DESIGNING EPHEMERAL USER INTERFACE USING SOAP FOAM
The Department of Industrial Design KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) Master of Science
2015. 02. YESEUL KIM
THE SUMMARY OF MASTER’S THESIS
DESIGNING EPHEMERAL USER INTERFACE
USING SOAP FOAM
Thesis Title The Ephemeral User Interface: Designing Interactive Media Using Soap Foam
Publisher Yeseul Kim
Date 2015.02.
Advisor Prof. Woohun Lee
Degree Master of Science
Institution Department of Industrial Design Korea Advanced Institute Science and Technology
Keywords Ephemeral User Interface, Interaction Design, Materiality
ABSTRACT
The focus of my master’s thesis, “Designing Ephemeral User Interface using Soap Foam,” is to design an ephemeral interface with soap foam and to delve into the adaptability of a natural material as a User Interface element of Tangible User Interfaces. Since ephemeral and natural materials like fog, ice, and water have abundant inherent properties, they provide rich aesthetic and hedonistic experiences that artificial materials cannot replicate. This has sparked my curiosity about how ephemerality could permeate digital and design spaces and how transformation processes of natural materials could be adapted to interaction design.
My thesis commences with the definition of Ephemeral User Interfaces in Tangible User Interfaces, supported by academic research and examples from media arts. The core investigation delves into soap foam’s physical properties and semantic values, which can be developed as UI elements in interactive media. Secondly, I describe the hardware design of the interface to control the soap foam’s physical transition (generating - floating - disappearing) and the physical computation to detect users’ behaviors. Several applications and user scenarios are suggested based on three different degrees of user engagement. Finally, the specific properties and semantic values of the material defining the affordance of the interface were evaluated through feedback from a workshop with the users. This research explores the possibility of adapting ephemeral materials through multisensory experiences for the future of interactive design.
THESIS STRUCTURE
INTRUDUCTION
Analyzing the background and trend of Ephemeral User Interface (EUI) in the area of Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design
Definition of EUI, Design Space
The examples of EUI
Body
Exploring the factors of foam for interaction
Designing a new interface design using soap foam
User evaluation through application designs
Conclusion
Conclusion and future research
Discovering design opportunities for EUI and establishing the goal of research
Exploring the physical and metaphorical design factors of the new EUI interactive media
Developing the technical elements operating the material’s transformation.
Defining the design model for the interface
Establishing the application scenarios according to the levels of user engagement
Observing the design factors, quality of interactions from user tests
EXPLORING MATERIAL: SOAP FOAM
USER WORKSHOP & FINDINGS
Exploring and positioning the soap foam’s properties compared to other materials
USER WORKSHOP
I conducted a user workshop to explore the properties and features of soap foam and to find possibilities for the material to be used as a user interface element. (with 4 participants, 90minutes)
They were provided with soap bubbles in a tray and extra visual and tangible materials, which helped them generate ideas and imagine how soap foam could be used in the digital context.
FINDINGS FROM WORKSHOP
Diverse interactions between the participants and soap foam were categorized into three steps: generating, playing/manipulating, and making it disappear. This idea inspired me to design an interactive platform based on these stages.
1. Generating Foam
3. Making foam disappear
2. Playing & Manipulating
USER INTERFACE DESIGN:
THE HARDWARE & PHYSICAL COMPUTING DESIGN
Regulating the level of pressure of helium
Controlling the open and close solenoid valve
The structure of buckets
When the computer sends a signal, soap foam is generated.
Helium helps foam to go upward and float in the air.
Different diffuser designs
Sensing capacitive touch
Directing color through Webcam
By connecting Arduino and Processing the interface recognizes users’ touch and transfers a signal to the computer.
FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGNING APPLICATIONS
I suggested three applications according to the different levels of user engagement. They are defined as ‘Direct Interaction,’ ‘Notification,’ and ‘Ambient Media.’
CLICK & WATCH DEMO CLIPS
Foam DJ
https://vimeo.com/112776750
SNS NOTIFICATOR
https://youtu.be/IxTvQwO0QJk
Foam coaster
https://youtu.be/ynivhIYslVswatch?v=ynivhIYslVs
1-1. Direct Interaction: Sound Sculpture
By bursting bubbles, users can create melodies or play music. I used MAX/MSP and Open Sound Control Communication to get a signal from users’ touches and to generate sound.
Further scenario:
Installing several bubble drums that function simultaneously allows users to make various sounds with different inputs and outputs.
1-2. Direct Interaction: Bubble Game
The bubble game is an interface where players can burst virtual bubbles on the screen while bursting soap bubbles in the physical interface. If a player rushes to burst bubbles too quickly, bubbles in the physical interface disappear, and the player loses a chance to get the score. When reaching a high score, a player can gain more bubbles generated by the interface.
Further scenario:
Connecting the bubble interface to music games while replacing its own plastic controller makes playing more enjoyable.
3. Ambient Media
With the most minor engagement, the interface is used as an ambient media. It represents information such as weather and the level of noise. It could also be decorative, ambient media art that makes the space more vibrant.
2. Direct Interaction: SNS Notificator
When a new message or notification arrives, users notice a change in bubbles generated on the platform. By touching or bursting bubbles, users can read or ignore the message. This interaction was designed to reflect the ephemerality of the digital content’s temporal quality.
CONCLUSIONS
The unique aspect of a disappearing material, whose appearance changes over time and under different environmental influences, holds a solid metaphorical characteristic. This uniqueness is particularly significant in human-computer interaction, as it forms a compelling metaphor for the fusion of disappearing materials and computing systems. This metaphor encourages designers and users to contemplate their temporal relationship with digital information, providing them with access to multi-layered information enriched by the distinctiveness of the materials.
This shift in design approach implies that creating an ephemeral user interface using disappearing materials necessitates a different strategy from the one we employ in designing TUI and other product designs driven by pragmatic goals. It underscores the need to understand materials’ emotional and contextual features for designing interfaces and their applications, thereby fostering rich interactions between users and media.
DESIGNING
EPHEMERAL
USER INTERFACE
USING SOAP FOAM