These slides are from a workshop I organized for the LeanUX NYC conference. The goal was to position context by going back to its origins so participants can design solutions with context in mind.
2. Thomas Wendt
UX Strategist and Researcher
Founder of Surrounding Signifiers, a
strategy and design consultancy
Background in continental philosophy,
psychology, and literary theory
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
5. “We live in a world where
there is more and more
information, and less and
less meaning.”
Jean Baudrillard
http://img103.fansshare.com/pic12/w/non-celebrity/
800/8520_jean_baudrillard.jpg
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
7. So what does “context” mean?
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
8. Webster says
1. The parts of a discourse that surround a word or
passage and can throw light on its meaning
2. The interrelated conditions in which something
exists or occurs.
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
9. Winograd says
“The notion of “context” has been adapted to
computing from its original use referring to
language, which is reflected in the structure of the
word itself: con (with) text. In using language we
produce a text, either written or oral, intended to be
interpreted by one or more other people. That text is
not an encapsulated representation of an intended
meaning, but rather is a cue that allows the
anticipated audience to construct an appropriate
meaning.”
Terry Winograd
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
10. Winograd says
“Context is an operational term: Something is
context because of the way it is used in
interpretation, not due to its inherent properties.”
Terry Winograd
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
13. Context shapes experience
Text
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
http://www.deviantart.com/download/281824001/reading_book_by_srnnrgzd4nsgsh.jpg
@thomas_wendt
14. Context is always of something
http://www.movpins.com/big/
MV5BMTg4NDY3MDc1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzIzNDMzNQ/still-of-tom-cruise-
15. Context is never static
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=qpWnd3U5dLkNYM&t
@thomas_wendt
16. Architecture for everyday life
Text
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
https://www.cbsoutdoor.com/PhotoGallery/Subway%20Corridor_New
%20York_Retail.JPG
@thomas_wendt
17. Context is all we know
Text
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
http://fogsmoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/
blue_velvet_frank_booth_jeffrey_beaumont_dennis_hopper_kyle_maclachlan.png
@thomas_wendt
18. The body presents a problem.
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
19. 1) We’re thrown into
the world.
2) We interact with
objects.
3) We cope.
20. Smooth Coping
User is in the midst of a seamless
experience, acting-through, without
distinction between self and object.
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
28. “Intelligence and understanding
are rooted not in the presence
and manipulation of explicit,
language-like data structures, but
in something more earthy: the
tuning of basic responses to a real
world that enables an embodied
organism to sense, act, and
survive.”
Andy Clark
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wxrYOHd_MKA/T9d3EJi8LXI/AAAAAAAAAB8/
TzmCg7Htk9k/s1600/andyclark.jpg
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
29. “Embodiment is the property of
our engagement with the world
that allows us to make it
meaningful.”
Paul Dourish
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wxrYOHd_MKA/T9d3EJi8LXI/AAAAAAAAAB8/
TzmCg7Htk9k/s1600/andyclark.jpg
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
47. Rob: Weary Traveler
“I spend more time in airports, planes, and hotels than I do in my
apartment.” - Rob
Rob works at a global technology consultancy. He lives in NYC but works on location with
clients, often flying to their location on Monday and back on Friday.
Most of his travel activities—booking, packing, getting to the airport, navigating, flying,
transportation—are habitual. He doesn’t really think about them. But there are certain
times when something goes not as planned or feels like it could be easier, and Rob can’t
help but think technology can help make his experience better.
Goals
Pain Points
• Feel like travel time is not necessarily
different from any other time
• Be prepared if things go wrong (delays,
cancellations, traffic, etc.)
• Make his technology work harder for him
Thomas Wendt
• Digging for the right information at the right
time (boarding passes, meeting info,
directions, traffic, weather, etc.)
• Feeling lost when something unexpected
happens
• Interacting with disconnected systems
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt
49. Problem Statement
Rob is often subject to the whims of the travel industry. His
schedule is often dictated by plane schedules and traffic.
Given that he cannot control many of the nuances that affect
of these variables, he needs to be fully prepared for a variety
of situations.
Our challenge is to design a system that accounts for his
current context to deliver the right information at the right
time.
Thomas Wendt
Surrounding Signifiers
@thomas_wendt