Mobile technologies: new ways to access tourism, culture and cities

The use of mobile devices and related technologies offers a great opportunity for cultural institutions to enhance and support visitors’ experience. Smartphones and tablets allow users to access contents ubiquitously using high-performance computing, embedded tools, fast wireless connectivity, and wider touchscreens, providing several novel solutions to engage visitors in a deeper level of interactivity and social networking

Design storytelling through archive materials

Industrial Design intended as cultural heritage is witnessing a period's industrial production and creative thought; this legacy needs to be shared with a broader audience. The Milan area is full of studios and ateliers, where most Italian design projects were born. Even though they are no longer operating, these locations are still linked to the creative process and convey the atmosphere of the golden age of Italian Design. Design research is essential in investigating archives' potential in constructing historical narratives and new research paths and learning tools. The paper describes two case studies for enhancing Design Culture through digital technology. A digitisation project for the archive of the famed Italian modeller Giovanni Sacchi to link heterogeneous data – sketches, technical drawings, images, physical models – to create an overall view of the design process and highlight the creative thought. The second describes LfAC, a mobile location-based application designed to lead visitors to discover Achille Castiglioni's projects in downtown Milan: works are valorised and brought back to life through contextual contents delivered to visitors' smartphones

AI-infused products so far. An analysis from a design standpoint

Since ubiquitous computing was first defined in 1991, computers have been pervading our everyday life. Nowadays, many AI-infused smart assistants are present in the domestic domain, and even robotslike devices, able to simulate human behavior, entered the market. The contribution aims at analyzing and debating these devices in the design domain, focusing on their characters in terms of appearance, behavior, and interaction abilities. The formal aspect couldn’t be detached from function and the relationship with the context; these devices are designed for home use; therefore, shape, materials and finishing need to be considered. Some devices are mere facilitators for routine activities to be executed with vocal inputs or mediated through apps without exploring all the capabilities they could perform learning through continuous conversations with their owners. From the analysis of products available on the market, the chapter emphasizes an incomplete exploration of the topic from a design point of view: a poor translation of functions into tangible shapes and a lack of interaction design basics, such as input and output modalities, feedback systems, and processes discoverability. The discussion frames the results in a broader review highlighting alternative paths for the design of future home virtual assistants

Digital Storytelling. Interactive multimedia supporting the cultural experience

Interaction design and human computer interaction in the cultural field have literally transformed languages and fruition codes through original ways for dissemination and engagement not only based on visual and sound stimuli. Low attention span or absent-minded enjoyment are the main problems to avoid while developing multimedia installations: movies, three-dimensional models and graphics used as information support in museums or architectural heritage, often reflects the obsolescence of a passive reception in the age of information overload. Tangible interaction removes the gap between physical and digital world and allows access to digital contents in cultural institutions; embodied interaction promote dialogue with applications through body and gestures which create engaging and realistic learning experiences. The designer's choices become the key to the cultural experience: the definition of the context, the frame, the style in which digital interactions will take place could provide a panorama of possibilities to involve users and their behavior. We discuss how interactive exhibit and digital character affected visitors’ behavior, effectively capturing their attention and fostering interaction; an intriguing research that combines cultural operators and interaction designers in the development of an effective design and exhibits to access culture in an entertaining and involving way