Choreographic inscriptions: A framework for exploring sociomaterial influences on qualities of movement for HCI

With the rise of ubiquitous computing technologies in everyday life, the daily actions of people are becoming ever more choreographed by the interactions available through technology. By combining the notion of inscriptions from actor-network theory and the qualitative descriptors of movement from Laban movement analysis, an analytic framework is proposed for exploring how the interplay of material and social inscriptions gives rise to movement patterns and behaviors, translated into choreographic inscriptions described with Laban effort and shape. It is demonstrated through a case study of an affective gesture mobile device. The framework provides an understanding of (a) how movement qualities are shaped by social and material inscriptions, (b) how the relative strength of inscriptions on movements may change according to different settings and user appropriation over time, and (c) how transforming inscriptions by design across different mediums can generate action spaces with varying degrees of openness

Visual Anxiolytics: developing theory and design guidelines for abstract affective visualizations aimed at alleviating episodes of anxiety

Visual Anxiolytics is a novel term proposed to describe affective visualizations of which affective quality is predetermined and designed to alleviate anxiety and anxious pathology. This thesis presents ground theory and visual guidelines to inform the design of screen-based interfaces to give users aspects of a restorative and anxiolytic environment at a time when attention restoration is least likely and anxiety highly probable; during sedentary screen-time. Visual Anxiolytics are introduced as an affective layer of the interface capable of communicating affect through aesthetic, abstract, ambient emotion visualizations existing in the periphery of the screen and users’ vision. Their theory is brought into the field of Visual Communication Design from a number of disciplines; primarily Affective Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Visual Anxiolytics attempt to alleviate anxiety through restoration of attentional cognitive resources by rendering the digital environment restorative and by elicitation of positive emotions through affect communication. Design guidelines analyse and describe properties of anxiolytic affective visual attributes color, shape, motion, and visual depth, as well as compositional characteristics of Visual Anxiolytics. Potential implications for future research in emotion visualization and affect communication are discussed

Animación, usabilidad y experiencia de usuario en el ámbito del diseño de interfaces : una nueva propuesta taxonómica

El diseño visual de una aplicación tiene como principal objetivo configurar una interfaz que resulte atractiva, fácil de usar y que permita utilizar el dispositivo eficazmente. Para conseguirlo, el diseñador selecciona tipografías y elementos gráficos, define sus atributos visuales y los dispone en la pantalla de manera que la interfaz funciona como un mensaje en el que el diseñador le hace llegar al usuario la información necesaria para que pueda utilizar el dispositivo de forma satisfactoria. Durante la interacción se establece un proceso de comunicación basado en un lenguaje visual que está compuesto por estos elementos gráficos y las animaciones que controlan cómo evoluciona su apariencia a lo largo del tiempo. El objetivo general del presente trabajo es establecer cuáles son las funciones que puede desempeñar la animación como parte de ese lenguaje visual y analizar cómo ha evolucionado su uso desde las primeras interfaces gráficas de usuario hasta el momento actual..