A presentation about affective (meaning emotional, *not* effective) interaction design, from a UI design seminar course I took part in at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) in 2007.

1. Designing expressive & enjoyable user
interfaces that make & keep users happy
Images: Cohn-Kanade facial expression database. (Choi and Kim 2005, p. 909)

2. Why do people get so
frustrated with computers?

3. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Error messages

4. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Error messages
(Wikipedia 2007)

5. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Error messages
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

6. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Error messages
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

7. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Overburdening the user

8. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
“Featuritis”
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

9. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
The user has too little information
to make a decision
(Thimbleby 1993, p. 2)

10. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
The user has too little information
to make a decision
(Thimbleby 1993, p. 3)

11. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
The user has too little information
to make a decision
(Thimbleby 1993, p. 3)

12. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
The user has too little information
to make a decision
( Scariati, J et al 2006)

13. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
The user has too little information
to make a decision
( Scariati, J et al 2006)

14. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Messages make the user feel
patronized (i.e. as if their
intelligence is being questioned).
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

15. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Messages make the user feel
patronized (i.e. as if their
intelligence is being questioned).
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

16. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Messages make the user feel
patronized (i.e. as if their
intelligence is being questioned).
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

17. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Unnecessary use of real-world
metaphors
(User Interface Hall of Shame 1999)

18. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Unnecessary use of real-world
metaphors
(Duignan et al 2004, p. 113)

19. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Bright, clashing colors and
flashing images/text
(Owen)

20. Why do people get so frustrated with computers?
Confusing layout
!
(Preece et al 2002, p. 145)

21. How can user frustration be
dealt with?

22. How can user frustration be dealt with?
But don’t
give help
they didn’t
ask for.

23. How can user interfaces help
make users feel comfortable
and motivated?

24. How can user interfaces help make users feel comfortable
and motivated?
“Use expressive icons and other
graphical elements to convey
emotional states.”
(Preece et al 2002, p. 143)
(Preece et al 2002, p. 143)

25. How can user interfaces help make users feel comfortable
and motivated?
Use animations, “dynamic icons”
and helpful notification sounds.
(Preece et al 143)

26. How can user interfaces help make users feel comfortable
and motivated?
Use animations, “dynamic icons”
and helpful notification sounds.
(Preece et al 143)
(YouTube
2006)

27. How can user interfaces help make users feel comfortable
and motivated?
Use clear, easily navigable
interfaces. Use metaphors only
when they make things easier.
(Amazon.de
2007)

28. How can user interfaces help make users feel comfortable
and motivated?
Aesthetics are important. Although “plain
usability” can be very helpful, studies
have shown that “when the look and
feel” of an interface is pleasing (e.g.,
beautiful graphics, nice feel to the way
the elements have been put together,
well-designed fonts, elegant use of
images and color) users are likely to be
more tolerant of its usability (e.g., they
may be prepared to wait a few more
seconds for a website to download).”
(Preece et al 2002, p. 144)

29. “Virtual characters: agents”1
(Image: André et al 2000, p. 159)
1(Preece et al 2002, p. 157)

30. Virtual characters: agents
Personification of the computer
follows a long tradition of object
personification—for example in
advertising.

31. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Lineback)

32. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Lineback)

33. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Lineback)

34. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Lineback)

35. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Wikipedia 2007)

36. Virtual characters: agents
Agents try to make the computer “friendlier”
to novices by giving the computer a persona.
(Wikipedia 2007)

37. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Preece et al 2002, p. 157-160)
(Preece et al 2002, p. 158)

38. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

39. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

40. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

41. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Flickr.com 2006)

42. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

43. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

44. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
1) Synthetic characters
(Gamespot.com 2006)

45. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
2) Animated agents
(Lester et al 1997, p. 361)

46. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
2) Animated agents
(André, et al 2000, p. 157)

47. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
2) Animated agents
(Prendinger et al 2005, p. 110)

48. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
2) Animated agents
(Gamespot.com 2006)

49. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
2) Animated agents
(Gamespot.com 2006)

50. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
3) Emotional agents
(Hall et al 2005, p. 733)

51. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Cassell et al 1999, p. 524)

52. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Gockley et al 2006, pp. 186-187)

53. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Poggi and Pelachaud 2000, p. 186-187)

54. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Walker et al 1994, p. 87)

55. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Takacs 2005, p. 766)

56. Virtual characters: agents
Four general categories of agents exist:
4) Embodied conversational
interface agents
(Choi and Kim 2005, p. 909)

57. Virtual characters: agents
Debate: Anthropomorphism
(i.e. personification) in
interaction design
Pros:
•More enjoyable, fun, & natural
•Ability to motivate/encourage
people, especially children.
•Ongoing research means that
believability continues to increase.

58. Virtual characters: agents
Debate: Anthropomorphism
(i.e. personification) in
interaction design
Cons:
• People may be misled into
believing the agents are more
capable than they really are,
resulting in annoyance, frustration,
and/or distrust.

59. Virtual characters: agents
Debate: Anthropomorphism
(i.e. personification) in
interaction design
(Preece et al 2002, p. 161)

60. Virtual characters: agents
Debate: Anthropomorphism
(i.e. personification) in
interaction design
Agents have already been used
successfully in educational software and
video games to encourage, motivate and
entertain people.
However, their usefulness in other
areas such as search and sales is
questionable, since direct interfaces are
often more efficient and less annoying.

61. The End

62. Bibliography
Amazon.com, Inc, Amazon.de. Retrieved January 6, 2007 from
http://www.amazon.de
André, E et al 2000, ‘Integrating Models of Personality and
Emotions into Lifelike Characters’, in JG Carbonell and J Siekmann
(eds), Affective Interactions, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp.
150-165. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from SpringerLink database.
Cassell, J, et al 1999, ‘Embodiment in conversational interfaces:
Rea’, in Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems: the CHI Is the Limit (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
United States, May 15 - 20, 1999), ACM Press, New York, NY, 520-
527. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from ACM Digital Library database.
Choi, Soo-Mi and Yong-Guk Kim 2005, ‘An Affective User Interface
Based on Facial Expression Recognition and Eye-Gaze Tracking’, in
J Tao et al (eds), Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction,
Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 907-914.

63. Bibliography (2)
CNet Networks 2006, ‘Black & White 2 Screens’, Gamespot.com.
Retrieved January 6, 2007 from http://www.gamespot.com
CNet Networks 2006, ‘Super Mario 64 Screens’, Gamespot.com.
Retrieved January 6, 2007 from http://www.gamespot.com
CNet Networks 2006, ‘Petz: Dogz 5/Catz 5 Compilation Screens’,
Gamespot.com. Retrieved January 6, 2007 from
http://www.gamespot.com
Duignan, M et al 2004, ‘Metaphors for Electronic Music Production
in Reason and Live’, in M Masoodian et al (eds), Computer Human
Interaction, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 111-120.
Retrieved January 4, 2007 from SpringerLink database.
Gockley, R et al 2006, ‘Interactions with a moody robot’, in
Proceeding of the 1st ACM SIGCHI/SIGART Conference on Human-
Robot interaction (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, March 02 - 03, 2006).
ACM Press, New York, NY, 186-193. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from
ACM Digital Library database.

64. Bibliography (3)
Hall, L et al 2005, ‘Achieving Empathic Engagement Through
Affective Interaction with Synthetic Characters’, in J Tao et al (eds),
Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, Springer-Verlag,
Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 731-738.
Isys Information Architects Inc 1999, Interface Hall of Shame.
Retrieved January 5, 2007 from
http://homepage.mac.com/bradster/iarchitect/shame.htm
Lester, J C et al 1997, ‘The persona effect: affective impact of
animated pedagogical agents’, in S Pemberton (ed), Proceedings of
the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
(Atlanta, Georgia, United States, March 22 - 27, 1997), ACM Press,
New York, NY, 359-366. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from ACM
Digital Library database.
Owens, M, Where's Our Scottish Family & Other Scottish Facts &
Scotsman Song. Retrieved January 6, 2007 from
http://www.geocities.com/mike035/

65. Bibliography (4)
Poggi, Isabella and Catherine Pelachaud 2000, ‘Emotional Meaning and
Expression in Animated Faces’, in JG Carbonell and J Siekmann (eds),
Affective Interactions, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 182-195.
Retrieved January 4, 2007 from SpringerLink database.
Preece, J et al 2002, Interaction Design, John Wiley, New York, pp. 141-
163.
Prendinger, H et al 2005, ‘Understanding the effect of life-like interface
agents through users’ eye movements’, in Proceedings of the 7th
international Conference on Multimodal interfaces (Torento, Italy,
October 04 - 06, 2005), ACM Press, New York, NY, 108-115. Retrieved
January 4, 2007 from ACM Digital Library database.
Scariati, J et al 2006, ‘Copying, Replacing, & Moving Files/Folders’,
XvsXP. Retrieved January 5, 2007 from
http://www.xvsxp.com/files/copying.php
Takacs B 2005, ‘Affective Intelligence: A Novel User Interface
Paradigm’, in J Tao et al (eds), Affective Computing and Intelligent
Interaction, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 764-771.

66. Bibliography (5)
Thimbleby, H & I H Witten 1993, ‘User Modelling as Machine Identification:
New Design Methods for HCI’, in Hix & H. R. Hartson (eds), Advances in
Human Computer Interaction, IV, Ablex, pp58-86, D. Retrieved January 4,
2007 from http://www.uclic.ucl.ac.uk/harold/srf/
Flickr User: RelentlesslyOptimistic 2006 (CC), Aibo [Image]. Retrieved
January 5, 2007 from http://www.flickr.com
Walker, J H et al 1994, ‘Using a human face in an interface’, in B Adelson et
al (eds) Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems: Celebrating interdependence (Boston, Massachusetts,
United States, April 24 - 28, 1994), ACM Press, New York, NY, 85-91.
Retrieved January 4, 2007 from ACM Digital Library database.
Wikipedia contributors 2007, ‘Blue Screen of Death’, Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 5, 2007 from http://www.wikipedia.com
Wikipedia contributors 2007, ‘Creative Writer’, Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 6, 2007 from http://www.wikipedia.com
YouTube user: Nittorn 2006, ‘Live Preview in Mac OS Dock’, YouTube.com.
Retrieved on January 5, 2007 from http://www.youtube.com