The finger as a graphical stylus enjoys a coefficient of friction with glass sufficient to provide input of direction and torque as well as position from a single point. This report describes a pressure-sensitive digitizer (PSD) capable of accepting these force inputs, and discusses a set of five simple input applications used to assess the capabilities of this device. These applications include techniques for specifying vectors, and pushing, pulling, dispersing and reorienting objects with a single touch. Experience gained from these applications demonstrates that touch and pressure sensing open a rich channel for immediate and multi-dimensional interaction.

Architecture-by-Yourself is an experiment in computer aided design that applies the medium of computer graphics, used by a general populace. The research program confronts the delicate balance between insightfulness and paternalism toward a user who ultimately bares the risk. The paper reports on a case study, on the underlying philosophy's of the French architect Yona Friedman, and on a computer implementation called YONA. As part of a larger research effort, Machine Recognition and Inference Making in Computer Aids to Design, we postulate further developments that will exercise input and visualization techniques in a relentless setting, relentless in the sense that the user is demanding, the problem is hard, and the product is a personal, one-of-a-kind design.