There is an innate link between physical touch and emotional response that makes tangible interfaces an ideal medium for communicating messages with an emotional tone.1 As dynamic materials are further researched and applied to devices, we will begin to see drastically different interfaces from what currently exists.2

To investigate this direction, a speculative interface was designed to explore how data visualization can be a tangible experience. A tangible form was developed by plotting four emotions at three levels of intensity which formed an undulating surface that was milled into Corian.

A possible context for the interface could be a military superior who would need to monitor the morale of the troops in his/her charge. As a surface composed of dynamic material, it could change form and texture in response to data which corresponds to the emotional state of the group being monitored.


With the Textural Desktop, interacting with the data means using a simple gesture of moving one's hands across the surface and feeling for signs of concern. This type of interface creates a user experience quite different than sitting in front of a screen or reading a paper report.3 4 As the user frequently engages with the surface, muscle-memory is developed and associations between what is felt and what is being represented are engrained into the user's mind-maps.1 This tangible interaction allows for users to become experts at monitoring data in the same way a craftsman becomes an expert through frequent and concentrated physical interaction with material.

Knowing through touching and manipulating is what Richard Sennett would call Material Conciousness and has been a type of knowledge that has existed throughout history.5 It's these types of passive and nuanced interactions that offer an interesting alternative to today's predominately task-oriented and screen-based ways of interacting with computers.