Talk & Workshop: Nicolai Marquardt 28. April 2014


Nicolai Marquardt / University College London

Nicolai Marquardt is an Assistant Professor in Physical Computing at the University College London. After graduating from the Media Systems program at the Bauhaus-University Weimar, Nicolai did his PhD at the University of Calgary, Canada. He works on physical computing, digital fabrication, ubiquitous computing, and proxemic interactions. One of Nicolai’s passions are sketching and prototyping strategies, he is a co-author of the ‘Sketching User Experiences Workbook’ with Saul Greenberg, Sheelagh Carpendale, and Bill Buxton.

“In the everyday world, much of what we do is dictated by how we interpret spatial relationships. This is called proxemics, and is part of the glue that comprises our natural social fabric.”

Talk: Proxemic Interactions in Ubiquitous Computing Ecologies

“In this talk, I describe and illustrate our work at UCL, University of Calgary, and Microsoft Research towards proxemic-aware devices that – similar to people’s natural expectations and use of proxemics – allow increasing connectivity and interaction possibilities when in proximity to people, other devices, or objects. My goal is to advocate proxemics as a natural way of mediating inter-entity interactions in ubiquitous computing environments, while still cautioning about the many pitfalls around its use.”

Talk: Monday, April 28th 2014 / 19:00
Oberlichtsaal / Hauptgebäude
Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 8

Workshop: Design Sketching3: Stories, Strategies, and Surfaces

When designing user experiences, hand drawn paper-pencil sketches are an invaluable tool for finding the right design; long before refining the work and getting the design right. In this hands-on workshop will learn how to integrate sketching into everyday design and research practice. You will hear stories about inspiring sketches from designers, inventors, and scientists: Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, and many others. You will learn essential sketching strategies and shortcuts (e.g., sketching vocabulary, photo tracing, hybrid sketches, and storyboarding) and apply these in practice during various hands-on exercises. Throughout the workshop you will hear about the various ways of using sketches as a powerful tool when designing for novel user experiences – in particular with interactive surfaces such as phones, tablets, and tabletops. No previous sketching experience required – but please get paper and pencils ready for the many hands-on exercises throughout this two hour workshop.

Please REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP by sending an email to michaela.honauer@uni-weimar.de with the subject ‘Sketching workshop: registration’ by Friday the 25th. Places are given on a first come first serve base.

(If you have to cancel, please email Michaela with the subject: ‘Sketching: I cancel’ so your place can go to somebody else!)

Workshop: Monday, April 28th 2014 / 13:00-15:00
Atelier 002 / vdV
Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 7

This talk and the workshop are part of the Bauhausinteraction Colloquium.