Youn-kyung Lim

The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas

The role of prototypes is well established in the field of HCI and Design. A lack of knowledge, however, about the fundamental nature of prototypes still exists. Researchers have attempted to identify different types of prototypes, such as low- vs. high-fidelity prototypes, but these attempts have centered on evaluation rather than support of design exploration. There have also been efforts to provide new ways of thinking about the activity of using prototypes, such as experience prototyping and paper prototyping, but these efforts do not provide a discourse for understanding fundamental characteristics of prototypes. In this article, we propose an anatomy of prototypes as a framework for prototype conceptualization. We view prototypes not only in their role in evaluation but also in their generative role in enabling designers to reflect on their design activities in exploring a design space. We base this framework on the findings of two case studies that reveal two key dimensions: prototypes as filters and prototypes as manifestations. We explain why these two dimensions are important and how this conceptual framework can benefit our field by establishing more solid and systematic knowledge about prototypes and prototyping.

Interaction gestalt and the design of aesthetic interactions

Although there has been a drastic increase in the research of aesthetics of interaction, we still lack well-defined practical knowledge of how to design aesthetic interactions. In order to develop such knowledge, we adapt three important ways of thinking in designing interactions influenced by traditional design disciplines, namely, 1) understanding what it is that is designed---i.e. interaction, 2) knowing what is possible to be manipulated when designing interactions---i.e. attributes of interaction, and 3) mastering how to manipulate the attributes to shape the interactions. We explain our approach by arguing from the somaesthetic perspective. We propose the concept of interaction gestalt, as a way to achieve those three ways of thinking in design. We then propose a set of interaction gestalt attributes that can be used in designing aesthetic interactions. We end with a discussion of the implications and benefits of this approach in interaction design.

Equal Opportunities: Do Shareable Interfaces Promote More Group Participation Than Single User Displays?

ABSTRACT Computers designed for single use are often appropriated suboptimally when used by small colocated groups working together. Our research investigates whether shareable interfaces—that are designed for more than one user to interact with–can facilitate more equitable participation in colocated group settings compared with single user displays. We present a conceptual framework that characterizes Shared Information Spaces (SISs) in terms of how they constrain and invite participation using different entry points. An experiment was conducted that compared three different SISs: a physical-digital set-up (least constrained), a multitouch tabletop (medium), and a laptop display (most constrained). Statistical analyses showed there to be little difference in participation levels between the three conditions other than a predictable lack of equity of control over the interface in the laptop condition. However, detailed qualitative analyses revealed more equitable participation took place in the physical-digital condition in terms of verbal utterances over time. Those who spoke the least contributed most to the physical design task. The findings are discussed in relation to the conceptual framework and, more generally, in terms of how to select, design, and combine different display technologies to support collaborative activities.

Comparative analysis of high- and low-fidelity prototypes for more valid usability evaluations of mobile devices

Validation of low-fidelity prototyping test results is difficult because we cannot claim whether the results are the effect of the prototype itself or the essence of the design concept we try to evaluate. However, it will cost too much if we implement a fully functional prototype for more valid evaluation. In this research, we provide a qualitative and reflective analysis of usability evaluations of a text messaging functionality of a mobile phone by comparing three types of prototyping techniques---paper-based and computer-based and fully functional prototype. This analysis led us to realize how significantly the unique characteristics of each different prototype affect the usability evaluation in different ways. We identify what characteristics of each prototype causes the differences in finding usability problems, and then suggest key considerations for designing more valid low-fidelity prototypes based on this analysis.

Finger talk: collaborative decision-making using talk and fingertip interaction around a tabletop display

We describe a study that investigated how a shared interactive tabletop (DiamondTouch) can be designed to provide new opportunities for supporting collaborative decision-making. Small groups of users were required to work together using the table by selecting and placing digital images into a calendar template and justifying their choices to one-to-another. A variety of novel fingertip interactions were developed to support simultaneous, shared direct manipulation at the tabletop. Our findings showed that new forms of distributed interactions emerged while the groups worked together. Alongside conventional methods of communication, group members talked to each other with their fingers. The role of this finger talk served a number of functions, including the support of turn-taking, the emphasis on and substitution for speech acts and the encouragement of balanced contributions from all participants. We discuss how finger talk is integral to the collaborative use of the interactive tabletop surface.

Extending tabletops to support flexible collaborative interactions

Tabletops have been used to support a range of colocated activities, from games to image sorting. However, their limited display space and resolution can restrict the kinds of collaborative interactions that take place. Our research is concerned with how to extend the tabletop by integrating it with other spaces and artifacts in the physical world. Our goal is to design workspaces that support a wider range of collaborative tasks, determining which are well suited to the tabletop and which are better performed using physical representations and spaces. We describe a physical digital space that we built for this purpose and then a study that compared how groups collaborate on a design task when using this versus solely the tabletop. The findings showed that extending the tabletop into a physical space enabled groups to collaborate more easily and flexibly.

Interactivity attributes: a new way of thinking and describing interactivity

We propose a new perspective, seeing interactivity that is the immaterial part of an interactive artifact as something concretely describable and perceivable as we do with physical materials. In order to examine the validity of this proposal, we extracted a set of interactivity attributes to be used as a design language for thinking and describing interactivity in a new way, and conducted an online survey with 14 Flash prototypes representing pairs of values of 7 interactivity attributes we extracted. The result showed that all the interactivity attributes were significant, and participants experienced distinctive and meaningful emotional effects for different interactivity attributes.

User experience in do-it-yourself-style smart homes

Do-it-yourself (DIY)-style smart home products enable users to create their own smart homes by installing sensors and actuators. DIY smart home products are a potential solution to current problems related to home automation products, such as inflexible user controls and high costs of installation. Although the expected user experience of DIY smart home products is different from that of previous home automation products, research on DIY smart home products is still in its early stages. In this paper, we report a 3-week in situ observational study involving eight households. The results suggest six stages of the DIY smart home usage cycle and design implications for improving the user experience of DIY smart home products.

Towards more natural digital content manipulation via user freehand gestural interaction in a living room

Advances in dynamic gesture recognition technologies now make it possible to investigate freehand input techniques. This study tried to understand how users manipulate digital content on a distant screen by hand gesture interaction in a living room environment. While there have been many existing studies that investigate freehand input techniques, we developed and applied a novel study methodology based on a combination of both an existing user elicitation study and conventional Wizard-of-Oz study that involved another non-technical user for providing feedback. Through the study, many useful issues and implications for making freehand gesture interaction design more natural in a living room environment were generated which have not been covered in previous works. Furthermore, we could observe how the initial user-defined gestures are changed over time.

Explorative research on the heat as an expression medium: focused on interpersonal communication

Thermal sensation is an important channel for getting information. Whereas there has been significant progress in the development of technologies controlling the heat to simulate thermal sensation, there is a lack of understanding about how to utilize it in designing interactive systems. We propose the term “thermal expression” to signify the activity of controlling a particular amount of heat with intention or the heat generated as a result of that activity to crystallize our new view to the heat and a systematic way of thinking about the quality and the structure of the thermal expression. Focusing on the interpersonal communication domain, we explored the expressive quality of the heat through a prototyping approach deploying the heat-based communication devices that we developed in the daily life environment of normal users. We discovered the characteristics of thermal expression and the design opportunities for thermal application development, especially for interpersonal communication. The emotional value and the role of heat as a communication medium are discussed.