Karen Holtzblatt facts for kids
Karen Holtzblatt is an American computer scientist. She is famous for her work in a field called human–computer interaction. This field focuses on making computers and other technology easy and fun for people to use.
Karen Holtzblatt is especially known for something called contextual design. This is a special way of designing things by watching how people actually use them in their everyday lives. It helps designers create products that truly fit what people need.
She started her own company, InContext Design, in 1992 and is its CEO. She has also received important awards for her work. In 2007, she joined the CHI Academy, which is a group of top experts in human-computer interaction. In 2010, she won the first-ever Lifetime Award for Practice from ACM SIGCHI. This award celebrates people who have made a big difference in how we interact with computers.
Karen Holtzblatt also works as a research scientist at the University of Maryland. She is part of their Human-Computer Interaction Lab and iSchool, where she continues to explore new ways to make technology better for everyone.
Books About Design
Karen Holtzblatt has written or co-written several books. These books teach others how to design computer systems and products that are easy for people to use. They share her ideas on how to make technology user-friendly.
- Contextual Design: Design for Life (with Hugh Beyer, 2017)
- Contextual Design: Evolved (with Hugh Beyer, 2014)
- Rapid Contextual Design: A How-to Guide to Key Techniques for User-Centered (with Jessamyn Burns Wendell and Shelley Wood, 2005)
- Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems (with Hugh Beyer, 1998)
- Designing Composite Applications: Driving User Productivity and Business Information for Next Generation Business Applications (with Jörg Beringer, 2006)
