A considerable amount of research has been done in the domain of tangible user interfaces, a new approach to HCI which focuses on the physical interaction with computational media. However, it has been difficult to define what tangible user interfaces are, and come to a systematic understanding of possible approaches in designing and evaluating tangible user interfaces. Professor Kimiko Ryokai approached these issues in her course: Theory and Practice of Tangible Interfaces. Taught at the University of California, Berkeley, the course explores the theoretical framework of tangible user interfaces through a series of design examples to compare and contrast.

The projects featured in this book are the result of the first offering of this course during the Fall'07 semester. This book is a portfolio of the tangible user interfaces designed by a highly imaginative, diverse set of students. These projects are a clear demonstration that tangible user interfaces can engage users of digital artifacts in meaningful, enjoyable, and useful ways. These projects also demonstrate the talent of our students and their ability to design.