Designing for the physical margins of digital workspaces: fidget widgets in support of productivity and creativity

Authors:
Michael Karlesky;Katherine Isbister
Affiliations:
Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn, NY;Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn, NY
Venue:
Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction
Year:
2014

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Abstract

We present our ongoing work to develop the concept of physical "margin" spaces around software and a new type of human computer interaction. Our novel "Fidget Widgets" seek to engage users' interrelated bodily motions, affective states, and cognitive functions to selectively enhance creativity, focus, calm, etc. Building playful interactions embodying "mindless" activities like doodling, fidgeting, and fiddling, we are working to demonstrate the value of incidental tangible interactions in the physical spaces surrounding digital workspaces. We intend these secondary interactions to have no intrinsic goals; rather these interactions extrinsically enhance a user's state toward the completion of their primary tasks.