Author: Helen Chen

User-Centered Design: the Future Belongs to Users

I remember asked my dad once why he quit his job at the city newspaper. Both my parents had been journalists there before social media took off. He'd left to become a documentary director instead. His answer was simple: "The...

field trips

From War Machine to Commercial Machine

I've been diving deep into Post-War ideologies ever since my first project for this class, where I explored Metropolis and the historical context behind society's obsession with technology and industrialization. For example,...

xerox star

Xerox Star: From experts to average people

One reason the Xerox Star was so revolutionary is that its main goal was to make the computer disappear from the user’s mind. The designers wanted the user to be able to focus on their work, not on how to use the machine. They...

mid-century innovations

Revolutionary moment in IXD history: Back to human centered

How I first interpreted IXD when I just started this field was very simple. I see interaction design as software that connects technology(hardware) and the user.When I tell my relatives what I'm studying in college, they look...

fitts law

Clearer and Faster

To apply Gestalt Principles in my design, I’ll make sure to distinguish information by using colors, similarity, and grouping to avoid confusion.However, before grouping different info, it’s very important to be aware of...

manifestos

Innovation is to make some people feel offended

Staying in the comfort zone is a human nature that everyone has. It makes sense in a survival aspect, what we tested was safe and it works, there’s no need to risk anymore. However, I found it’s very fascinating of human...

lovelace & gilbreth

What women can do when they are given a chance: Don’t forget about Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth.

In 1843, Ada Lovelace wrote the first paper on computer science, including the earliest complete computer program. Reading about Ada Lovelace’s life, it really made me believe that she gained that craziness, poetic, creative...