 |
1997 Winner
At the 2nd International Conference on Design
Management in the Digital Environment (May 7-9 in Minneapolis),
Lauralee Alben gave the first Muriel Cooper Memorial Lecture, At
the Heart of Interaction Design: Humanizing Technology.
Established in honor of the late Muriel Cooper,
director of the MIT Media Lab’s Visible Language Workshop,
the lecture is given each year by an individual selected on the
basis of original thinking and future promise in the field of digital
environments. Muriel Cooper was cofounder of MIT’s Visible
Language Workshop (VLW), an early member of the Institute’s
Board of Directors, a superb teacher, and a much-admired mentor.
Cooper’s intellectual vigor, open style of teaching, and personal
charisma inspired her students and colleagues to question and explore
digital environments. She would often talk about her “profound
disdain for answers... we do a lot of groping here. I don’t
think there are answers. I think there are thoughts.”
This annual lecture has been established to
be a lasting tribute to Muriel and will exemplify the spirit of
exploration she so valued. DMI will sponsor the Cooper Memorial
Lecture each year at its annual Digital Environment conference and
will publish an expanded version of the speech in the Design Management
Review. Following this year’s conference, the Institute will
issue a CD-ROM featuring Alben’s keynote speech, background
on Muriel Cooper’s work and vision, and other supplementary
material. The CD will accompany the summer Review, which
will feature Alben’s speech as its keynote article. Lauralee
Alben exemplifies Muriel Cooper’s spirit of exploration.
A principal of Alben+Faris, Lauralee takes
a human-centered approach to her work, much of which involves the
design of interactive experiences. This year, I.D. Magazine chose
Alben+Faris as one of the I.D. Forty, their pick of “the most
important design innovators from the West Coast.” Lauralee
Alben lectures regularly at professional organizations and universities
such as Yale, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and RISD.
|
