Diana Löffler

Substituting Color for Haptic Attributes in Conceptual Metaphors for Tangible Interaction Design

Studies in tangible interaction have investigated how physical object attributes can stand for abstract content (e.g. IMPORTANT IS HEAVY). A less expensive and more practical alternative to dynamically change, for example, the size, weight or temperature of tangibles, could be using color-to-abstract mappings. Grounded in embodied cognition theory, a number of color-for-haptic substitutions are derived (e.g. DARK COLORS ARE HEAVY). These substitutions are then tested for their effectiveness with 15 conceptual metaphors (e.g. IMPORTANT IS DARK COLOR). In four conditions (haptic, color, haptic-color congruence, haptic-color incongruence) 48 participants matched objects of different colors, sizes, weights or temperatures with abstract words. The results indicate that color can replace haptic attributes in metaphoric mappings and that designers need to explicitly design for color, because metaphor-incongruent colors can hamper the effectiveness of metaphorical mappings. The results also indicate that an embodied experiential view can circumvent arguing about specific colors with high-level symbolic meanings.

Office Ergonomics Driven by Contextual Design

Following contextual design, we identified motivational and social aspects, as well as environmental factors of desk-based office workplaces, that contribute to sedentary behavior in the workplace. Through 10 full-day work observations, we gathered detailed qualitative data on why and when workers sit and unveiled tacit knowledge about habits and physical workplace layouts that favor prolonged sitting, complementing the mostly quantitative research done in the field. Developing social motivations for standing and walking, distributing frequently used objects to require more walking, and reducing the attractiveness of sitting turned out to be key drivers for reducing and interrupting sedentary behavior.

Examining the design space of insect inspired notifications

Our work investigates new designs for notification cues, leveraging knowledge about insects that people gained through lifelong experiences. We conducted a user study to identify peoples knowledge about nine typical and easily differentiated insect-species. We conclude that this information can be used in creating notifications that can be perceived intuitively. We discuss how results of this study can inform design decisions in all four design dimensions of notification systems, and consider the future potential of notifications based on such biomimicry patterns.

Expected Behavior and Desired Appearance of Insect-Like Desk Companions

Prior work on zoomorphic desktop companions has shown that these can fulfill a wide range of functionality and convey emotional value. When mimicking familiar animals or pets, however, users may develop unrealistic expectations about the available functionality and behavior of the companion. To amend this limitation, we propose insect-inspired concepts as a way to utilize our intuitive understanding of insects without raising unrealistic expectations of the companions. We built 11 tangible insect prototypes with varying forms and levels of abstraction and illustrated their potential behavior in video vignettes. The prototypes and vignettes were shown to 22 participants to elicit desired functionalities of insect-inspired companions, possible ways of conveying these and the meaning insect companions could have for the user. The results open up a realistic design space for the appearance and behavior of insect-inspired robots as desktop companions.

Ambient light as spatial attention guidance in indoor environments

Ambient light has been utilized in different application domains and holds promises as a valuable and aesthetically pleasing information channel while at the same time being very unobtrusive and requiring minimal attention. An understudied domain is the use of ambient light for subconscious guiding of spatial attention in indoor settings. We conducted a pilot study to analyze the influence of slightly different ambient light conditions on gaze directions of the participating subjects. Even though no participant reported to have noticed the different illumination levels within a single room, their gaze was drawn to the side which was more illuminated by ambient light. We will proceed to further investigate the potential of guiding spatial attention with ambient light and want to test this approach in a more realistic setting like subconscious attention guiding in a working context.

Population stereotypes of color attributes for tangible interaction design

A promising approach to facilitate the design of intuitive interaction with tangible user interfaces (TUIs) is making use of image-schematic metaphors. Image-schematic metaphors function as population stereotypes that define the relations between physical object attributes and abstract, intangible information. However, it is technically challenging to implement the dynamic manipulation of physical object attributes like weight, temperature or surface properties. In contrast, changes in object color can be achieved easily and are rather inexpensive. Therefore, my doctoral work aims to investigate whether color is systematically linked to abstract concepts via image-schematic metaphor as well. Designers of TUIs may use validated color-to-abstract mappings to design for intuitive interaction with tangibles in abstract domains.

Happy is pink: designing for intuitive use with color-to-abstract mappings

My research aims to provide a theory of how abstract, intangible information is linked to specific color attributes in order to deliver guidelines that facilitate the design of intuitive human-computer interaction in abstract domains. The theory predicts which color attributes induce information processing and behavior that is consistent with these color-to-abstract mappings. As a result, designers do not need to rely on exploratory research but can systematically use color as a means to design for intuitive interaction.

Comparing Pictorial and Tangible Notations of Force Image Schemas

Force image schemas (FIS) are cognitive representations of our naïve understanding of physical force dynamic events in the world. Designers have been struggling to apply FIS in their design processes, because their deliberate use has been made difficult by applying too abstract notations. In this paper we try to advance FIS as a possible theoretical framework for tangible design and present new pictorial and tangible notations of FIS that aim to be more directly applicable. The new notations were tested by asking non-experts to (1) match pictorial and tangible FIS representations to force image schema names and (2) to develop design ideas based on these pictorial or tangible representations. While the group working with the pictorial notations was more correct in assigning FIS names to FIS representations, design ideas tended to be more tangible and interactive in the group working with the tangible FIS notations.

Senior, follower and busy grumbler: user needs for pervasive participation

Following contextual design in a real world setting, we identified individual and social aspects, as well as needs and desires of different citizen groups that motivate citizen engagement. Through eight in-depth interviews and observations we gathered detailed qualitative data on why and when citizens participate and derived requirements for pervasive devices that aim to advance citizen e-participation. Addressing citizens personally, interaction among co-located people, communication of the opportunity to engage and low participation barriers turned out to be the key drivers for creating user-accepted pervasive participation concepts. Also, we present different identity models that capture personal values relevant to participation. Scientists and practitioners alike can use these data to create meaningful and effective ubiquitous applications for situated civic discourse and participation.

Augmented Happiness: Simple Color Changes Influence Users’ Conceptual Choices

Color is a powerful visual property and is used to make interferences about the world. However, no theoretical framework is available that explains precisely where color associations come from and how they affect psychological functioning, making it difficult to predict how color affects human-computer interaction. This paper aims at closing this gap by suggesting an Embodied Cognition view on color, which assumes that the aggregate of our perceptual color experiences is part of the mental representation of tactile object attributes and thus systematically influences our abstract thinking via the process of metaphorical mapping. An empirical study is presented in which hues and saturation of objects were manipulated via Augmented Reality. Participants matched objects to abstract concepts, e.g., happiness. 83 % of the participants’ choices were correctly predicted, suggesting that color information is considered during the processing of abstract information. Eight color-to-abstract-concept mappings are recommended and possible areas of application are discussed.