Even at the beginning of the 21st century, we are far from becoming
paperless. Pen and paper is still the only truly ubiquitous information
processing technology. Pen-and-paper user interfaces bridge the gap
between paper and the digital world. Rather than replacing paper with
electronic media, they seamlessly integrate both worlds in a hybrid user
interface. Classical paper documents become interactive. This opens up a
huge field of novel computer applications at our workplaces and in our
homes.
This book provides readers with a broad and extensive overview of the
field, so as to provide a full and up-to-date picture of pen-and-paper
computing. It covers the underlying technologies, reviews the variety of
modern interface concepts and discusses future directions of
pen-and-paper computing. Based on the author's award-winning
dissertation, the book also provides the first theoretical interaction
model of pen-and-paper user interfaces and an integrated set of
interaction techniques for knowledge workers. The model proposes a
'construction set' of core interactions that are helpful in designing
solutions that address the diversity of pen-and-paper environments. The
interaction techniques, concrete instantiations of the model, provide
innovative support for working with printed and digital documents. They
integrate well-established paper-based practices with concepts derived
from hypertext and social media.
Researchers, practitioners who are considering deploying pen-and-paper
user interfaces in real-world projects, and interested readers from
other research disciplines will find the book an invaluable reference
source. Also, it provides an introduction to pen-and-paper computing for
the academic curriculum.
The present book was overdue: a thorough, concise, and well-organized
compendium of marriages between paper-based and electronic documents.
Max Mühlhäuser, Technische Universität Darmstadt
Everyone interested in how to design for real-world activities would
profit from reading this book.
James D. Hollan, University of California, San Diego
