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Gestural Interfaces are the Future

In the recent James Bond film Quantum of Solace there is a scene in which M, Bond and other agents share information and briefings around a multitouch table. Just three or four years ago this would have seemed as sci-fi as the now infamous scene in Minority Report, but this time it felt like MI6 was almost behind the curve.

From the work of Jeff Han to Apple’s iPhone, Nintendo’s Wii and slew of larger multitouch interfaces such as Microsoft’s Surface and MultiTouch’s Cell, the era of gestural interfaces is here. Physical and screen-based interfaces have collapsed into each other and both industrial and interaction designers have a whole new set of issues to grapple with.

Dan Saffer’s latest book, Designing Gestural Interfaces maps out this new frontier. The positive side is that there are a range of exciting new interaction and product possibilities. The negative side is a potentially confusing mess of gestures, each specific to a brand or, worse, owned by one of them through irresponsible patent usage.

Source; Core 77

Designing Gestural Interfaces

If you want to get started in new era of interaction design, this is the reference you need. Touch screens on mobile devices and ATMs let us manipulate things onscreen with our but there’s been no central source of information about gestural interface technology - until now. Designing Gestural Interfaces provides you with essential information about kinesiology, sensors, ergonomics, physical computing, touchscreen technology, and new interface patterns: all you need to know to augment your existing skills in ‘traditional’ websites, software, or physical products. Packed with informative illustrations and photos, this book helps you: learn the process of designing gestural interfaces, from documentation to prototyping to communicating to the audience what the product does; get an overview of technologies surrounding touch screens and interactive environments; examine current patterns and trends in touchscreen and gestural design; learn about the techniques used by practicing designers and developers today; see how other designers have solved interface challenges in the past; and, look at future trends in this rapidly evolving field. Only half a dozen years ago, the gestural interfaces introduced in the film Minority Report were science fiction. Now, because of technological, social, and market forces, we see similar interfaces deployed everywhere. Designing Gestural Interfaces will help you enter this new world of possibilities. 

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: O’Reilly Media, Inc. (3 Dec 2008)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0596518390
• ISBN-13: 978-0596518394

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