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Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design Bill Buxton. Morgan Kaufmann, ©2007. ISBN: 0-1237-4037-1.

In this book, Bill Buxton talks about the role that sketching plays in the design process. He gives a number of good examples from hand sketches to digital sketches. Then he launches into a discussion of what a sketch of an interactive experience is, and gives a number of good examples of interactive sketches and sketching methods. It’s an excellent read for anyone who makes interactive things.

Technorati Tags: design, interfaces, networked objects, networks, pcomp, philosophy, physical computing, sketching, toys, wearables

Shaping Things Bruce Sterling, Boston, MIT Press, ©2005, ISBN 0-2626-9326-7.
Bruce Sterling’s take on a plausible future in which everything made has a network address, and therefore a documented and documentable history. He takes this vision to its extreme, showing how it changes everything from design to manufacturing to consumption to disposal of material goods. An inspiring read if you’re interested in networks, material or information design, or sustainability.

Technorati Tags: design, environment, law, networked objects, networks, pcomp, philosophy, physical computing, RFID, sociology, sustainability

“Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction (Bradford Books)” (Paul Dourish) is my favorite book of the moment. He does a great job explaining physical interaction design, justifying it as a practice, and detailing the consequences of that practice. He also covers a lot of history of embodied interaction and ubiquitous computing and discusses some philosophical roots of his thinking, all in a very readable style. If you’re involved in physical interaction design at all, you should read this book.

Technorati Tags: design, pcomp, physical computing, philosophy

“722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York” (Clifton Hood) Johns Hopkins Univ Pr; ISBN: 0801852447; Reprint edition © 1995.

A great read about the history of the New York City subway system. Also an excellent analysis of the political and technical difficulties of building a complex network.

Technorati Tags: cities, infrastructures, networks

“The Art of Interactive Design: A Euphonious and Illuminating Guide to Building Successful Software” (Chris Crawford)

©2002 No Starch Press; ISBN: 1886411840

Written in a very casual style, this book nevertheless is an excellent and concise summary of what interaction design is, why it is important, and what problems it brings with it. Anyone seriously interested in interaction design, physical or not, should read this book.

Technorati Tags: design, programming

The Art of Electronics

Paul Horowitz, Winfield Hill. ©1989, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-37095-7

For more advanced coverage of electronics, but still accessible to the non-engineeer, this is an invaluable reference. Not as accessible as Practical Electronics (above), but more in-depth on some topics

Technorati Tags: electronics

“Snap to Grid: A User’s Guide to Digital Arts, Media, and Cultures” (Peter Lunenfeld)

©2000, MIT Press; ISBN: 026212226X

A series of smart essays on the nature of digital media and the cultures formed around and influenced by digital media. Introduces the idea of the digital dialectic, “a method to ground the insights of theory in the constraints of practice”.

Technorati Tags: art, design, networks, philosophy

“Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution” (Howard Rheingold)

Perseus Publishing; ISBN 0-7832-0608-3; ©2002

Covers the social uses of mobile networked technologies. Filled with personal stories and anecdotes, this serves as a light introduction to possible futures of mobile networked devices and the effect they are having on the communities who have access to them.

Technorati Tags: cities, design, infrastructures, law, mobile telephony, networks, philosophy, sociology

“Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (Open Market Edition)” (Duncan J. Watts)

W.W. Norton & Company; ©2003. ISBN: 0393041425

a nice introduction to the science of networks, with a good bit of focus on the social angle.

Technorati Tags: design, environment, infrastructures, networks, philosophy, sociology

“Robots, Androids and Animatrons, Second Edition : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build” (John Iovine)

©1998, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-032804-8

A good beginning robot guide, including schematics and recipes for several robotic projects.

Technorati Tags: electronics, mechanics, pcomp, physical computing, toys