This paper presents the design and implementation of an interactive application -
TACTEC - for multi-touch tables in art museums. With focus on visitor participant
experiences we propose an application that promotes visitors engagement through the
development of creative activities using interactive technologies.UiO -Universitetet i Oslo(undefined

Oliveira, Lia Raquel

Pierroux, Palmyre

Pinto, Raquel

Zagalo, Nelson

Universidade do Minho: RepositoriUM

 
Developing an Interactive Tabletop Application for ‘Creative 
Interpretation’ in Art Museums 
 
Raquel Barros Pinto, University of Minho, raquelbpinto@hotmail.com 
Palmyre Pierroux, Department of Education, University of Oslo, palmyre.pierroux@iped.uio.no 
Nelson Zagalo, University of Minho, nzagalo@ics.uminho.pt 
Lia Oliveira, University of Minho, lia@ie.uminho.pt 
 
Abstract: This paper presents the design and implementation of an interactive application - 
TACTEC - for multi-touch tables in art museums. With focus on visitor participant 
experiences we propose an application that promotes visitors engagement through the 
development of creative activities using interactive technologies. 
 
Keywords: visual art, engagement, design, art museum 
Introduction 
Gallery interactives integrating multitouch surfaces, games, and kinetic technologies are increasingly introduced 
as interpretive resources in art museums (Kidd, 2014; Pierroux & Ludvigsen, 2013). The TACTEC application 
(Pinto, 2013) was similarly designed for casual visitors to explore and interpret art using an interactive tabletop, 
as a walk-up activity in a large art museum in Portugal, focused on the work of Hieronymus Bosch. In contrast 
to simple browsing activities, TACTEC aimed to engage visitors in collaborative and creative processes by 
applying visual arts perspectives on learning and interpreting art to the interaction design. The design was 
further informed by what is now substantial and mature research on tabletop interactives (Dillenbourg & Evans, 
2011; Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010), including studies of collaboration among casual users in ‘walk-up’ settings 
in museums and other public spaces (Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010; Rogers, Lim, Hazlewood, & Marshall, 
2009). These studies emphasize the need to balance user guidance with allowing users to interact freely with the 
interface, supporting naturalness and simplicity in the gesture-based interactions, and providing an aesthetically 
appealing design that is accessible on all sides and highly visible in the surroundings (Iraola & Romay, 2010; 
Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010). Recently, tabletop applications that integrate creative ‘making’ activities are 
being explored (Smørdal et al., 2014; Liu, 2013). 
Methods 
TACTEC was tested in a lab Centro de Computação Gráfica (CCG) setting, and in the reception area of the 
museum Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarães (SMS) (Fig. 1, left). The main feature of the interface was a 
large canvas with a menu that allowed users to navigate and select among nine categories of images from 
Bosch’s paintings to create new compositions (Fig. 1, right). Users could then publish and comment on their 
compositions – as well as those of others – using a Facebook plugin. User studies were conducted in lab (two 
sessions) and museum settings (one session) using a questionnaire, direct observations, and video recordings 
supplemented by field notes. Usability issues were the focus of the lab studies, with individuals completing a 
series of closed tasks during a period of 13-15 minutes. Thirteen young people participated in the third session at 
the museum (SMS), with more open-ended tasks, choosing to spend approximately twice as much time. 
 
   
Figure 1.  Tabletop in reception area (left) and TACTEC interface (right) 
Analysis 
Images and posts published by users on Facebook were analyzed using methods from the visual arts, e.g., color, 
 
form, symmetry, proportion, symbolism, to evaluate the ways in which users may have been sensitive to general 
issues of composition, and to Bosch’s visual language in particular. Users’ comments on images posted on 
Facebook frequently described experiences that were personal and positive, e.g., “"I started by making an image 
with elements I didn’t like very much, it was simple and without an explicit meaning. But the process captured 
my imagination and I created this image, with more elements that have meaning for me.” Responses to the 
(same) questionnaire applied in all three trials (n=24) were evaluated on a five point Lickert scale. A total of 39 
questions were posed regarding demographics, usability, prior knowledge of Hieronymus Bosch’s art, general 
interests in art, and the interface design. In questions dealing with users’ interest, engagement and interpretation 
of Bosch's work, responses indicated that participants in the study made new observations (4.08), valued the 
exploratory aspect of the experience (4.3), and were generally positive to the menu design featuring visual 
elements ‘deconstructed’ from Bosch’s paintings (3.5). Participants were in large agreement (4.3) that 
interaction with the application had provided them with a deeper understanding of Bosch's work, and had 
created a sense of intimacy between user, content and the composition of his paintings. 
Conclusions and implications 
Findings from this testing in lab and museum settings informed a new round of development, and interaction 
studies were conducted with casual users at a walk-up installation of TACTEC in a different museum location. 
We are currently analyzing these data. Based on the user testing reported in this poster, and on preliminary 
analysis of visitor interactions in a natural setting, we suggest that interactive tabletops designed with rich visual 
content, a low level of guidance, and the opportunity to share compositions with others on a social media 
platform may engage group collaboration in creative activities in art museums.  
References 
Dillenbourg, P., & Evans, M. (2011). Interactive tabletops in education. International Journal of Computer-
Supported Collaborative Learning, 6(4), 491-514. doi: 10.1007/s11412-011-9127-7 
Iraola, A., & Romay, M. (2010). Interactive Multimedia Tabletops (IMT) for Casual Users. In Y. Demazeau, F. 
Dignum, J. Corchado, J. Bajo, R. Corchuelo, E. Corchado, F. Fernández-Riverola, V. Julián, P. 
Pawlewski & A. Campbell (Eds.), Trends in Practical Applications of Agents and Multiagent Systems 
(Vol. 71, pp. 681-688): Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 
Liu, Kegeng, "Designing visitor experience for open-ended creative engagement in art museums: A conceptual 
multi-touch prototype design" (2013).  
Müller-Tomfelde, C., Isenberg, P., Hinrichs, U., Hancock, M., & Carpendale, S. (2010). Digital Tables for 
Collaborative Information Exploration. In C. Müller-Tomfelde (Ed.), Tabletops - Horizontal 
Interactive Displays (pp. 387-405): Springer London. 
Pierroux, P., & Ludvigsen, S. (2013). Communication Interrupted: Textual Practices and Digital Interactives in 
Art Museums. In K. Schrøder & K. Drotner (Eds.), The Connected Museum: Social Media and 
Museum Communication (pp. 153-176). London: Routledge. 
Pinto, Raquel Barros, Zagalo, Nelson, & Oliveira, Lia. (2013). Gestures of Appropriation in the Pictorial 
Universe of Painting Through the Use of a Tangible Surface. In R. Franken-Wendelstorf, E. Lindinger 
& J. Sieck (Eds.), Kultur und Informatik: Visual Worlds & Interactive Spaces (pp. 205-218). 
Gluckstadt: Werner Hulsbusch. 
Renninger, K. A. (2009). Interest and Identity Development in Instruction: An Inductive Model. Educational 
Psychologist, 44(2), 105-118.  
Rogers, Y., Lim, Y.-k., Hazlewood, W. R., & Marshall, P. (2009). Equal Opportunities: Do Shareable Interfaces 
Promote More Group Participation Than Single User Displays? Human-Computer Interaction, 24(1), 
79 - 116. 
Smørdal, O., Nesnass, R., Pierroux, P., and Sem, I. 'Snøkult: Designing a multitouch table for co-composition in 
an educational setting.' FabLearn. Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education, Stanford 
University, 25-26 October, 2014. 
Acknowledgments 
This work was supported by funds from FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), and through 
collaboration with the InterMedia Research Group at the Department of Education, University of Oslo. We 
thank the CCG for the use of the multi-touch table. We would also like to thank SMS museum for its 
participation in the study. 


English

Developing an interactive tabletop application for ‘Creative Interpretation’ in art museums

 Developing an Interactive Tabletop Application for ‘Creative Interpretation’ in Art Museums  Raquel Barros Pinto, University of Minho, raquelbpinto@hotmail.com Palmyre Pierroux, Department of Education, University of Oslo, palmyre.pierroux@iped.uio.no Nelson Zagalo, University of Minho, nzagalo@ics.uminho.pt Lia Oliveira, University of Minho, lia@ie.uminho.pt  Abstract: This paper presents the design and implementation of an interactive application - TACTEC - for multi-touch tables in art museums. With focus on visitor participant experiences we propose an application that promotes visitors engagement through the development of creative activities using interactive technologies.  Keywords: visual art, engagement, design, art museum Introduction Gallery interactives integrating multitouch surfaces, games, and kinetic technologies are increasingly introduced as interpretive resources in art museums (Kidd, 2014; Pierroux & Ludvigsen, 2013). The TACTEC application (Pinto, 2013) was similarly designed for casual visitors to explore and interpret art using an interactive tabletop, as a walk-up activity in a large art museum in Portugal, focused on the work of Hieronymus Bosch. In contrast to simple browsing activities, TACTEC aimed to engage visitors in collaborative and creative processes by applying visual arts perspectives on learning and interpreting art to the interaction design. The design was further informed by what is now substantial and mature research on tabletop interactives (Dillenbourg & Evans, 2011; Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010), including studies of collaboration among casual users in ‘walk-up’ settings in museums and other public spaces (Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010; Rogers, Lim, Hazlewood, & Marshall, 2009). These studies emphasize the need to balance user guidance with allowing users to interact freely with the interface, supporting naturalness and simplicity in the gesture-based interactions, and providing an aesthetically appealing design that is accessible on all sides and highly visible in the surroundings (Iraola & Romay, 2010; Müller-Tomfelde et al., 2010). Recently, tabletop applications that integrate creative ‘making’ activities are being explored (Smørdal et al., 2014; Liu, 2013). Methods TACTEC was tested in a lab Centro de Computação Gráfica (CCG) setting, and in the reception area of the museum Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarães (SMS) (Fig. 1, left). The main feature of the interface was a large canvas with a menu that allowed users to navigate and select among nine categories of images from Bosch’s paintings to create new compositions (Fig. 1, right). Users could then publish and comment on their compositions – as well as those of others – using a Facebook plugin. User studies were conducted in lab (two sessions) and museum settings (one session) using a questionnaire, direct observations, and video recordings supplemented by field notes. Usability issues were the focus of the lab studies, with individuals completing a series of closed tasks during a period of 13-15 minutes. Thirteen young people participated in the third session at the museum (SMS), with more open-ended tasks, choosing to spend approximately twice as much time.     Figure 1.  Tabletop in reception area (left) and TACTEC interface (right) Analysis Images and posts published by users on Facebook were analyzed using methods from the visual arts, e.g., color,  form, symmetry, proportion, symbolism, to evaluate the ways in which users may have been sensitive to general issues of composition, and to Bosch’s visual language in particular. Users’ comments on images posted on Facebook frequently described experiences that were personal and positive, e.g., “"I started by making an image with elements I didn’t like very much, it was simple and without an explicit meaning. But the process captured my imagination and I created this image, with more elements that have meaning for me.” Responses to the (same) questionnaire applied in all three trials (n=24) were evaluated on a five point Lickert scale. A total of 39 questions were posed regarding demographics, usability, prior knowledge of Hieronymus Bosch’s art, general interests in art, and the interface design. In questions dealing with users’ interest, engagement and interpretation of Bosch's work, responses indicated that participants in the study made new observations (4.08), valued the exploratory aspect of the experience (4.3), and were generally positive to the menu design featuring visual elements ‘deconstructed’ from Bosch’s paintings (3.5). Participants were in large agreement (4.3) that interaction with the application had provided them with a deeper understanding of Bosch's work, and had created a sense of intimacy between user, content and the composition of his paintings. Conclusions and implications Findings from this testing in lab and museum settings informed a new round of development, and interaction studies were conducted with casual users at a walk-up installation of TACTEC in a different museum location. We are currently analyzing these data. Based on the user testing reported in this poster, and on preliminary analysis of visitor interactions in a natural setting, we suggest that interactive tabletops designed with rich visual content, a low level of guidance, and the opportunity to share compositions with others on a social media platform may engage group collaboration in creative activities in art museums.  References Dillenbourg, P., & Evans, M. (2011). Interactive tabletops in education. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6(4), 491-514. doi: 10.1007/s11412-011-9127-7 Iraola, A., & Romay, M. (2010). Interactive Multimedia Tabletops (IMT) for Casual Users. In Y. Demazeau, F. Dignum, J. Corchado, J. Bajo, R. Corchuelo, E. Corchado, F. Fernández-Riverola, V. Julián, P. Pawlewski & A. Campbell (Eds.), Trends in Practical Applications of Agents and Multiagent Systems (Vol. 71, pp. 681-688): Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Liu, Kegeng, "Designing visitor experience for open-ended creative engagement in art museums: A conceptual multi-touch prototype design" (2013).  Müller-Tomfelde, C., Isenberg, P., Hinrichs, U., Hancock, M., & Carpendale, S. (2010). Digital Tables for Collaborative Information Exploration. In C. Müller-Tomfelde (Ed.), Tabletops - Horizontal Interactive Displays (pp. 387-405): Springer London. Pierroux, P., & Ludvigsen, S. (2013). Communication Interrupted: Textual Practices and Digital Interactives in Art Museums. In K. Schrøder & K. Drotner (Eds.), The Connected Museum: Social Media and Museum Communication (pp. 153-176). London: Routledge. Pinto, Raquel Barros, Zagalo, Nelson, & Oliveira, Lia. (2013). Gestures of Appropriation in the Pictorial Universe of Painting Through the Use of a Tangible Surface. In R. Franken-Wendelstorf, E. Lindinger & J. Sieck (Eds.), Kultur und Informatik: Visual Worlds & Interactive Spaces (pp. 205-218). Gluckstadt: Werner Hulsbusch. Renninger, K. A. (2009). Interest and Identity Development in Instruction: An Inductive Model. Educational Psychologist, 44(2), 105-118.  Rogers, Y., Lim, Y.-k., Hazlewood, W. R., & Marshall, P. (2009). Equal Opportunities: Do Shareable Interfaces Promote More Group Participation Than Single User Displays? Human-Computer Interaction, 24(1), 79 - 116. Smørdal, O., Nesnass, R., Pierroux, P., and Sem, I. 'Snøkult: Designing a multitouch table for co-composition in an educational setting.' FabLearn. Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education, Stanford University, 25-26 October, 2014. Acknowledgments This work was supported by funds from FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), and through collaboration with the InterMedia Research Group at the Department of Education, University of Oslo. We thank the CCG for the use of the multi-touch table. We would also like to thank SMS museum for its participation in the study. 

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Developing an interactive tabletop application for ‘Creative Interpretation’ in art museums

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