With the emergence of flexible display technologies, graphical user interfaces will no longer be limited to flat surfaces. As such, it will become necessary for interface designers to move beyond flat display designs, contextualizing interaction in an object’s physical shape. Grounded in early explorations of Organic User Interfaces (OUIs), this thesis examines the evolving relationship between industrial and interaction design and argues that not only what, but how we design is changing. To understand how to better design OUIs, we report on an empirical study of pointing behavior that shows how Fitts’ law can model movement time on an extremely convex surface. We also show that touch sensing technology can be repurposed for the OUI design process by making it possible to tape, draw, or paint touch sensing directly on a physical prototype. We then discuss how supporting sketching, a fundamental activity of many design fields, is increasingly critical for the interactive three-dimensional forms in OUI and that a ‘hypercontextualized’ approach to their design can reduce the drawbacks met when everyday objects become interactive. Finally, we discuss that when interactive hardware is seamlessly melded into an object’s shape, the ‘computer’ disappears. When designing OUIs, it is better seen as a basic material, like the clay, foam core, or plastics used by an industrial designer, and one that happens to have interactive potential. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2014-01-23 12:00:08.953

This essay presents a study into the domain of architecture meeting new interaction design principles. The paper discusses future transparent surfaces to become programmable kinetic user interfaces, usable as information and communication channels to simplify our everyday environment. Based on the approach of using the five methodologies: Cultural Probes, Research Through Design, Grounded Theory, Star Life Cycle Model and Wizard of Oz; consistent data was collected to design and iterate on a visionary interface prototype to bridge the use of freehand gestures through motion sensing and moreover supported by RFID in a building structure on a see-through background. The objective of this paper is to unravel the main research question of how can people through kinetic interaction use organic interfaces on transparent surfaces?Several possible uses were ideated such as multiple shared user access, collaborative interaction on both sides. The primary research was answered through a final presented prototype combining a CV system with RFID for multiple and collaborative usages. User experiences and feedback makes an array of applications possible how a transparent interfaces with kinetic interaction can be applied to the interior and exterior such as fridge, mirror, doors, glass panels, alarm systems, games and the home entertainment.In today’s norm screens in the shape of a square are obsolete and support of new patterns, forms and materials are needed. Fieldwork concluded that kinetic interaction could flawlessly unite real world conditions with computer-generated substance, and become the design environment for future interactions to communicate with the user. We no longer seek to be bound to stiff shaped Graphical User Interfaces. Adding a transparent surface as background for such kinetic motion is underlying paradigm for the content to be projected into any ambience and surroundings.