Elucidating Frames of Reference for HCI

This essay briefly outlines the historical and intellectual development of the HCI field. It notes the shift from the early study of machine operators in industrial human factors to the study of blue and white-collar workers using computer-based systems to accomplish their work tasks. As computer-based systems became ubiquitous in the workplace, the need for the development of easy-to-use interfaces to these systems grew, leading to the creation of the human-computer interaction (HCI) field. The view of the human as an information processor dominated the early days of HCI, but over time other conceptual frameworks were explored. One view of the computer was as an intelligent agent – the AI approach, another focused on human-computer-human interaction, where the computer is viewed as a medium. This latter view, a semiotic perspective, has been developed, under the rubric of Semiotic Engineering by the Brazilian linguist and HCI researcher, Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza. The spread of this conceptual framework may lead to the development of a more truly ‘human-centred’ computing discipline.