Magic.IO: A new web site dedicated to Magic as a Metaphor for NUI design

If you read this blog regularly you may have noticed that I'm kind of obsessed with NUI and the use of Magic as a design metaphor for NUI devices.

I've written about the use of Magic as a design metaphor many times (see links below) and I think about it often. I often wonder, how to design human-computer and device interfaces differently if we used magic as a metaphor rather than the mechanical metaphor of WIMP (buttons, switches, dials, sliders, etc.).

Would magic as a metaphor be effective? Would it provide for a great user experience? It's my intention to explore the use of Magic as a design metaphor much more closely on a new web site I've just created called Magic.IO.

I use the IO country code because I believe that its the inputs and outputs that determine the user interface. Yes, the application logic also contributes a great deal but its the the way in which we provide information and request services (input) and the way the computer responds (output) that determine the experience.

I invite you to come and see my new web site dedicated to Magic as a metaphor in NUI design. I'm already starting on my first project, the development of a wand, which I hope to share in blog posts at Magic.IO. In the mean time feel free to give me feedback on this blog post - I would love to hear what people think of the idea even if you totally disagree!

Here is a list of past blog posts I've made on this site about the use of Magic as a design metaphor in NUI:

• Magic as a Metaphor for NUI Design: Part 1
  
• Magic as a Metaphor for NUI Design, Part 2, Casting Spells
• Magic as a Metaphor for NUI Design: Part 3, Enchanted Objects
• superNatural User Interfaces
• The Magic Wand
• Microsoft's Magic Book
• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

NOTE: I'm also working on another web site dedicated to the discussion of NUI technologies that is focused on implementation technologies, rather than design, like multi-touch, Augmented Reality, direct voice input and other technologies as outlined in a previous post, Natural User Interfaces. More on that later!

UPDATE 11-20-2009

I decided not to continue development of Magic.IO until, or only if, I can figure out how to clearly express magic as it relates to NUI. See this post for an explanation.