Author: Abigail Smith

Designing Responsibly

As interaction designers, we are taught a great deal about how our designs impact people. We study human behavior, cognitive science, and principles of psychology. With this knowledge, we gain responsibility. Keeping users safe,...

iPod & iPhone

How the iPhone changed technology forever

The iPod and the iPhone created a massive shift in the way we think about and interact with technology. For the first time, we carried around everything we needed in our pocket. When I was younger, my mom gave me her BlackBerry...

pace layers

Layers of Change

Pace Layers are an illustration of the pace at which pieces of a system develop and change. Fashion, commerce, infrastructure, governance, culture, and nature are the layers in order of fastest to slowest to change. In...

web 2.0

Web 2.0 to 2025

Web 2.0 brought us many incredible advancements in the way we saw and interacted with the web. Gone were the days of static pages, and here to stay was the revolution of interaction, social media, user created content. ...

field trips

CHM Visit

The Computer History Museum was an incredible space! I was really impressed with how everything was displayed, and I enjoyed finding my way around the museum. It was exciting to learn more about the progression of computers,...

GUI

What’s Next for GUI?

While most people may not pay much attention to the significance of the trash can at the lower right corner of their computer screen, a long line of computer history is behind it. In the early days of Mac, folders and documents...

xerox star

The Guiding Star of Computer History: Xerox Star

Xerox PARC’s 1981 computer, The Xerox Star, introduced an array of features that I feel altered the course of computer history. When I read about the Xerox Star, I was surprised by all of the innovative ideas it introduced. As...

mid-century innovations

The Mother of All Demos Still Matters

Douglas Engelbart's “The Mother of All Demos” in 1968 was an incredible display of early technology that gave way to much of the technology we have and use today. When I first saw the demo, it was hard for me to believe it...

fitts law

Designing with Intention

As designers, Gestalt principles are taught to us early on. While Gestalt principles seem to be mostly intuitive and subconsciously implemented, how often do we really sit down and open Figma with a list of Gestalt principles in...

manifestos

Looking Back and Moving Forward

During the early 20th century, several art movements emerged that changed the way we see art and design. Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism provided us with new ways of thinking that were inspired from the ever changing world...

lovelace & gilbreth

Visionaries and Engineers – The importance of Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth

The stories of many women throughout history trigger a melody in my head when I read them, “Big Eyes” by Lana Del Rey. Written for the movie Big Eyes in 2014, the song details the story of Margaret Keane, whose husband took...