Gerhard Bachfischer

people | gerhard's homepage | PhD start | ongoing

Computer Science is less about understanding Computers than about understanding humans.

from Johnson S., (1997); Interface Culture - How New Technology transforms the way we create and communicate, New York/NY/USA, Harper Collings Publisher, p14.

P H D R E S E A R C H

After my first two semesters, my refined thesis title "Enriching experiences in NETWORKED information spaces through textual modes of representation - a user centred approach" has undergone some iterative changes. Still, the user centred approach to technology design is my main focus, but the concept of multi-modality (part of my initial research proposal) has been narrowed down to the textual mode, simply because of the complexity of the proposed research field. On the other hand, this new focus has made it possible to focus on user experiences in non physical spaces through text and the orientation, navigation and interaction possibilities with textual content.

My supervisors are A/Prof Toni Robertson, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Interaction Design and Work Practice Lab at the Faculty of IT and Prof Ross Gibson, Research Professor in New Media & Digital Culture.

U S E R E X P E R I E N C E S

Although many have tried to describe and define human experiences (the phenomenological approach seemed to be the most viable for me). This is because the experiences themselves are highly individual and hard to evaluate. One of the most interesting approaches creating optimal experiences is the "Flow Theory", proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Flow is a conscious state or process in which individuals engage in an enjoyable activity using their skills to reach a challenging but achievable goal. The Flow concept has been used before to describe user behaviour in information spaces, mainly the internet (Pearce and Howard 2004; Pace, 2003; Chen H., Wigand R. T. & Nilan, M. 2000; Nel D., van Niekerk R., Berthon J. & Davies T., 1999). Flow constitutes one of the cornerstones for my own research into user experience of visual text representation in non-traditional environments.

N E T W O R K E D I N F O R M A T I O N S P A C E S

Information Spaces (e.g. the World Wide Web or Mobile Networked Environments) are places where one or more people search, gather, share, use, distribute or preserve information. These environments are likely to be based on textual information, since it is the most concise and accurate form of representation for example the confined space of a mobile device display. The question is, how can the use of enhanced textual presentation (textual structures, movement and/or sound) enhance the individual experience of information?

T E X T U A L I N F O R M A T I O N

In screen-based media, the role of text has expanded, away from classical linear reading over non-linearity towards time-based text consumption, fragmentation in the realm of moving type, scrolling texts and the serial visual representations. The textual information on a screen (films, infomercials and the web) and the text displays of our mobile devices (e.g. sms services) have to be acknowledged as a major change to how we consume texts today.

There have been three major branches identified, how textual information can be evaluated through how reading can be interpreted as a task. These approaches are rooted in the differences found in the terms Readability and Legibility: Legibility is defined as “the visual clarity of text, generally based on the size, typeface, contrast, text block, and spacing of the characters used” (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003, p.124). Although this description lacks several variables in terms of what constitutes legibility, it associates legibility with visual factors. The same Source describes Readability as “the degree to which prose can be understood, based on the complexity of words and sentences” (p.162). This however points towards the semantic relationships within a text and how readers create meaning from textual information.

These definitions underpin the notion of reading as deciphering (legibility) as opposed to reading for comprehension (readability). Complimenting these two is a third view: the human-centred process of reading, where the reader can be seen as the user of a text, opening the discussion towards textual usability.

To summarize:

"Reading as deciphering" tends to focus on technical attributes of fonts and their use, such as type form, font size, word and line-length, etc...
"Reading for comprehension" emphasises the semantic relationships and special arrangement, as well as the sequential perception of content.
the “Human centred approach to reading” analyses the subjective perceptual values of fonts and emotional responses to certain designs as well as considers reading as to be situated activity

In a world dominated by icons and visual metaphors, the role of text - letters and words, rather than images and animations - has come to seem like an afterthought [...]. Words in this lopsided paradigm are always inferior to images.

from Johnson S., (1997); Interface Culture - How New Technology transforms the way we create and communicate, New York/NY/USA, Harper Collings Publisher, p149.

Early prototype of a
zoomable concept space,
which reveals new
connections between
topic entries during
exploration (2003).

F A V O U R I T E R E A D I N G S

Alexander C., (1979);
The timeless way of building, USA, Oxford University Press

Arnheim R., (1969);
Visual Thinking, Berkeley/CA, University of California Press

Barthes R., (1977);
Image Music Text, London/UK, Fontana Press

Csikszentmihalyi M., (1990);
Flow – the psychology of optimal experience, New York/NY/USA, Harper Collins

Hawkes T., (1977);
Structuralism and Semiotics,
London/UK, Methuen

Kress G. and Leeuwen T. v., (1996); Reading Images : The Grammar of Visual Design, London/UK, Routledge

Lakoff G. and Johnson M., (1980);
Methaphors we live by, Chicago/ USA, University of Chicago Press

Laurel, B., (2003),
Design Research – Methods and
Perspectives, Cambridge/MA/USA, The MIT press

Merleau-Ponty M., (1945);
Phenomenology of Perception,
Paris/France, Gallimard

Morgan, M., (2003),
The Space between our Ears – how the brain represents visual space, London/UK, Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Suchman Lucy A. (1987);
Plans and situated actions - the problem of human machine communication, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T I E S

I am currently focusing on "Reading as Deciphering" as a basis for a literature review, which will inform my upcoming qualitative study. Two possible directions of a refined qualitative survey could follow up two questions. What constitutes a sign that can be identified as a readable character and how do current typographic trends add to the cognitive load of deciphering characters into meaningful texts? Other areas of interests include expanding the confined spaces of device displays (e.g. mobile phones) via typography and the trend of combining or replacing textual information with pictorial representation, which changes users understanding and meaning making.

In addition, my recent appointment as a team member in the Alcatel Quality of Experience study will determine a research project in the emerging field of Next Generation Networks.

References

Contact
E-mail: gerhard@it.uts.edu.au

Location
Faculty of Information Technology
University of Technology Sydney
Broadway Campus, Building 10,
Lab 10.4.510

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235-253 Jones Street Ultimo
NSW 2007 AUSTRALIA