Author: Mackenzie Chen

From User-to-User to User-to-System

Web 2.0 marked a turning point because it was the first time the digital world functioned as an actual social environment. Early Internet behavior was basically one-directional and people went online mainly to handle their own...

field trips

Reflections on the Computer History Museum

The CHM didn't feel like a traditional museum to me, instead it felt more like entering a story. The experience began in a dark hallway that resembled the entrance of a cinema, as if the museum wanted visitors to "set aside...

GUI

When Design Became Desire: The GUI and the Attention Economy

The early Macintosh and Windows systems didn't just invent a new way of interacting with computers, they also redefined the relationship between human perception and digital logic. In the 1980s, Apple's Human Interface Group and...

xerox star

Star Before the Digital Revolution

Before the Xerox Star, computers could only be operated by engineers or other professionals through text commands. But Xerox Star changed that completely. In 1981, it was not just a new machine but the result of a difficult and...

mid-century innovations

More Than a Machine

The 1968 demo by Douglas Engelbart and the team at SRI was important not just because it introduced the mouse, video conferencing or hypertext. What really hit me is the way it put computers as more than just machines. Engelbart...

fitts law

Applying Gestalt Principles and Fitt’s Law at Different Stage of the Design Process

When I design an interactive piece of software next time, I would consider both Gestalt principles and Fitt's Law at different stage of the design process. Once I have a clear understanding of my targeted users through research,...

manifestos

What Early Art Movements Teach Us about Creativity

From the early 20th century art movements, we can learn the importance of constantly challenging ourselves and finding new value in the face of technological and social change. During the early 20th century, innovations such as...

lovelace & gilbreth

Ahead of Their Time: Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth in IXD History

When I first learned about Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth, I was struck by how much of what they did resonated with some core values of today's interaction design and technology industry. Many of the "mainstream" principles in...