10.1184/R1/6470366.v1 John Zimmerman John Zimmerman Ellen Ayoob Ellen Ayoob Jodi Forlizzi Jodi Forlizzi Mick McQuaid Mick McQuaid Putting a Face on Embodied Interface Agents Carnegie Mellon University 2005 Human Computer Interaction 2005-01-01 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://kilthub.cmu.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Putting_a_Face_on_Embodied_Interface_Agents/6470366 Rapid increases in agent technology as well as the movement of computing into more and more social transactions has increased the need for embodied interface agents. However, interaction designers currently lack sufficient guidelines to confidently and successfully design the visual form of these agents. In this paper we offer a summary of research on the visual form of agents. In addition, we present our own study that explores the relationships between an agents visual form, the task it performs, and the demographics of users. As a result of the review and our own study, we frame the task of design of an agent’s form as being similar to “casting”. Finally, we offer some design guidelines to aid interaction designers in selecting human and non-human forms, in deciding how to address stereotypes, and in looking for opportunities to recast the agent’s visual form.