Hi!
I’m Omar

Hi!
I’m Omar
Passionate about colors,
forms, and flavors

Hi!
I’m Omar
Passionate about colors,
forms, and flavors
Design geek

Alongtimeago…
(my journey to become a designer)

Background
Born in Merida, Yucatan
BS in Computer Science
Guanajuato City
MS in Computer Science
Web-based Simulation
Hypermedia Design
Image Processing
Usability

Background (cont’d)
Puebla City & Cholula City
MA in Information Design
• Designer
Coord. of Communication
Freelancer
• Lecturer
BA in Interaction Design
BA in Information Design
Digital Design GradDip
• Teacher Assistant
Human-Computer InteractionDesign Thinking
Design Research
Participatory Design
Humanities

MoviTalk
Capstone Project

Conference poster about user research methods and design process

Final design

LandingonEarth
(the extraterrestrial infodesigner
in Bookland)

CIRIA
Information Architecture
and Web Design

Original site and information architecture

Conference poster and evolution of the project

Result (interface and architecture)

OtherProjects
Web, Communication,
and Information Design

Website for Franciscan Library (responsive design)

Illustration and communication design

UDLAP Institutional Seal

Staringatthemoon
(time to play and explore)

Metaphorical thought, visual rhetoric, and fantasy

Personal brand and the challenge of drawing letters

Sketchnoting

Conceptual mash-up, free style, own style

MissiontoMars
(journey to become an interaction
design researcher)

Indiana University: School of Informatics and Computing
Informatics (track: HCI)
PhD Candidate
Rhetoric and IxD
Argumentation
• Instructor
I300: HCI/IxD
I400: Visual Design for UX
• Research Assistant
UX Methods and Competence

Why? We designers create arguments!
“Hearts”by United Colors of Benneton (1996)

Swipe to
the right
for Like
Swipe to
the left
for Nope
We designers create arguments… Don’t we?

What am I trying to understand?
HCI Design
Rhetoric

GazaEverywhere
When a simple app works
as a rhetorical argument
Sosa-Tzec, O., Stolterman, E., and Siegel, M.A. (2015). Gaza Everywhere: exploring
the applicability of a rhetorical lens in HCI. InProc.CriticalAlternatives2015.The5th
DecennialAarhusConference.

Argument
•Software could be regarded as a visual (interactive)
enthymeme, the form of the rhetorical argument

Argument
•Software could be regarded as a visual (interactive)
enthymeme, the form of the rhetorical argument
•“Gaza Everywhere” illustrates a case of application
software working as enthymeme

Argument
•Software could be regarded as a visual (interactive)
enthymeme, the form of the rhetorical argument
•“Gaza Everywhere” illustrates a case of application
software working as enthymeme
•The paper suggests the use of rhetoric as a generative
tool to be part of HCI/UX design pedagogy

Why do we care?

Rhetoric HCI
The applicability of
a rhetorical lens in HCI
?

Rhetoric HCI
Enthymeme
?
Speaker delivering arguments
in order to win an audience
Truncated syllogism
(leaving a premise unstated)

Rhetoric HCI
Enthymeme
Visual Argumentation
?

Rhetoric HCI
Visual Argumentation
Enthymeme
?

Rhetoric HCI
Visual Argumentation
Enthymeme
?

The possibility of visual arguments
“Hearts”by United Colors of Benneton (1996)

What did we do?

Source/screenshots from:
http://ahmadnassri.github.io/gaza-everywhere/
Gaza Everywhere

Source/screenshots from:
http://ahmadnassri.github.io/gaza-everywhere/
Gaza Everywhere

Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

•Gaza Everywhere’s intent is not oriented to provide
a territorial truth

•Gaza Everywhere’s intent is not oriented to provide
a territorial truth
•Each user has a different awareness of the conflict
in the Gaza Strip, which affects the perception of
the application’s intent

•Gaza Everywhere’s intent is not oriented to provide
a territorial truth
•Each user has a different awareness of the conflict
in the Gaza Strip, which affects the perception of
the application’s intent
•Not only the interactive map, but the whole user
interface (interactive map, stats, information
design, and Twitter embedded timeline) functions
to support the detected or interpreted claim

What did we observe?

•Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will

•Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will
•Interaction and experiential knowledge help the user
to fill in the unstated premise

•Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will
•Interaction and experiential knowledge help the user
to fill in the unstated premise
•The user might revisit the detected or interpreted
claim, which makes the rhetorical/persuasive effect
of Gaza Everywhere evolve with the user

What does it mean?

user
user
designer
i
j
k
user
user
UserExperience
Context of Use
appl.software
(visualenthymeme)
Discourse
User-centric persuasive experience

Notesfromthe
SpaceshipLog
(just to conclude…)

• Design entails passion.
It starts with self-persuasion.

• Design entails passion.
It starts with self-persuasion.
• No design is neutral.

• Design entails passion.
It starts with self-persuasion.
• No design is neutral.
• A designer is a rhetor.
Designs are rhetorically infiltrated.