Since September 2009 I pursue my PhD research entitled “Generation Y interactions”. Generation Y stands for young people, digital natives, who grow up with mobile phones and computers. My project is focused on interactions and behaviors, therefore we propose series of new interactions with objects for office work context. I am trying to transfer ways and habits of interacting young people developed with the digital world into their work environment. I came up with six interaction qualities that define generation Y . Playfulness is one of them. To cater to this new generation of workers, future business applications and services should fit in with richer ways of interaction that go beyond keyboard, mouse, and display. The project goal is to explore and develop these new Generation Y interfaces, and to study how these interfaces will affect future ways of working. Within my project I collaborate with Exact, a software company in Delft, where I will test my prototypes. I have generated a series of design guidelines for the generation Y office workers and my project will provide research methods and principles for developing new interfaces and interactions.

text by Malgorzata Pawlak