Music, Design and Ethnography: An Interview with Steve Benford

Abstract

Steve Benford is Professor of Collaborative Computing at the Mixed Reality Laboratory at the University of Nottingham. His research interests span creative and cultural applications of computing, from interactive art to mainstream entertainment, with a particular focus on new interaction techniques. He has over twenty years experience of collaborating with artists to create, tour and study interactive performances. Steve’s research has fuelled the emergence of new cultural forms such as pervasive games and mixed reality performance, while also delivering foundational principles for user experience design, most notably his work on trajectories, uncomfortable interactions, spectator interfaces and most recently the hybrid craft of making of physical-digital artefacts. He has previously held an EPSRC Dream Fellowship (2011–2014), a Visiting Professor at the BBC in 2012 and a Visiting Researcher at Microsoft Research in 2013.

This interview was conducted on 14 November 2017 at the University of Nottingham. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.