Characterizing Tangible Interaction During a Creative Combination Task

Abstract

Tangible user interfaces change the way we interact with digital information, with physical affordances that are distinctly different from pointing and keyboard/mouse interaction. As a precursor to studying the impact of tangible interfaces on design cognition, this paper presents a coding scheme for measuring the difference between two types of user interfaces: tangible and pointing. We perform a case study, using data collected from an experiment in which participants are asked to make word combinations from a set of six nouns and give them meaning. The task is presented as a design task with references to function, behavior, and structure of the word combination meanings. The case study shows large differences in gesture and action between the two conditions. We conclude with hypotheses on how interaction modalities that afford more body movement may have an impact on creativity and design cognition.