Presentation of two works accepted at the next ACM International conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI)

Presentation of two works accepted at the next

Ylva Fernaeus & Moa Bergsmark, KTH MID

From Patchwork to Appliqué: Reflections from an Interaction Design Remake.

Abstract

We present a case in which an existing tangible system and its core design values has been used to create a new variation with available standard technology exactly one decade later. We reflect on how the new technological setup fundamentally changed the interaction in terms of electronic media and behavior, as well as regarding perception, physical manipulation, and overall social activity. The new design is discussed in terms of transformations of practice, which shifted our conceptual understanding of the interaction from the metaphor of making a patchwork to that of an appliqué.

Martin Jonsson, Anna Ståhl, Johanna Mercurio, Anna Karlsson, Kristina Höök, KTH MID

The aesthetics of heat: Guiding awareness with thermal stimuli. 

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the design process and results from a design exploration on the use of thermal stimuli in body awareness exercises. A study was performed on an interactive prototype in the form of an interactive heat mat. The paper brings forth an alternative understanding of heat as a design material that extends the common understanding of thermal stimuli in HCI as a communication modality to instead bring the aesthetic and experiential properties to the fore. Findings account for felt body experiences of thermal stimuli and a number of design qualities related to heat as a design material are formulated, pointing to experiential qualities concerning the felt body, subjectivity and subtleness as well as material qualities concerning materiality, inertia and heat transfer.