Archinect - Features 2024-05-08T18:19:03-04:00 https://archinect.com/features/article/150135675/are-we-digital-of-mice-and-pens Are We Digital? Of Mice and Pens Galo Canizares 2019-05-11T11:47:00-04:00 >2019-05-09T18:52:20-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/db/db7ca4e67cc03841da85220b0c4b5975.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>In the short history of computing, an ongoing research project is human-computer interaction (HCI). We know the results of this research as the ever-expanding catalog of input devices developed since the 1950s for interfacing with computers. A few successful and obvious ones are: the keyboard, the <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150132973/this-is-what-happens-when-you-combine-the-eames-lounge-chair-with-a-computer-mouse" target="_blank">mouse</a>, the trackpad, the touchscreen, the pen, and the joystick. If most of design labor today is produced with mice (and/or pens), why are there so few discussions on those instruments? In a field bombarded with debates on the digitization of design, I&rsquo;ve found everyday devices to be the most fascinating, yet overlooked, subject. So in lieu of reviewing the latest touchscreen, <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150120672/how-vr-may-be-the-bridge-firms-and-educators-need-to-share-architecture" target="_blank">VR</a> controller, or <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/8401/augmented-reality" target="_blank">AR</a> app, I&rsquo;d like to talk briefly about mice and pens.</p>