More whimsy, less “computery” stuff

When people think of computers, words like “fun” and “joyful” don’t usually come to mind. That’s too bad, we’d argue. We think computers and their software take themselves far too seriously. For the most part, they’re dry and soulless.

When we designed the litl webbook and the experience of using it, we envisioned something very different. We wanted smiles and an occasional chuckle to be part of the litl experience. These unexpected moments — we call them “joy drops” — are small and subtle, but collectively they sum up to a computing experience with more whimsy and less “computery” stuff.

We've already shared David Macaulay’s delightful instructional cards that help the world learn how litl works. Yesterday, our interaction design partner, Cooper, described two more of these playful moments in an insightful blog post. Check out their videos:

litl power off from Cooper Journal on Vimeo.

litl giggle from Cooper Journal on Vimeo.

Please let us know what you think, here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. We’d love to hear your thoughts: Can computers be fun and joyful?

Photo credit: Steve took it