Statement of Purpose

My objective in graduate school is to shift from client-driven project work to inhabiting design as an experimental practice, creating ambitious personal content. Interaction design shapes almost every aspect of our lives, yet it is in its infancy as a discipline. In Designing Interactions, Bill Moggridge asserts that contemporary designers draw primarily upon existing creative modes1 and that interaction design languages must emerge. To advance interaction design, its inherent, ever-evolving technological constraints must be considered. In graduate school and beyond I intend to examine the technological horizon, envision future interactions, and propose corresponding displays and controls to catalyze the emergence of interaction designs inherent language. Im optimistic about the compelling questions raised by my initial investigations: How will the role of typography evolve as we move away from humancomputer interactions (hci) toward brain-computer interactions (bci)? 2 What are the functional limits of interaction between people and the communicative capacity of hand-held devices in light of the future of search? 3 What are the anticipatory systems required to facilitate meaningful interactions? In response to these issues, I aspire to master typography to enhance the navigability of systems and information, and form to create consistent and intuitive interfaces which minimize the burden of conscious thought and allow the user to concentrate on his or her goals. Im thrilled at the opportunity to study with Khoi Vinh, an early exponent of grid-based designs on the Web. With him, I hope to consider future interactions that embody new forms which look utterly unlike the old. 4 I believe that for designers to maintain and advance our relevance in the world, we must make an interdisciplinary effort with those working in the arts, literature, technology and the sciences to predict the future. In graduate study and beyond, Ill engage a writing practice to build upon existing connections between design and larger discourses. To do so, Ill immerse myself in design history and theory to ground my work in the cultural, social and analytical underpinnings of the past and present. Steven Hellers contributions to design writing make SVA an ideal site for my studies. I look forward to critically evaluating and articulating my discoveries with him. From a professional practice characterized by breadth, I look forward to shifting my focus to depth in graduate schooldiving into the future of interactions and design. I hope to reinvigorate my aesthetic sensibilities, enhance my pedagogy, but most importantly, become a prolific creator of content.

Notes 1. Moggridge, Bill (2007) Designing Interactions. The MIT Press. isbn 0262134748 2. In other words, will typography continue to be what Ellen Lupton asserts in Design Dialogues, the grammar, the currency, the set of technological and formal possibilities that [] draws design together as we move toward the age of singularity speculated by Ray Kurzweil? 3. In the future, instead of the user directing a system to perform search, the system will anticipate itallowing the user to focus on the relevant and insightful tasks at hand, rather than the rote. 4. Tschichold, Jan; translated by Ruari McLean (1998) The New Typography. University of California. isbn 0-520-071468