The HCI researcher as artist and designer: approaches to creativity and distance

We first describe the process of working on creative problems using three different but related approaches: Art, Design and Human Computer Interaction research. We present case studies of two interactive artworks; Magic Hopscotch and Cities Tango: Melbourne/Sydney, and explain how engagement with those works has informed our further practice in art, design and HCI. We consider how HCI research can influence art and design, and how art and design can influence HCI research, thereby making some kinds of decisions more explicit, supporting stronger hypothesis generation and crucially enriching evaluation methods for creativity support tools.