Gabriel Mullarkey DM104 Perspectives in the Digital Age 9 January 2011

Analogue Affordances for Digital Devices Digital media consumption is ubiquitous in modern society. Advances in technology and increased bandwidth in last decade have lead to a plethora of devices for consuming digital media. The success of such devices is due in part to designers and developers addressing the intrinsic difficulties people have with digital technology. The integration of graphic touchsensitive screens has meant that digital devices can transform completely to perform a certain task and to appeal to people's individuality. These facts together with multi-gestural controls heralds a new dawn for human-computer interaction. Integration of analogue features and metaphors into digital devices strengthens the emotional connection between man and technology as well as creating constraints for rich, new interactive experiences. Such design features may be seen as regressive on the whole but they provide a valuable cognitive link to the next stage of human-computer interaction. Apple Computers are a progressive technology company that have benefited from analogue inspiration. In the past decade many of Apple's flagship products bear striking resemblance to Dieter Rams work for Braun in the 1960s through to the 1980s. These include the Apple's Powermac G5's homage to the T1000 World Receiver radio (see fig. 1a) as well as the similarities in form between the T3 Pocket Radio and the Ipod (see fig. 1b). Such obvious design cues suggest a welcome adoption of the modernist design philosophy by modern technology companies but it also suggests how good design can appeal to us on a deeper, emotional level that transcends generational and technological boundaries. Norman describes this phenomenon as 'Visceral Design', one of his three three levels of attraction that shapes our experiences with products (Emotional Design 65). Visceral attraction works on a base level and is hard-wired into the human brain as an evolutionary survival mechanism. Norman uses the example of fruit's attractiveness to animals who will disperse the seeds after consuming the fruit or the use striking

primary colours by bird species to attract mates as visceral design at work in nature (Emotional Design 66). The appeal of Apple products is not purely visceral as they are sophisticated technological devices however analogue forms and affordances can also transfer to a software platform to great effect.

Fig 1a. The Braun T1000 World Receiver and the Apple Powermac G5 (Web. 22 Dec. 2010, http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/01/powermac-comp.jpg)

Fig 1b. Braun T3 Pocket Radio and the Apple Ipod (Web. 16 Dec. 2010, http://perpenduum.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/braun-appleipod.jpg) Apple products rely increasingly on interfaces as opposed to physical attributes to engage consumers. In fact their latest products, the Iphone and Ipad have only one physical button for interaction with the applications (apart from the 'lock' and 'volume buttons' button located on the side of the units) relying on their large touch sensitive screens for nearly all interaction. The lone push button is generally used as a 'home' button, to exit any application. The addition of a physical push-button on devices that rely on gestural, multi-touch interaction demonstrates the

reassuring nature of physical controls. Nevertheless, the single usage of such controls is highlighted in stark contrast to the rich interaction through their screens. The limitations of analogue controls are very evident on touch-screen devices however application developers use an array of analogue affordances to ensure their products are more user-friendly. The term skeuomorphs is used to describe such retrospective design features. Apple's calculator application for the Iphone is a an early example of such convergence. Here Apple have clearly borrowed from the colour palette, button layout and styling used by Braun on their ET66 from 1987 (see fig. 2). Even the typeface used on the keys is similar. This is another example of apple's admiration of the modernist designs of Dieter Rams but instead of borrowing physical design features, they recreated the 'retro' styling of the ET66 calculator together with the functionality and limitations of such a basic piece of technology. Even though the Iphone processor is capable of complex data processing and rich interaction, the representation of the basic classic design is attractive on a nostalgic and therefore emotional level. A product's limitations are often over looked when that emotional connection is made (Norman, Emotional Design 7). Other examples of skeumorphic application designs for touch screen devices include synthesisers with analogue style dials and turn tables complete with representations of rotating vinyl records. A non-technological representation can be seen when navigating through the Ibook application. Here the turning of a page is mimicked to great effect by swiping the anywhere touch screen.

Fig 2. The Apple Iphone's calculator and the Braun ET66 (Web. 21 Dec. 2010, http://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/arquivos_upload/2008/01/172_721-ramsiphonecalc.jpg)

The abundance of input devices for the Ipad suggests that there is a long way to go until true, fluid interaction is achieved. Cases with built-in keyboards that convert, or some may say revert, the Ipad into a laptop are among the many products available on the marketplace (see fig. 3). This is in spite of the fact that there are intelligent gestural applications that allow for quick and efficient gestural text input for touch screen devices (Sorrel). It can be deduced that people are prepared to look towards familiar analogue solutions to overcome the ergonomic shortcomings of the touch screen. There are even products available that attempt to make the make the touch-screen experience more analogue. The Fling is an analogue control stick for the Ipad. It is a transparent plastic device sticks on to the screen and gives a tactile gaming experience (see fig. 4). Again, this is an ergonomic solution for people that require analogue inputs they are accustomed to.

Fig 3. A laptop-style case for the Ipad (Web. 21 Dec. 2010, http://www.ipadaccessories.com/ipad-covers/ipad-hard-covers/zaggmatereview-and-love-letter)

Fig 4. Analogue control stick for the Ipad (Web. 21 Dec. 2010, http://tenonedesign.com/fling.php ) Creating applications with analogue affordances on highly sophisticated digital devices would appear to be regressive behaviour by developers. Nonetheless, with little prior experience of rich media interaction using gestural finger motions and an unlimited canvas on which controls can be literally painted on to, analogue affordances may be an evolutionary stopgap connection to the next plateau of rich interaction. Nicholas Gessler adopts a 'better than nothing' philosophy when analysing skeumorphical solutions: They help us map the new onto an existing cognitive structure, and in so doing, give us a starting point from which we may evolve additional alternative solutions. They provide us with "a path" instead of "no path" at all. (Glesser) The currant crop of hybrid cars is an example of transitional solutions and how answers to the big questions are not found instantaneously but evolve over time. The lack of affordances is a big challenge for the new wave of tablet devices. The reliance on analogue metaphors can only realise a fraction of the potential of such devices so utilising the rich interactive possibilities is essential. Like all new media, lack of structure and pre-defined boundaries inhibit cognition. Budiu and Nielsen liken tablet web applications to

early web page designs on the Mosaic browser in 1993 (6). The 'image map' utility for the Mosaic browser enabled any part of an image to become an interactive element which resulted in incoherent web designs for a period of time until the familiar web structures as we know them today developed. The same can be said for the current crop Ipad web applications where very little universal structure is evident. There are numerous examples of shortcomings where gestures have different functions on different applications. Budiu and Nielsen describe how touching a picture could give any one of five separate results, depending on the application, ranging from no action at all to the sudden appearance of navigation menus. Traditional desktop web browsing has the luxury of a cursor that changes depending on the interaction of the element about to be clicked. No such clues can be given for touch screen devices where navigation is solely reliant on finger taps and gestures. Some applications have adopted a 'magazine mental model' (Budiu and Nielsen, 27). This model is utilised primarily by magazine publishers who have taken advantage of the tablet's form to deliver their content. The page swiping gesture is heavily used, with some publishers relying on this method as the sole navigational tool. Budiu and Nielsen found that over reliance on this 'sequential' method of navigation confused users even though it uses analogue affordances (33). Furthermore, a particular multi-finger gesture had to be remembered to access the navigation tab on a certain application resulting a situation where users were unable to navigate through the application in controlled tests (Budiu and Nielsen, 79). User experience with portable tablet devices at this early stage is hampered by our preexisting affordances, notably those of conventional web media and traditional print media. It is clear that developers are finding their feet in terms of how digital media will be consumed by the user akin to the situation encountered with early web design. But as with the World Wide Web, structure and format is sure to develop as the medium matures. The tablet platform is an engaging medium for consuming digital media despite the lack of affordances. But how do we establish a set of universal rules for such a rich interactive format? Considering these devices rely on touch and hand gestures then it is not unforeseeable analogue metaphors may be utilised more semantically for navigation purposes opposed to skeumorphically to appeal to our emotions.

Norman takes the humble door as a subject rich in preconceived affordances after hundreds of years of existence. For instance, the function of a glass door can be clearly illustrated by a simple metal plate fixed onto the side it has to be pushed for it to open (The Design of Everyday Things 88). In this example no instruction is necessary due the constraints afforded by the plate. Four distinct constraints are described by Norman - physical, semantic, cultural and logical (The Design of Everyday Things 84). These constraints are the result of a persons own cognitive skills and life experience. They guide the development of affordances for objects we use every day. Application developers can look at the affordances people already have at the application design stage. Preconceived constraints, together with new touch screen specific ones, may prove valuable in the creation of a new, engaging interface. It is clear that mobile tablets applications have a long way to go until the gestural navigation system matures to the point that affordances are transferable from application to application. Real world analogical metaphors offer a wealth of inspiration from emotional cues to navigational guides. These may only be a stepping-stone for a new rich interactive way of consuming digital media or may prove to be an integral part of the future user experience.

Works Cited Budiu, Raluca, and Jakob Nielsen. "Usability of IPad Apps and Websites: First Research Findings."Nielsen Norman Group: Usability Consulting, Training & User Research Reports. Nielsen Norman Group, 2010. Web. 29 Dec. 2010. Gessler, Nicholas. "Skeuomorphs and Cultural Algorithms." Skeuomorphs and Cultural Algorithms. UCLA. Web. 01 Jan. 2010. Norman, Donald A. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2004. Print. Norman, Donald A. The Design of Everyday Things. London: MIT, 1998. Print. Sorrel, Charlie. "Swype: Text Input From the Inventor of T9 "Wired.com. Wired. Web. 28 Dec. 2010.