contribution demonstrates the importance of women in the development of this industry.
Lillian Gilbreth, is known for her great work in engineering and also raised I think that is the most important concepts that interaction design follows today were introduced more than a hundred years ago, people factors are the keys.
Ada Lovelace, in the 1800s, wrote the first algorithm for a machine, making her the first “computer programmer”, and she envisioned computers doing more than just calculations. It is amazing that Ada Lovelace could think of things that now it looks like something very futuristic for the time. Interaction design is closely connected with computers and digital devices nowadays, Ada’s groundwork should be credited and honored.
Prior to X’s rebrand from Twitter, the iconic blue bird Ollie, was the mascot and brand symbol responsible for the platform’s global success. Given Twitters commitment to brand identity, the interface and iconography became tailored to the concept of the blue bird. Such instances include the “Tweet” button being represented by a feather and a “+” symbol. The feather is used in Egyptian hieroglyphics as a symbol of truth and freedom. Similarly in Twitter’s use case, users tweet messages to emphasize their right to freely express and communicate. In a philosophical sense, the feather is a fragment of Twitter’s mascot, because when a user tweets or sends a message, they are adding feathers that allow Ollie to take flight. Without feathers, a bird cannot fly and without users, a company cannot thrive. Both the logo and hieroglyph highlight the motion of the wing, contributing to the idea of progression, taking flight, and rise of the digital age, both using a 2D representation of the bird.
Additionally, Twitter references Egyptian history and lifestyle. Birds were human companions, that enabled humans to deliver messages and communicate with one another. Twitter’s intentional reference to these details collectively contributes to their business motto and branding direction. In all, it is interesting to consider how Egyptian hieroglyphics shaped modern logos and iconography, but also how Egyptian traditions and lifestyle shaped the underlying meaning of modern iconography.
Ada Lovelace’s forward thinking gets us thinking about the potential for technology to interact with humans. Her theory is not only an exploration of technological capabilities but also a vision of their application to human multidimensional life. This perspective spanning technology and human experience was one of the early intellectual foundations of IXD. move.
Lillian Gilbreth applies this interdisciplinary thinking to practice. By studying the intersection of ergonomics, psychology and engineering, he proposes that design must revolve around human needs. This understanding and optimization of “user experience” is an integral part of IXD.
Women in the tech have historically been underrepresented. Two of the most notable are Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth.
Ada Lovelace is an important figure in the history of computer science and interaction design because of her groundbreaking work with Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine in the mid-19th century. While the machine was never built, Ada’s notes on its design is what is considered one of the first algorithms, making her a pioneer in programming (aka the first computer programmer!). Moreover, her insights on how machines could interact with humans and their creativity (i.e. music) highlighted human-machine capabilities and laid the groundwork for modern-day interaction design.
Lillian Gilbreth is known as the first lady of engineering and is another significant figure in interaction design history. She studied how people interact in their environment and innovated redesigned work practices. Moreover, she redefined women’s work and designing for disabilities. Her work emphasized user-centered design, demonstrating how thoughtful design can improve functionality and experience.
Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace was the world’s first computer programmer, writing the first ever algorithm for Charles Babbage Analytical Engine. She didn’t coolly regard a computer to be just an instrument for making out numbers, she imagined also that such machine could have another application in the spheres of music and art! She was thus a precursor of, and to some degree an inspiration for later ideas in human-computer interaction and interaction design more broadly, establishing her as a per se important figure in the history of interaction design.
Lillian Gilbreth applied psychological principles to the workplace and was a pioneer in industrial engineering as well as psychology. Her work environment focused on human factors, and she encouraged businesses to recognize the physical and psychological needs of their workers in order to maximize productivity. She also did time and motion studies with her husband Frank Gilbreth to improve work processes. Her work laid the foundation for ergonomics and user-centered design, which are central ideas to interaction design. As such, she had an incalculable influence on the way interaction design is done today.
The Facebook icon I have chosen is the speech bubble, and from the Egyptian hieroglyphics, I have chosen the ‘Ankh’ symbol.
What’s being communicated?
Facebook’s icons are used to navigate actions within the app, such as navigation between the news feed, notifications, messages, and profile. These icons are minimalistic and symbolic, representing common actions like a “bell” for notifications or a “speech bubble” for messaging.
In contrast, Egyptian hieroglyphics used pictures to convey ideas, words, or sounds. They were a complex writing system with both phonetic and ideographic elements, often used to document religious texts, daily activities, or official decrees.
Both systems are based on visual communication but serve very different purposes. Facebook’s icons aim to quickly guide users through actions, while Egyptian hieroglyphics communicated detailed messages about life, religion, or authority.
In order to understand Facebook icons, the viewer should be familiar with digital metaphors, where physical objects (bells, speech bubbles) are used to represent concepts such as alerts and communication.
Similarly, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, individuals needed to understand the meaning of various pictographs. The ‘Ankh’ symbol is a teardrop-shaped hoop with a cross connected directly below it, to represent the sun making its path upward and over the horizon, and it symbolizes the many aspects of life, including physical life, eternal life, immortality, death, and reincarnation.
Both systems require users to learn associations between symbols and their meanings, but hieroglyphics were much more extensive and intricate.
Metaphors being used:
The bubble speech icon is a metaphor for conversation, derived from the way speech is represented in cartoons or comics
The ‘Ankh’ symbol represents life and external existence, symbolizing vitality.
Both use metaphors derived from physical, familiar objects, but while Facebook’s icons are designed for quick functional interaction, hieroglyphics carried deeper symbolic meanings rooted in the culture’s worldview.
While Facebook’s iconography and Egyptian hieroglyphics serve vastly different purposes, both rely on visual symbols to communicate. Facebook’s icons are streamlined and designed for quick, universal comprehension, whereas Egyptian hieroglyphics required cultural knowledge and carried profound meaning in them. Both systems use metaphors to convey their messages, but in Facebook, the metaphors are more pragmatic, reflecting the app’s focus on function and usability rather than storytelling or spiritual significance.
Pinterest icons and Mayan Pictographs are similar in the sense that they both use recognizable pictures of real-life objects to represent concepts, actions, or ideas. Pinterest icons are used to indicate different actions or navigation points that can take place on the app; moreover, they are relatively specific to that platform (e.g. “pin” and “board” icons). Mayan hieroglyphics are composed of pictographs, and the combination of images are used to convey syllables and words, which compose their writing system. Similar to Pinterest, life-like pictures are associated with certain meanings.
For both Pinterest and Mayan pictographs, users/readers must learn of their symbolic meaning. For example, Pinterest’s widely known “pin” icon signifies saving an item (“pinning”) to your board (aka save folder), or the heart icon to signify “liking” a post; these all require an understanding of modern digital symbols and real world physical actions. Mayan pictographs require cultural and linguistic context (animals, gods, religions) as the images represent very abstract ideas or objects. This is especially relevant as multiple images can be combined on each block.
Works Cited
Cartwright, Mark. “Maya Writing.” World History Encyclopedia, February 12, 2014. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/655/maya-writing/#references.
As an important pioneer in engineering, engineering, and management theory, Lillian Gilbreth is a very important example of early interaction by combining human factors, psychology, and scientific management.
Compared to Lillian Gilbreth, Ada Lovelace is more like an important figure who laid the foundation for modern electronic systems and interaction design. Her most important asset is something that appears to be the world’s first computer program. It is a machine-executed algorithm and perhaps the earliest computer algorithm to appear worldwide. She was also the first person to realize that electronic devices have applications beyond pure symbol addition and subtraction calculations. In contrast, others at the same time, including Babbage, may not have realized this.
For interaction design, these people were involved in and designed the earliest interactions, namely human factors and human-computer interaction. Ada enabled people to participate in the “interaction” between humans and computing units in a physical sense for the first time
