Victor’s brief but powerful rant on the future of interaction design continued to open my eyes to the extent that technology has cut off human beings from the physical world. For him, the so-called “future” of design with its touchscreen and glossy surface is not a revolution but merely a very limited advance that pays no attention to the human side of things. He completely turns the issue around and states that our hands are the most delicate locks for the least skillful and least tech-savvy users. The describes actions as elementary as page turning and a glass of water holding caused me to realize the extent of feedback and consciousness that humans get from touch. At this point, one might conclude that most of the devices one has nowadays are the ones that take the feedback away from them. His term “Pictures Under Glass” truly resonated with me since it brilliantly encapsulates the notion of how dull and one-dimensional technology interactions can appear. The reading of his rant made me reflect on the directors’ point that soft human qualities should not be engendered by modern technology. In my opinion, he wants us to know that true advancement should keep us emotionally attached to our creations while tech, unfortunately, does the opposite.
In his later responses, Victor makes it clear that he was not trying to destroy de facto technology but to show the way to future development. He underlines that the iPad and the likes are already very important and revolutionary, and still, they are not the end. The comparison of the iPad with the old black-and-white photography was very pleasant to me. It was good for the time but the market for color film kept rising. Victor believes that it should be the same with interaction design. Not only should we seek the right ways to design technology that is visible, tangible, and interactable, but also we should explore such ways. What I found most striking was his stress on the whole body in interaction rather than just a fingertip. He said that most of us are sitting and staring at screens all day long, which makes a total separation from our original nature of moving, feeling, and exploring. This idea was very strong to me as it brings technology back to something very human. Reading both articles made me rethink the role of design in either restricting or enlarging our innate capabilities. Victor’s writing is a sign that the technology of the future should make us feel more alive and interconnected, while on the other hand, it should not have the opposite effect of making us feel dead and isolated.