coupled vertical display, combines
digital pen and paper notes (see
www.anoto.com), tangible tools, and
multitouch interaction techniques
to replicate many of the crucial
qualities of material artifacts.
At the same time, it extends the
traditional methods by providing
functionalities that complement the
original workflow, such as image
retrieval based on handwritten text,
search functions, highlighting of
artifacts for discussion, and more
efficient clustering mechanisms. In
our user studies we could confirm
the benefits of physical material, in
particular for externalization activities, while we found that digital
functionality was especially useful
in convergent activities like sense-making and discussion.
Collaborative thinking with interactive display space. As outlined here,
display space and spatial arrangements of artifacts are important
tools for thinking and communication within a design team. By
leveraging the ability to physically
align, juxtapose, and compare different artifacts in space, designers
harness their spatial thinking abilities. Consequently, it may also be
valuable to explore the role of digital
display space for use in collaborative
design activities. As multi-display
environments and large interactive
displays such as interactive whiteboards, multitouch tables, and wallsize screens become increasingly
available, this ecology of screens
can be used to augment the spatial
nature of design practice. In the past
we have seen significant advances
in integrating displays into a larger
infrastructure, such as rooms or
furniture, to support more creative
work styles and collaborative sense-making. In these systems, interactive displays are used for presenting,
discussing, and annotating artifacts
during meetings [ 1].
In our research we also explored
the role that multiple displays can
play in navigation and spatial positioning of digital design artifacts
[ 5]. In our Affinity Table system, we
coupled two large displays within
a virtual workspace, which enables
us to provide multiple views on
collections of digital artifacts. For
example, we display a detailed view
of notes on the table, while the vertical display presents an overview
of all available notes, thereby facilitating an overview on the progress
of the design activity (see Figure
2, top). As a result of this division,
we also implicitly assigned roles to
these workspaces, with the table
primarily used for manipulations
(action space), while the vertical
display supports reflection activities
(reflection space). Furthermore, we
designed tangible tools that can be
used for generating dynamic views
of groups of artifacts. By selecting
a region on the table with a token
object, this area within the virtual
workspace is then enlarged on the
wall display (see Figure 2, bottom).
This zooming functionality can further be refined by turning the token
to increase or decrease the degree
of magnification. Designers may
use this functionality to focus on
specific artifacts during discussion.
From our experiences, the dynamic
nature of interactive displays can be
used to augment our spatial-think-ing abilities and aid group coordination and awareness. This allows us
not only to imitate the spatial characteristics of traditional practice but
also to go beyond what is possible
with material artifacts.
Reflecting by capturing and visualizing the design process. Our physical
design practice has a lot of benefits
but also some drawbacks. One of
the most crucial drawbacks is the
tremendous effort required for documenting, archiving, and sharing
March + April 2012