The central theme of the book is the disappearing differences between cyberspace and the real world. In fact, the boundary for interaction between the two realms has never been strict, for example, as represented by the punch card at the dawn of computing. One of the concepts used in this book is skeuomorphic design (as well as its counterpoint, non-skeuomorphic design) within interaction design: “skeuomorphism is where an object in software mimics its real world counterpart” [1].

The book tries to answer what the materiality of interaction means: “the material footprint of compositionally arranged materials that allows for a practical form of interaction.” The book discusses approaches of interaction design and tries to provide a comprehensive definition. The author’s goal is to conceptualize a new way of interaction design that eliminates the division of the material and digital world. The fundamental statement of the book is that computing can take any material form. Interaction design’s goal is to be realized across a number of different materials, and conventional materials dedicated to noncomputational applications are reinvented so that they become potential materials of interaction.

Chapter 1 gives historical background, with a specific focus on skeuomorphic design in the digital world. Chapter 2 discusses the presence of material within man-machine interactions through the development of cyber history. Chapter 3 investigates the role of materials in information exchange with the digital world. Chapter 4 proposes a new approach for interaction design, with specific emphasis on materiality. Chapter 5 outlines a design thinking approach based on layers (that is, substrates) and lays the groundwork for the next chapter. Chapter 6 discusses compositional thinking, that is, the combined application of material and digital components for holistic interaction design. Chapter 7 summarizes the author’s proposed interaction design method, along with future challenges. Chapter 8 closes the book with a sketch of how interactions between the human and digital worlds may move forward, including invisible interaction (for example, Siri), minimalistic interaction (for example, self-driving car), immaterial interaction (for example, cloud computing), and so on.

This book is about the design philosophy of human-computer interaction. The future symbiosis between the human and digital worlds is a thought-provoking question.

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