Over the past couple of years I’ve had the honor of working with Prof. Hiroshi ISHII: hardworking hero of a Professor, and father of Tangible User Interface. He is a guidepost of a leader — something to aspire to that you know you will never quite become. Among the many things about Hiroshi that I find endearing are his poetic emails about the inspiration of snow, his use of the term “blah blah blah” to finish all sentences, and most of all, his notetaking.
Hiroshi has a complete system of representational symbols that he uses to capture discussion: the small person symbol, the stack of paper to show work that needs to be done. On Monday, I had my “farewell” meeting with him, and was delighted to watch him notate the last year or two of my life with his pictures.
