Physical interface design is a vital area of technological innovation with important implications for contemporary material culture. The unprecedented rate of development of digital systems has two implications for interface design: firstly, we directly interact with and depend on digital technology more than ever before, and secondly, fundamental advances in digital technologies and design capabilities has led to an explosion of possibilities for the formal and functional qualities of the physical interfaces we use to control computers.

This context, of our growing dependence on digital technology and its simultaneous ever-increasingly formal plasticity, forms the backdrop of my practice-based PhD, in which I create – through studio-based design and prototyping – working examples of new physical control interface proposals. In particular, I focus on an area of digital control, a new formal language of interface design, and conceptual problematic which links the two.

The area of digital control I explore is that of 3D rendered environments. A 3D rendered environment is a representation of a £D space on a flat screen, using computer-generated graphics that create simulations of perspective and shadow such that the objects and environments depicted appear to have depth. Such environments are now common, in gaming, animation, design, data visualization, and even personal computing. Yet the physical control of such environments is more open-ended than that of a 2D screen environment, and thus there is a demand for new solutions and niche products.

The formal language I will explore is that of more organic shapes, textures, and materiality in physical control interface design as applied to 3D environments. By organic, I mean: continuous, complex forms; softer, more tissue-like materials; new textures that provide a less machine-like sensory experience, and so forth.
The conceptual problematic which directly links the area physically controlling 3D rendered environments and the formal design language of the organic is the distinction between discrete and continuous inputs. A discrete input is a single command, for example pressing a single key on a keyboard, whereas a continuous input is closely linked set of commands over a short period of time – for example drawing with a mouse. Until recently, these two paradigms of input have usually remained separate, as in the case of most personal computing. In the context of new, more powerful applications, particularly in 3D environments where one must navigate in space and manipulate digital objects, this established division between the discrete and the continuous input is problematic. Organic shapes and textures allow for a wider range of kinds of continuous inputs, and more intelligent integration between discrete and continuous inputs, as well as in some cases a better fit with our own organic materiality.

My method will be to survey other interfaces and quantify their strengths and weaknesses.  I will then pursue hands-on studio work with new materials, structures, code, and interface integration in order to develop working prototypes. User feedback and critical evaluation will be then used as a platform for further innovation and development.