Posts by Joy Jia

Futures Wheel

For my idea is Virtual Reality Field Trips. Which is VR field trips replace or complement traditional educational outings in the future. Imagine students could explore historical landmarks, dive into the depths of the ocean, or even visit distant planets—all without leaving the classroom. These experiences would be guided by AI-powered instructors, allowing for real-time interaction and tailored learning experiences. This idea redefines educational access, making transformative experiences available to every student regardless of geography or budget. It also challenges traditional teaching models, prompting educators to embrace technology while addressing potential issues like screen time, infrastructure, and equitable access.

Ethics

As interaction designers, we have a huge ethical responsibility to ensure that the products and systems we create prioritize the well-being, rights, and trust of our end users. With the integration of AI into our work, these responsibilities become even more important. AI is powerful, but it also comes with risks like bias, privacy concerns, and potential misuse, which we need to address thoughtfully.

First, we need to prioritize transparency by designing systems that clearly explain how AI makes decisions. Users should understand why they’re seeing certain recommendations or outcomes and have the ability to question or override them. Second, privacy and data protection must be at the core of what we design. Collecting data is necessary for AI, but it’s our job to ensure that it’s used responsibly and stored securely, with user consent at every step. Lastly, we need to consider bias and fairness in AI systems. Since AI often reflects the biases in the data it’s trained on, we must work to identify and reduce those biases to create systems that are equitable and inclusive. By taking these steps, we can build technology that empowers users rather than exploiting them.

iPod – iPhone etc.

The iPod and iPhone completely changed our relationship with technology by making it more personal, portable, and user-centered. The iPod put “a thousand songs in your pocket,” showing that technology could fit seamlessly into our everyday lives, while the iPhone expanded this idea by combining multiple functions—phone, music, internet, apps—into a single device. They introduced intuitive touch interfaces, making technology more accessible and easy to use for people of all ages. This shift made technology feel less like a tool and more like an extension of ourselves.

For interaction design, this changed everything. Designers had to prioritize simplicity, usability, and emotional connections in their work, knowing that these devices were always with users. The introduction of gestures, multi-touch, and responsive interfaces redefined how we interact with screens. Today, this legacy pushes us to think about designing for even more personal, adaptive, and seamless experiences across devices. It’s not just about creating functional products but designing systems that truly fit into people’s lives and enhance their daily routines.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 was all about making the internet more interactive and giving users the ability to participate instead of just consuming content. This meant introducing features like commenting, liking, sharing, and uploading, which made platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Wikipedia possible. Technologies like AJAX and APIs were key because they allowed real-time updates, like refreshing a feed without reloading the page. The focus was on creating a space where people could interact, share ideas, and collaborate.

Today, things are way more advanced. Interactions are now smarter and more immersive, thanks to AI, real-time collaboration tools, and even VR/AR. For example, AI predicts what you want to see or do, voice assistants let you interact without typing, and augmented reality blends the digital world with the real one. Instead of just participating, we’re now co-creating and interacting with systems that adapt to us in real-time. The jump from Web 2.0 to today is like going from writing letters to having live conversations—it’s all faster, smarter, and way more personalized.

CHATBOTS & AI

This question is both exciting and challenging because technology is evolving at a rapid pace. From what I saw in the Computer History Museum’s exhibit on chatbots and artificial intelligence, it’s clear that AI has penetrated many aspects of our daily lives . . enabling humans to focus on the creative, strategic and interpersonal aspects of their work. Artificial Intelligence replaces repetitive and mechanical human tasks. As an interaction design student, AI-driven design tools that speed up prototyping or generating design ideas are tools that can increase efficiency and help us focus on more human-centered design work. It is a future collaborator for designers. However, this shift means we need to adapt, learn new skills for working with AI, and rethink traditional career paths to fit. While AI can act as a collaborative partner, enhance human creativity, and may reshape the way we work and live by increasing efficiency and personalization, I think it will also present us with many societal challenges! Imagine the ubiquity and scope of AI in the future, what will happen to society if AI starts to dominate user decision-making?

For designers, writers or anyone else who needs to think creatively and empathetically, people who need to think. It may be possible that AI becomes his assistant, maybe it might take over their brains.

How do Pace Layers affect the lifecycle of interaction design work? 

Pace Layers describe how different parts of a system change at different speeds, which can influence how interaction design evolves. In design, fast layers like trends or user interfaces change quickly, while slow layers like technology infrastructure or societal norms take longer to shift. Designers need to balance these layers, making sure their work stays useful and adaptable over time. For example, if a design focuses too much on fast-changing trends, it might become outdated quickly. But if it aligns well with slower layers, like core user needs, it can remain relevant even as trends change.

Internet & Government

I believe all three: governments, corporations, and open source ventures should work together to invent new technology. Governments can provide funding and support for research that benefits society, like the internet. Corporations can bring new ideas to life quickly, using their resources and expertise to create products people need. Open-source ventures allow everyone to share and improve technology, making it more accessible and transparent. I feel each group has strengths, and by working together, they can create better technology for everyone.

Lucy Suchman

Lucy Suchman’s work at Xerox helped us see that for technology to really work, it has to make sense in people’s everyday lives, not just in the way designers imagine it should. Watching how copier operators struggled with confusing instructions showed that real users don’t always follow the steps designers expect—they interact with technology in their own ways, often trying to “figure it out” as they go. Her insights pushed designers to think beyond just creating a tool that functions technically and to consider whether it’s genuinely easy and helpful for people to use in real life. This way of thinking, called human-centered design, helps ensure that technology feels intuitive, adaptable, and designed around real users’ needs and habits. Her insights encourage us to consider not just whether technology “works” technically, but whether it genuinely works for the people intended to use it.

BayChi event — Codesigning Augmented Reality tour

The BayChi presentation, Revealing Hidden Stories: Co-Designing the Thamien Ohlone Augmented Reality Tour, sounds like a fascinating exploration into using augmented reality (AR) for storytelling, particularly to honor the history and culture of the Thamien Ohlone people. This approach emphasizes co-design, where members of the Ohlone community actively participate in shaping the experience, ensuring cultural authenticity and relevance. I imagine this would highlight how interaction designers can work collaboratively with communities to bring historical narratives to life, leveraging technology to create meaningful, educational experiences.

Learning from this presentation could greatly impact your IXD practice by showcasing the importance of inclusivity and cultural sensitivity when designing experiences that represent diverse histories. It might inspire new ways to think about user-centered design, not only focusing on functionality but also on how digital interactions can deepen cultural understanding and empathy. Additionally, seeing how AR is applied to create immersive tours could broaden your technical skill set, making you more adaptable to emerging tools and techniques that make interfaces more engaging.

GUI and Personal Computer

Since the early days of Macintosh and Windows, graphical user interfaces have gone from basic, blocky designs to colorful, smooth, and touch-friendly ones. Early GUIs could only handle simple commands using a mouse and keyboard, but today’s interfaces let us use voice commands, get real-time feedback, and even adapt to our habits. Despite these changes, familiar elements like taskbars, docks, and icons have stayed because they’re useful for keeping things organized and easy to find. However, there’s still room to make GUIs better, like making them work more consistently across all devices, improving accessibility, and allowing them to adjust to what we’re doing or where we are. More helpful ways to manage multiple tasks and clearer privacy controls would also make them easier and safer to use. While GUIs are now much more engaging and flexible than before, they could be even simpler, safer, and smarter as technology keeps advancing.

Fei-Fei Li’s AI Journey

After watching Fei-Fei Li’s presentation, I was struck by her personal story, from struggling as a Chinese immigrant in the U.S. to becoming a leading figure in artificial intelligence. Her journey shows how personal experiences can shape one’s approach to technology. Li emphasizes the importance of human-centered AI, ensuring that technology works ethically and benefits society.

What I learned is how AI is not just about algorithms but about designing systems that understand and interact with humans in meaningful ways. This insight is vital for interaction design, where empathy and user experience are key. Li’s focus on ethics and inclusivity in AI pushes me to think more critically about the long-term impact of the designs I create, especially as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives.

This presentation reinforced the idea that interaction design should not just focus on how humans interact with technology today but also on how future innovations, like AI can be built to enhance human values and equity.

Mother of all Demos

Douglas Engelbart’s 1968 demo, known as “The Mother of All Demos,” was a huge moment in computing history. He introduced key technologies like the mouse, hypertext, and early versions of windows—all things we use daily now. He even showed video conferencing and real-time collaboration, way ahead of its time. This demo shaped how we think about interacting with computers and paved the way for personal computing and the internet. It’s one of the reasons modern UX and interaction design exist today.

How did the Xerox Star change the direction of computing?

The Xerox Star was a game changer in the history of computing. It was the first system to use a graphical user interface, with ICONS, Windows, and folders that we now take for granted. It also introduced the WYSIWYG method, allowing users to see what will be printed on the screen. Star makes computing more visual and intuitive, moving from a command line interface to a point-and-click experience. This interface design transforms computing from text-based commands to a more intuitive visual interaction that gives non-expert users access to the computer.

And its design has greatly influenced future systems like the Mac and Windows, shaping the way we interact with computers today. And I think Xerox Star’s emphasis on user-centered design changed the direction of computing by making complex systems available for everyday tasks, influencing the development of user-friendly software and operating systems that dominate today.

Gestalt Principles and Fitts’s Law

When I sit down to design an app or a website, I always keep Gestalt principles in mind to make things easier for users. For example, if I’m designing a shopping app, I’ll place the “Add to Cart” button close to the product image and details so it’s clear that they belong together. I’ll also use the same color for all action buttons, like “Buy Now” or “Save for Later,” because it helps users quickly understand they have similar functions.

I will also apply Fitt’s Law to make interactions smoother. For instance, when designing a mobile game, I’ll make the main action button larger and place it near the bottom of the screen, where users naturally hold their phones. By doing this, I make it easier and faster for users to tap on important buttons, improving their experience and making the app feel more intuitive to use.

Why are Ada Lovelace and Lillian Gilbreth important to know about for IXD History?

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.

Spotify icon & Mayan pictographs

This is “shuffle button” from Spotify. Crisscrossing arrows represents the randomization of song order. This icon is simple and intuitive, mainly because of the global familiarity with the symbol.For Spotify users, the learning curve is short. However, the shuffle icon requires users to associate the crossed arrows with the concept of randomness, which may not be obvious to first-time users, but is quickly learned. Even for those users who are not tech savvy.

The Mayan system of writing contains more than 800 characters, including some that are hieroglyphic and other phonetic signs representing syllables. The metaphors used in these pictographs often required cultural and religious knowledge to fully understand.

Spotify’s icons are highly simplified, abstract, and easy to understand, designed for a global, digital audience.Mayan hieroglyphs conveyed more complex and culturally specific ideas, often requiring a deeper understanding of the society’s symbols and language. While both systems rely on visual communication, the level of learning and cultural background required to fully understand Mayan hieroglyphics is much higher.