Designing Interactive Graphics with AI
Designers can create interactive, data-driven experiences. I present a tech history to connect new ideas to old methods and a tool that helps designers activate their designs.
15 Jan 2026
SVG Presentation Maker
A slightly bonkers project to create powerpoint-style presentations entirely in a SVG file. This proof of concept demonstrates how powerful SVGs can be. Created for the Make It Go! presentation. Open sourced for brave souls.
15 Jan 2026
Robot Arm Controller
An Arduino-based motor controller and software for a rescued 1990's robot arm. Open Sourced code, fairly well documented for future explorers.
Dec 2025
Submarine Design Project
Students teams design the entire personal submarine experience: vehicle exterior, brand identity, physical cockpit. Their hardware controls and dashboard instruments interface with my submarine simulator video game to enable real user tests.
Dec 2025
Tangible Interfaces Class
A senior design studio focused on designing with tactile and sensory components to build interactive user experiences embodied in physical products. Introduces basic electronics using the BBC Microbit. No previous experience of UX or electronics expected.
Photos of student work used with permission
Dec 2025
SunPower PVS Supervisor
An open source kit and software to monitor residential solar electric data, to support the hundreds of thousands of customers abandoned when SunPower went bankrupt. Open Sourced at Github.com
Nov 2025
Mechanical Library
A museum exhibit to introduce students to Mechanical Engineering using motorized physical models. A connected website explains how they work and where they appear using videos and 3D models. The cabinets are designed to travel to schools and museums to support STEM education.
May 2025
NYTimes Goldman Sans
For the Goldman Sachs Design System, we had the pleasure of working with Dalton Maag on a new typeface, Goldman Sans. It was covered in a somewhat odd NY Times article.
21 Aug 2020
Pratt "Robot in a Box" Class
A Pratt Institute design class with Deb Johnson and STEM not-for-profit NYC First. Students developed new ideas for a low cost electronics education kit, culminating in a usability test with middle school students at NYC FIRST's STEM Center at Cornell Tech.
14 Feb 2022
Bubble Calendar
A poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day! (Now discontinued, was sold through MOMA, Uncommon Goods, and online as a surprising viral hit).
2008-2023
Bubble Calendar Press
Bubble Calendar got quite a lot of press when it debuted in 2008.
Broadcast nationally on the Today Show on NBC, CoolHunting.com, BoingBoing, Apartment Therapy, Glamour Magazine, Daily Candy, PRINT Magazine, Tangible (book), AP News Wire, Daily News, Dwell Magazine, Time Out New York Holiday Gift Guide, and coverage in Germany.
Hex Flooring Table
Using leftover flooring to make hexagon tables.
2020
Live Edge Bench
Reclaimed American mahogany with Japanese-inspired joinery. Seat plates angle inward for comfort.
2022
All-felt stool
Felt is soft, but surprisingly stiff when folded! Tied with string, this is a functional stool weighing just 8 pounds.
"Tractor Green" Table
A 2D metal curve repeated in three dimensions defines a form with interesting positive and negative spaces. Paint color came from a happy accident at the paint shop.
Classic Arcade Table
A table for classic 80's arcade games that fits into a stylish living room. The joysticks fold under the screen of the mirrored glass.
Handmade Game machine
This completely hand-made and hand-coded arcade device was written in BASIC for the PIC 877 microchip to play simple games like PONG and snake.
Re-Pete Coffee Table
This coffee table system can make tables with leg patterns composed from 3 to 10 legs.
Dark Magic in User-Interface Design
Magic is powerful, but it also has a dark side. Could today's trend toward magical user experiences like gestures and voice spell doom for users?
3 Dec 2018
Make the Commercial First
Designers' unique skill set can go beyond designing the UI of an existing product idea. Their tools and techniques can be adapted to define the product itself through early testing.
14 Apr 2017
3 Kinds of Simplicity
Remote controls are a great way to engage non-designers. These three examples show the difference between Engineering simplicity, Conceptual simplicity, and Aesthetic simplicity.
10 Mar 2017
Apple TV Remote grip
The 2018 Apple TV remote has many design flaws, including not being obvious which way to hold it and being hard to pick up. This prototype grip clips onto the remote, giving a clear front and back and raising it off the surface.
3D printing file is free to download
"White Knight"
Inspired by a cyclist friend who wears white jeans, this prototype chain guard for single speed bikes keeps your pants clean. The pattern of circles enables the attachment brackets to fit any sprocket.
Sketch for a blob game
Experiment to generate amoeba-like creatures using bezier curves in javascript / HTML canvas.
27 Dec 2014
Testing Charts via a game
How good are you at reading charts? Which chart is the best? I created a small game to test chart skills and get hard numbers on how well each chart works, including styles.
18 January 2012
When can I reach you?
by Ben Kleinman, Stephen Turbek — Timezone dataviz to highlight the best times to call global offices.
2000-ish
"Happy Feet"
(Shown at Art Bots 2003) Happy Feet is an installation of 5 pairs of elegant footwear. Each shoe is mechanically articulated, enabling it to tap. The shoes dance, create chorus line patterns, and interact with the audience — copying the steps of anyone who steps on the foot pads.
2003
NYTimes on Furniture
Nice small note in print NY Times of my late 90's furniture business. I learned the hard way.
Conference Table
Conferencing tables designed for the Razorfish conference rooms. With rollerblade wheel feet, they are easily reconfigured into multiple shapes. An aircraft fuel tank stopper can be opened to run laptop cables neatly through the leg.
Flat Pack Bench
Inspired by occasional large dinner parties with friends, this flat pack bench can be assembled without tools. The sitter's weight locks the wooden rods in place.
Fastener-less Shelving
Non-parallel metal tubes keep the shelves in place without screws. The organic forms were derived from the stresses on the supports.
Carved Plywood Chair
An organic-form chair from carved layers of sheet plywood. Seat hollowed out for comfort.
Curved Plywood Bar
Custom designed and built, the curved plywood front dramatically swings open to show contents.
Folding Table
A traditional Shaker sideboard-table updated with organic forms.
Molded Plywood Bench
Springy and strong, the plywood forms can be used for home or public seating. The single repeated element can create concave or convex curves by altering the spacing of the aluminum connectors.
Cane Concept
Prototype of injection molded frame over aluminum core, with neoprene cuff, adjustable along molded ribs.
Pepto Bismol Bottle
Concept for a Pepto Bismol bottle. The evocative shape also served a purpose — the goose neck top delivers a measured dose when tipped back and forth.
Pratt Student Mailboxes
Competition-winning entry for Pratt Architecture student mailboxes. Hand made polypropylene.
Timberframe Pavilion
Designed and built in the summer of 1992–3, this structure combines traditional timberframe joints with unusual geometry.
Sign on, Login -Better Practices for Logins and Registration
Forgotten passwords remain the number one customer service issue — here are practical ways to reduce that friction.
1 August 2009
Better charts from simple questions
A simple model for picking the right chart type by asking what you are comparing and for whom.
9 June 2009
How to make personas useful
Personas are often a pretty-faced deliverable without an obvious next step — here's how to make them actually drive decisions.
1 June 2008
Advancing Advanced Search
Advanced search is the ugly child of interface design — always included, but never loved. A progressive disclosure approach can enable users to pinpoint results.
16 January 2008
What I learned from my failed "Web 2.0" project
Lessons from months of designing and coding survee.com — an AJAX-based survey tool that didn't make it to market.
19 September 2006
Real Wireframes Get Real Results
Realistic wireframes are easier for users to understand and respond to in wireframe tests.
19 September 2006
Improving Web Navigation with the "All-Menu" Nav
A whitepaper on a way to improve usability in website navigation.
20 May 2006
Your Interface is your Company
A whitepaper on financial services business challenges and solutions.
30 March 2006
Better practices for rich internet applications in financial services
A presentation at the 2006 Boston Usability Professionals Association Mini-Conference.
30 March 2006
Designing complex applications with digital and manual components
Research and workflow techniques for designing complex applications, presented to the Intranet Benchmarking Forum.
21 March 2006
The Lazy IA's Guide to Making Sitemaps
Use these lazy techniques and spend your time on more interesting problems than lining up little boxes!
29 Jan 2006
Does IT outsourcing actually work?
Projects that require defined scheduling and cost control may find that outsourcing the development adds an uncomfortable amount of delay and uncertainty.
1 January 2005
We're getting what we ordered
What food additives say about us as consumers — and why the food industry gives us what we ask for.
17 January 2002
The Good Login
A short paper on login best practices.
1 March 2001
How to Argue
Some tips on arguing, and how to avoid common logical errors.
17 January 2001
Intelligence is not enough
How much more is an intelligent coffee maker worth than an basic one?
5 January 2001
What is Audio Design?
by Gavin Shepherd, with Stephen Turbek — A discussion of using audio elements and sound tracks in modern interactive environments.
31 January 2001
The OSI Model and You
by David Neier, with Stephen Turbek — The Open System Interconnection model describes the way information travels across a network.
29 January 2001
An Introduction to XML
XML, the eXtensible Markup Language is a simple, flexible, open system for sharing data between organizations.
22 January 2001
Tales from the Cryptography
Secure Internet transactions have been as important as the Web browser in making the Internet useful. An overview of Public Key encryption and a brief history of cryptography.
12 January 2001
Telecoworking and You
Collaboration with distant colleagues is one of the biggest challenges in the new workplace. Here are some ways to make it easier.
11 December 2000
Analog and Digital
A recent history of analog and digital technology that tries to explain why we went in this direction.
4 December 2000
The Future of Plug and Play
Plug and Play technology is poised to make computers much simpler, if only we can agree on a standard.
6 November 2000
Are Cookies Monsters?
Cookies have been fingered as agents against personal privacy, but in reality, they work for you.
23 October 2000
Digital Sharing Ends Media Scarcity
Digital media can be easily duplicated, making it difficult to control the supply. A new model for commerce must emerge.
2 October 2000
What Can We Learn From Games?
Games illustrate what a good interactive experience can be.
28 July 2000
How to Peel a Chicken
The French culinary technique, the 'Gallantine'.
9 June 2000
Visualizing Data with Edward Tufte
Notes from the work of the master of information graphics.
6 June 2000
What is Tacit Knowledge?
by Ben Kleinman, Mary Quandt, Stephen Turbek, Neil Werhle — Tacit knowledge is used in all communities to keep people informed and engaged.
25 April 2000
© Stephen Turbek