Aesthetic Pleasure from Visual Quotes and its Influence on Individuals' Motivation to Exercise

It is well-known that physical activity has many benefits for health and well-being. However, one in four adults worldwide does not engage in enough physical activity. On the other hand, nowadays, many people look for physical exercise motivation online on image-sharing social media platforms, where it is relatively common to find encouraging text messages embedded in visual presentations (as visual quotes). Considering that perceived beauty can influence our perception of an artifact, this research project explored whether and how aesthetic pleasure affects people's perception of motivational text messages and the textual content's motivating capability on people's exercise motivation. The influence of several aesthetic pleasure levels (ugly, neutral, and beautiful) was explored in textual content with different characteristics (e.g., positive-framed, self-liberating messages, low-perceived competence, high-perceived competence). Several experiments revealed that high levels of aesthetic pleasure does not necessarily lead individuals to perceive a textual message as more positive. Similarly, low levels of aesthetic pleasure did not affect textual content perception. Indeed, ultimately, the influence of aesthetic pleasure seemed dependent on the textual content's own characteristics. Some experiments focused on the immediate effect of aesthetic pleasure, while others focused on aesthetic pleasure in the mid-term (over four weeks). In none of the scenarios did aesthetic pleasure influence intrinsic motivation, which has been found to be linked to individuals’ enjoyment of and likelihood of engagement with exercise over the long-term, or influence the extrinsic motivation (the identified behavior regulation), related to the initial adoption of physical exercise. Nonetheless, it was found that visual presentations perceived as aesthetically appealing help to instill a positive feeling regarding the textual content. Possibilities for future research are suggested on the basis of Cognitive Evaluation Theory, a sub-theory of Self-Determination Theory).É de conhecimento geral que fazer exercício físico traz vários benefícios para a saúde e bem-estar. Contudo, um em quatro adultos em todo o mundo não faz exercício físico suficiente. Por outro lado, hoje em dia, muitas pessoas procuram motivação para fazer exercício físico na internet nas redes sociais, onde facilmente se podem encontrar mensagens de texto motivacionais embutidas em apresentações visuais (designadas visual quotes). Tendo em conta que a perceção de prazer estético pode influenciar a nossa perceção sobre um determinado artefacto ou pessoa. Este projeto de investigação explorou se e como o prazer estético pode afetar a perceção de mensagens motivacionais e a capacidade motivadora do conteúdo textual na motivação das pessoas para fazer exercício físico.Foram explorados a influência de diversos níveis de prazer estético (feio, neutro, belo) em conteúdo textual com diferentes características (por exemplo, positive-framed, self-liberating, perceção de baixa-competência, perceção de alta-competência). Vários estudos (experiments) revelaram que níveis de perceção de prazer estético altos não levam necessariamente a que as pessoas percecionem as mensagens de texto como mais positivas. De forma similar, níveis de perceção de prazer estético baixos não afetaram a perceção do conteúdo textual. Em último caso, a influência da perceção de prazer estético pareceu dependente das próprias características do conteúdo textual. Alguns dos estudos focaram-se no efeito imediato da perceção de prazer estético enquanto outros focarem-se no efeito a curto prazo (até quatro semanas). Em nenhum dos cenários, a perceção de prazer estético influenciou a motivação intrínseca para fazer exercício físico dos participantes, que está associada à prática de fazer exercício físico a longo-prazo; Ou influenciou a motivação extrínseca identified behavior regulation, que está associada à adoção inicial de hábitos de exercício físico. Não obstante, verificou-se que as apresentações visuais das visual quotes percecionadas como esteticamente apelativas ajudam a incutir um “sentimento” positivo relativo ao conteúdo textual. Por último, são sugeridas possibilidades para futura investigação tendo como base a teoria Cognitive Evalution (uma sub-teoria da teoria da Auto-determinação)

Notification mechanisms in second-screen scenarios: towards a balanced user experience

As technological devices surrounding the television are changing, so are viewers’ habits. When the interactive Television industry turns its focus to the development of second-screen applications, this paper reports on a study aiming to analyse the impact, on users, of notifications in second-screen scenarios. As part of the study, the research team developed a prototype that simulated an application able to deliver synchronized information related with TV content, notifying the user – through visual, audio and haptic stimuli - whenever new content was displayed in the tablet. The study included observation sessions, conducted in laboratory settings, with participants (N=12) being invited to watch a 15-minute film while using the application. Tests were conducted under a cognitive walk-through methodology, and data collected through direct observation and questionnaires. Results show that to achieve a balanced user experience in second-screen scenarios notifications on tablet should be combined with visual notifications on TV

Narrativas Gráficas: Livros e Design Generativo

Dissertação de Mestrado em Design e Multimédia apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra.Esta dissertação tem como principal propósito investigar novas possibilidades criativas no campo do design de capas de livros partindo de processos de design generativo. A introdução da programação no processo criativo do designer gráfico veio expandir as possibilidades criativas na construção de metáforas visuais. Considerando as características próprias dos tipos de processos envolvidos no Design Generativo, pretende-se refletir em que contextos e como pode contribuir de forma particular no desenho de capas. Estuda-se a evolução gráfica e a função principal da capa ao longo dos séculos. Faz-se uma análise dos processos de design generativo. Procura-se compreender as expectativas, potencialidades e restrições na utilização da programação durante o processo criativo. E por último, por meio da experimentação, num cruzamento entre tipografia e programação, propõe-se a individualização das capas de livros de uma série a partir de elementos que estruturam a escrita de um texto ou livro. Sinais de pontuação, frases, parágrafos, capítulos. Tendo em conta a pesquisa efetuada, esta é a primeira e única abordagem, tanto no domínio do design como da arte generativa, que se foca na representação da estrutura do texto para a produção de artefatos visuais, o que reforça o carácter inovador do trabalho aqui apresentado. Tendo também em atenção o caráter experimental da solução proposta, o presente projeto foi submetido à conferência SIGGRAPH, onde foi aceite e da qual resultará uma publicação.The main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate new possibilities in the field of the design of book covers, starting from generative design processes. The introduction of programming in the creative process of graphic design came to expand the creative possibilities in the construction of visual metaphors. Considering the specific characteristics of the types of processes involved in the Generative Design, it is intended to reflect in what contexts and how it can contribute, in a particular way, to the design of book covers. This study presents the graphical evolution of the book cover and its main function over the centuries. Analising the generative design processes. It is intended to understand the expectations, capabilities and restrictions on the use of programming during the creative process. And finally, through experimentation, a cross between typography and programming, proposes the individualization of book covers of a serie, based on elements that structure the writing of a text or book. Punctuation, sentences, paragraphs and chapters. Taking into account the research done, this is the first and the only approach, both in the field of design and generative art, that focuses in the representation of the text structure to produce visual artifacts, which reinforces the innovative nature of this work. Also, taking into account the experimental nature of the proposed solution, this project was submitted to a community of designers and researchers, through its submission to siggraph, which was accepted and will result in a publication, that will contribute to the project dissemination

How does the visual aesthetics of positively-framed messages impact their motivational capacity?

Many people nowadays engage with motivational text messages embedded in a visual presentation. However, empirical studies of the impact of textual messages on users’ motivation to exercise have paid little attention to how their visual appeal impacts their motivational capacity. We conducted an online experiment to explore the impact of visual aesthetics on the motivational capacity of positively-framed textual messages. Participants were assigned to three conditions: positively-framed messages a) presented as text-only (no-aesthetics), b) presented with high visual appeal (beautiful), and c) presented with low visual appeal (ugly). Contrary to our expectations, the perceived visual appeal of a message show no impact on its motivational capacity in terms of how motivating it was perceived to be, nor on extrinsic identified behavior regulation. The implications of these results on the design of interactive systems, and physical activity trackers in particular, are discussed herein

Visual quotes: Does aesthetic appeal influence how perceived motivating text messages impact short-term exercise motivation?

Visual Quotes, or the communication of motivational text messages in a visual format, are increasingly used across social media and online communities. While physical activity trackers could leverage visual quotes, empirical studies of activity tracking in HCI research have paid little attention to this phenomenon and their potential effects on motivation. In this work, we conducted an online experiment (129 participants) to evaluate the impact of aesthetic appeal in motivational text messages as it relates to extrinsic identified behavior regulation. This is the type of motivation linked to the initial adoption of exercise behavior. The results of our study demonstrate that a perceived motivating text message presented with different levels of aesthetic appeal - ugly, neutral, beautiful - has the same impact on the motivation linked to short-term exercise (extrinsic identified behavior regulation). In other words, the perceived aesthetic appeal did not influence the motivating capability of textual messages for encouraging physical activity

How do motivational text messages impact motivation to exercise? Implications for the design of activity trackers

We study the motives of regular and non-regular exercisers' engagement with motivational text messages and the importance individuals attribute to visual presentation. A total of 160 individuals were surveyed (80 regular exercisers and 80 non-regular exercisers). We found regular exercisers use motivational text messages in order to encourage their exercise routine. Non-regular exercisers use motivational text messages mainly to try to boost their exercise motivation. Individuals, independent of their exercise profile, prefer to see motivational text messages presented in a mixed way, sometimes as text-only and sometimes embedded in a visual presentation. Participants reported that an aesthetically appealing visual presentation helps instill a positive feeling regarding the text, and the visual presentation was considered as important as the textual content. We conclude with a number of implications for the design of activity trackers