We characterize 16 challenges faced by those investigating and developing remote and synchronous collaborative experiences around visualization. Our work reflects the perspectives and prior research efforts of an international group of 29 experts from across human-computer interaction and visualization sub-communities. The challenges are anchored around five collaborative activities that exhibit a centrality of visualization and multimodal communication. These activities include exploratory data analysis, creative ideation, visualization-rich presentations, joint decision making grounded in data, and real-time data monitoring. The challenges also reflect the changing dynamics of these activities in the face of recent advances in extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI). As an organizing scheme for future research at the intersection of visualization and computer-supported cooperative work, we align the challenges with a sequence of four sets of research and development activities: technological choices, social factors, AI assistance, and evaluation.

This three-hour workshop will gather data visualization and HCI researchers and practitioners to explore the possibilities of data representation using craft techniques. Participants will submit a 2-4 page document including (i) a statement of their craft experience, (ii) representative images of physicalizations they have created using this craft technique, and (iii) a discussion of opportunities and challenges for physicalizing data in their craft domain. During the workshop, participants and organizers will work in groups to brainstorm ways of representing data through their shared craft of interest. Then, every group proposes a synthesis of opportunities and challenges of the craft technique they worked with. Together, the community will chart a research agenda on how craft can expand the design space of data physicalization, inform the creation of more expressive and accessible authoring tools, and raise new questions around aesthetics, accuracy, and the role of slow making in data representation.

Against the backdrop of a growing concern with environmental sustainability across HCI research and design, TEI'24 was the first version of the conference to include a sustainability chair. In conjunction with this increasing interest in sustainability, we organised a Studio at TEI'24 to engage the community in a conversation about the sustainability of conferences by using data physicalizations to mediate this discussion. In a one- day Studio, the organisers and attendees constructed two large-scale input physicalizations that were deployed at the conference venue to collect data around conference sustainability from TEI attendees. In this pictorial, we present the outcomes of this Studio, including the two input physicalizations and the collected data. We offer a description of the strategies we employed to design in a more sustainable way, as well as reflections on input physicalizations and the opportunities and challenges they present for facilitating data-driven dialogue.

We explore the validity and applicability of educational and cognitive science theoretical frameworks for designing and evaluating data visualizations. Specifically, we are interested in using well-known frameworks from other domains to learn about how the subjective readability of a visualization relates to the perceived cognitive load required to acquire knowledge from it. To that end, we conducted an online randomized study in which each participant performed learning tasks on two different data visualizations. One was presented in three successive parts, following the segmenting principle from the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, and the other was presented as a single image. Although most learners preferred the segmented style, this treatment did not significantly affect the overall mental effort they reported. Subjective measures of extraneous cognitive load, however, significantly and negatively correlated with visualizations’ perceived readability measures. In other words, if a learner found a visualization more readable, they felt it required less mental effort to parse relevant information from it for learning. In addition to a qualitative analysis of learners’ preferences, we also contribute an interdisciplinary perspective on cognitive processing of visualizations and a discussion of implications for designing and evaluating data visualizations beyond educational contexts.

This paper investigates how people use physical space, free from digital constraints, to organize thoughts and ideas. Such spatial arrangements commonly support sensemaking, idea generation, and data understanding. We collected over 300 publicly shared images capturing these activities collected from real-world contexts. Our visual analysis identifies a small set of recurring spatial patterns such as clusters, grids as well as the techniques people use to build and adapt them, such as color coding, directional lines, and selective rule-following. We discuss how these practices can inform the design of more expressive and adaptable digital spatially-aware tools that better support the diverse ways people think with space.

Against the backdrop of a climate crisis, HCI researchers and designers are reflecting upon, reconsidering, and re-imagining the work that we do through the lens of sustainability. In this Studio, we propose to adopt this critical perspective to Sustainable HCI through an examination and reflection on the environmental impact of research conferences. Our Studio builds upon our prior work that explored sustainable methods and toolkits for facilitating data physicalization workshops. We apply the tools and strategies developed through this prior work within a Studio in which participants are facilitated to engage with, reflect upon, and create with data relating to the sustainability of HCI conferences such as Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI). Through the creation of data artefacts that can be displayed, worn, or shared throughout the conference beyond the Studio, we aim to spark wider conversations about the environmental sustainability of TEI2024, as well as HCI conferences more generally.

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies become ubiquitous, allowing people to employ immersive experiences in their homes. Since VR participants are visually disconnected from their real-world environment, commercial products propose safety boundaries to prevent colliding with their surroundings. However, there is a lack of empirical knowledge on how people perceive and interact with safety boundaries in everyday VR usage. This paper investigates this research gap with two mixed-method empirical studies. Study 1 reports an online survey (n=48) collecting data about attitudes towards safety boundaries, behavior while interacting with them, and reasons for breakout. Our analysis with open coding reveals that some VR participants ignored safety boundaries intentionally, even breaking out of them and continuing their actions. Study 2 investigates how and why VR participants intentionally break out when interacting close to safety boundaries and obstacles by replicating breakouts in a lab study (n=12). Our interview and breakout data discover three strategies, revealing VR participants sometimes break out of boundaries based on their real-world spatial information. Finally, we discuss improving future VR safety mechanisms by supporting participants’ real-world spatial mental models using landmarks.

Visual methods have become increasingly vital in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research, particularly as we analyze and interpret the complex visual data that emerges from various interaction modalities. However, the methodologies for analyzing this visual data remain underdeveloped compared to textual data analysis. This workshop seeks to unite HCI researchers who work with visual data—such as hand sketches, photographs, physical artifacts, UI screenshots, videos, and information visualizations—to identify, name, and categorize methods for analyzing visual data in HCI.

There has been an increase in online debate platforms in recent years that allow individuals to exchange their opinions or to foster civic engagement. Even though the design of platforms has a significant influence on the quality of debates, research has yet to systematically analyze the graphical user interfaces of debate tools that are currently in use. To address this, we collected 25 off-the-shelf online debate platforms and conducted a comparative visual analysis of their graphical user interfaces. We identified different types of platforms, interface blocks, hierarchies, and display layout patterns. We found a strong similarity among these platforms in their design and a shared emphasis on individual input. Drawing from these insights, we discuss how the design of platforms frames the practice of debate and identify potential design dimensions in order to move beyond the existing boundaries of online debate.

Source confusion occurs when individuals attribute a memory to the wrong source (e.g., confusing a picture with an experienced event). Virtual Reality (VR) represents a new source of memories particularly prone to being confused with reality. While previous research identified causes of source confusion between reality and other sources (e.g., imagination, pictures), there is currently no understanding of what characteristics specific to VR (e.g., immersion, presence) could influence source confusion. Through a laboratory study (n=29), we 1) confirm the existence of VR source confusion with current technology, and 2) present a quantitative and qualitative exploration of factors influencing VR source confusion. Building on the Source Monitoring Framework, we identify VR characteristics and assumptions about VR capabilities (e.g., poor rendering) that are used to distinguish virtual from real memories. From these insights, we reflect on how the increasing realism of VR could leave users vulnerable to memory errors and perceptual manipulations.

Bio-based and bio-degradable materials have shown promising results for sustainable Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) applications, including shape-changing interfaces. However, the diversity of shape-changing behaviors achievable with these materials remains unclear as the fabrication knowledge is scattered across multiple research fields. This paper introduces SoftBioMorph, a fabrication framework that aims to integrate the fabrication know-how of sustainable soft shape-changing interfaces with biopolymers. Based on the example of Sodium Alginate, the framework contributes (1) a set of material synthesis processes that modify the biopolymer’s properties to fulfill different functions; (2) a set of DIY crafting-based assembling techniques that functionalize the material and assembling properties to achieve three primitive types of change in shape; and (3) a series of application cases that demonstrate the versatility of the framework. We further discuss limitations, research questions, and fabrication challenges, presenting a comprehensive approach to sustainable prototyping in HCI.

We examine input visualizations, visual representations that are designed to collect (and represent) new data rather than encode preexisting datasets. Information visualization is commonly used to reveal insights and stories within existing data. As a result, most contemporary visualization approaches assume existing datasets as the starting point for design, through which that data is mapped to visual encodings. Meanwhile, the implications of visualizations as inputs and as data sources have received little attention—despite the existence of visual and physical examples stretching back centuries. In this paper, we present a design space of 50 input visualizations analyzing their visual representation, data, artifact, context, and input. Based on this, we identify input modalities, purposes of input visualizations, and a set of design considerations. Finally, we discuss the relationship between input visualization and traditional visualization design and suggest opportunities for future research to better understand these visual representations and their potential.

Against the backdrop of a climate crisis, HCI researchers and designers are reflecting upon, reconsidering, and re-imagining the work that we do through the lens of sustainability. In this Studio, we propose to adopt this critical perspective to Sustainable HCI through an examination and reflection on the environmental impact of research conferences. Our Studio builds upon our prior work that explored sustainable methods and toolkits for facilitating data physicalization workshops. We apply the tools and strategies developed through this prior work within a Studio in which participants are facilitated to engage with, reflect upon, and create with data relating to the sustainability of HCI conferences such as Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI). Through the creation of data artefacts that can be displayed, worn, or shared throughout the conference beyond the Studio, we aim to spark wider conversations about the environmental sustainability of TEI2024, as well as HCI conferences more generally.

Human memory has notable limitations (e.g., forgetting) which have necessitated a variety of memory aids (e.g., calendars). As we grow closer to mass adoption of everyday Extended Reality (XR), which is frequently leveraging perceptual limitations (e.g., redirected walking), it becomes pertinent to consider how XR could leverage memory limitations (forgetting, distorting, persistence) to induce memory manipulations. As memories highly impact our self-perception, social interactions, and behaviors, there is a pressing need to understand XR Memory Manipulations (XRMMs). We ran three speculative design workshops (n=12), with XR and memory researchers creating 48 XRMM scenarios. Through thematic analysis, we define XRMMs, present a framework of their core components and reveal three classes (at encoding, pre-retrieval, at retrieval). Each class differs in terms of technology (AR, VR) and impact on memory (influencing quality of memories, inducing forgetting, distorting memories). We raise ethical concerns and discuss opportunities of perceptual and memory manipulations in XR.

As Virtual Reality (VR) headsets become more mobile, people can interact in public spaces with applications often requiring large arm movements. However, using these open gestures is often uncomfortable and sometimes impossible in confined and public spaces (e.g., commuting in a bus). We present FingerMapper, a mapping technique that maps small and energy-efficient finger motions onto virtual arms so that users have less physical motions while maintaining presence and partially virtual body ownership. FingerMapper works as an alternative function while the environment is not allowed for full arm interaction and enables users to interact inside a small physical, but larger virtual space. We present one example application, FingerSaber that allows the user to perform the large arm swinging movement using FingerMapper.

This workshop focuses on visualization education, literacy, and activities. It aims to streamline previous efforts and initiatives of the visualization community to provide a format for education and engagement practices in visualization. It intends to bring together junior and senior scholars to share research and experience and to discuss novel activities, teaching methods, and research challenges. The workshop aims to serve as a platform for interdisciplinary researchers within and beyond the visualization community such as education, learning analytics, science communication, psychology, or people from adjacent fields such as data science, AI, and HCI. It will include presentations of research papers and practical reports, as well as hands-on activities. In addition, the workshop will allow participants to discuss challenges they face in data visualization education and sketch a research agenda of visualization education, literacy, and activities.

Living bio-materials are increasingly used in HCI for fabricating objects by growing. However, how to integrate electronics to make these objects interactive still needs to be clarified. This paper presents an exploration of the fabrication design space of Biohybrid Interactive Devices, a class of interactive devices fabricated by merging electronic components and living organisms. From the exploration of this space using bacterial cellulose, we outline a fabrication framework centered on the biomaterials‘ life cycle phases. We introduce a set of novel fabrication techniques for embedding conductive elements, sensors, and output components through biological (e.g. bio-fabrication and bio-assembling) and digital processes. We demonstrate the combinatory aspect of the framework by realizing three tangible, wearable, and shape-changing interfaces. Finally, we discuss the sustainability of our approach, its limitations, and the implications for bio-hybrid systems in HCI.