Brenda Laurel

Here is a detailed biography of Brenda Laurel—an American interaction designer, writer, and pioneer in human-computer interface and interactive narrative:

Brenda Laurel – Life, Career, and Ideas

Discover Brenda Laurel—American interaction designer, game designer, researcher, and advocate for diversity in technology. Explore her background, pioneering work (e.g. Purple Moon), theories, and legacy.

Introduction

Brenda Laurel (born November 20, 1950) is an American designer, researcher, writer, and educator renowned for her contributions to human-computer interaction (HCI), interactive narrative, and video game design, especially in championing inclusive design and advocating for games for girls.

She is often credited as a bridge between technology, theater, storytelling, and gender studies—arguing that interactive systems should be built with dramaturgical insight and human values in mind.

Early Life & Education

• Brenda Kay Laurel was born on November 20, 1950, in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

• She earned her Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University (majoring in speech and theatre) in 1972, graduating magna cum laude.

• She went on to obtain a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in acting and directing in 1975, followed by a Ph.D. in Theatre (Theory & Criticism) in 1986 from Ohio State University.

• Her doctoral dissertation, Toward the Design of a Computer-Based Interactive Fantasy System, laid theoretical foundations for treating computer systems as interactive “theatres.”

Her background in theatre strongly influenced her later view that interactive systems are not merely tools, but narrative/experiential spaces.

Career & Major Contributions

Early Work & Interface / Game Design

• Brenda Laurel’s earliest work in interactive media dates back to the mid-1970s, working with CyberVision on educational and interactive storytelling systems.

• She then worked at Atari (from around 1980 onward) in software strategy and design roles.

• In the mid-1980s, she contributed to the video game / interactive software field via Activision and worked as a consultant for various interactive media projects.

Laurel’s approach was not only technological but deeply conceptual: she insisted on applying dramaturgy, narrative theory, and user experience thinking to interactive software.

Telepresence, Virtual Reality & “Placeholder”

• In 1990, Laurel co-founded Telepresence Research, Inc., focusing on virtual reality, remote presence, and immersive experience technologies.

• Among her notable VR projects is Placeholder, co-designed with Rachel Strickland (supported by Interval Research). This virtual reality installation innovated on how gaze, locomotion, multi-user presence, and narrative blending could work in immersive environments.

• In the 1990s, Laurel joined Interval Research Corporation (a think tank / innovation lab) and engaged in research on gender and technology.

This period sharpened her critique: many interactive systems (and games) were designed without consideration of gendered preferences, narrative, or user experience beyond mechanics.

Purple Moon & Games for Girls

• In 1996, Laurel co-founded Purple Moon, a game company specifically designed to create interactive media for girls aged about 8 to 14. The goal was to offer narrative experiences rather than the typical competitive or action-oriented games of the time.

• Titles in the Rockett and Secret Paths lines explored social decisions, emotional dilemmas, and story exploration rather than external conflict.

• Purple Moon was later acquired by Mattel in 1999, but ultimately discontinued as the market dynamics shifted.

• Laurel later reflected on this experience in her book Utopian Entrepreneur (2001), discussing the challenges of combining social purpose with business reality.

The Purple Moon experiment remains a landmark in attempts to bring gender inclusivity to interactive media design.

Academic Leadership & Design Education

• From around 2001 to 2006, she chaired and designed the Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

• In 2006, she became chair of the Graduate Program in Design at California College of the Arts (CCA), a position she held (in various forms) through 2012.

• She also served as a “Distinguished Engineer” at Sun Microsystems Labs (circa 2005–2006).

• Later she joined UC Santa Cruz as adjunct faculty in computer science / computational media, and continues contributing to design research, consulting, and public speaking.

Through teaching, she has influenced generations of designers to think critically about narrative, interactivity, ethics, and user experience.

Theoretical Contributions & Philosophy

Brenda Laurel is known for marrying theatre theory and dramaturgy with interface design. Her influential book Computers as Theatre (first published 1991) argues that interactive systems should be considered as theatrical spaces—users are performers, the system is stage, interactivity becomes narrative control.

Some of her principal ideas include:

• Interactivity as narrative participation: Users should feel agency in shaping stories, not be passive consumers.

• Inclusivity in design: Technology should recognize that different demographics have different preferences; “one-size-fits-all” often excludes underrepresented groups (e.g. girls, women). Her work with Purple Moon was a practical instantiation of this principle.

• Embodied interfaces and multisensory engagement: Laurel emphasizes that interaction is not purely visual or textual—sound, motion, sensing, touch all contribute to experience. This appears in her VR and “telepresence” explorations.

• Values in design: She argues that design always encodes values—thus designers carry responsibility for how systems affect human relations, identities, and ethics.

• Sustainability and ecology of systems: In recent years, she has engaged in projects and essays addressing how digital systems intersect with nature, environment, and new media paradigms (e.g. designed animism).

Her influence extends across HCI, game studies, narrative theory, and design education.

Recognition & Awards

• In 2015, Laurel received the Trailblazer Award at IndieCade, honoring her long-standing contributions to game development and design.

• She is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at design, interaction, and technology conferences (e.g. TED, Interactive Design events).

• Her books—Computers as Theatre, Utopian Entrepreneur, Design Research: Methods and Perspectives—are widely cited in design and HCI literatures.

While her work is more academic and design-oriented than celebrity, her impact on how we conceptualize interaction and narrative is profound in design circles.

Personality, Style & Legacy

Brenda Laurel is often described as an intellectual bridge-builder: someone who links humanities (theatre, narrative, gender) with technical domains (computer science, interaction design). Colleagues note that she listens across disciplines, avoids silos, and pushes designers to think ethically and poetically.

Her style is thoughtful, reflective, and experimental. She combines critique with hands-on prototyping, weaving theory and practice. She is also a strong advocate for underrepresented voices in design and technology, especially women in gaming and interactive media.

Her legacy lies in:

• Shifting how designers think of interactive systems (not as mechanistic tools, but as dramaturgical, narrative spaces).

• Sparking more inclusive dialogues around who games and interactive systems are built for.

• Educating and mentoring design researchers and practitioners to incorporate narrative, ethics, and human values.

• Inspiring researchers and designers to cross boundaries—bringing theatre, storytelling, ecology, and interaction into conversation.

Selected Works

Books & Essays

• The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (1990)

• Computers as Theatre (1991; 2nd edition later)

• Utopian Entrepreneur (2001)

• Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (2004)

Games & Media Projects

• Goldilocks (CyberVision) & Hangman (CyberVision) (1978)

• Rockett’s New School (Purple Moon) and other Rockett series titles

• Secret Paths series (Purple Moon)

• Placeholder (VR / telepresence installation)