There is a growing interest in sustainable fabrication approaches, including the exploration of material conservation and utilisation of waste materials. Particularly, recent work has applied organic myco-materials, made from fungi, to develop tangible, interactive devices. However, a systematic approach for 3D fabrication using myco-materials is under-explored. In this paper, we present a parametric design tool and a fabrication pipeline to grow 3D designs using the mycelia of edible fungi species, such as Reishi or Oyster mushrooms. The proposed tool is designed based on empirical results from a series of technical evaluations of the geometric and material qualities of 3D-grown myco-objects. Furthermore, the paper introduces an easy-to-replicate fabrication process that can recycle different organic waste material combinations such as sawdust and coffee grounds to grow mycelia. Through a series of demonstration applications, we identify the challenges and opportunities for working with myco-materials in the HCI context.

The nascent field of biodesign creates novel applications of life sciences through design methods. Biodesign has the potential to shift interactive computational systems from using purely digital components to systems that integrate living organisms. However, there is a lack of understanding of biodesign and how it advances HCI. We present a review of 41 papers published in ACM Digital Library, IEEE Explore digital library and the Design and Applied Arts Index. We found that existing literature describes aspects of biodesign theory, design processes and artifacts, and educational environments, but not holistically. Based on the findings, we define biodesign as the application of the bioaffordances of an organism. We contribute the Bio-Inquiry model: a methodology connecting user-centered, scientific and critical inquiries to inform the design of interactive artifacts. We discuss the opportunities at the intersection of biodesign and HCI to consider the nature of future technologies.

Many people, especially those in sedentary occupations, fail to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity. Virtual reality (VR) games have the potential to overcome this because they are fun and also can be physically demanding. This paper explores whether a VR game studio can help workers in sedentary jobs to get valuable levels of exercise. We studied how 11 participants used our VR game studio in a sedentary workplace over 8-weeks and their perceptions of the experience. We analysed the physical exertion in the VR game studio, comparing this to their step counts from a smartwatch. All participants achieved valuable levels of physical activity and mood benefits. Importantly, for 6 participants, only with the VR game studio did they meet recommended activity levels. Our key contributions are insights about the use of a workplace VR game studio and its health benefits.

This paper outlines Non-Expert User Visualisation (NEUVis), a mode of information visualisation commonly practiced by artists and designers. NEUVis, a wicked problem, accounts for design constraints related to the affective (or emotional) response by the user. This contrasts NEUVis from the tame, but complex, problems associated with scientific visualisation. Examples of scientific visualisation and NEUVis show how the challenge of NEUVis can be overcome by collaboration between artists/designers and scientists. Current Research at the Design Lab at The University of Sydney into NEUVis aims to map the different levels of cognitive and emotional response of different modes of visualisation.

In the fast changing, hybrid and multi-disciplinary practices of artful information visualisation (artful infoVis) and artists using data to inform artworks, the act of translating data into an image can be fraught with peril. There is considerable debate around modes of visualization and their relationship with the underlying data. This paper outlines the debate between the opposing ideologies and, through assessment of design considerations and comparison of creative practice and visual analytics, formulates a set of guidelines for creative practitioners developing visualisations for Non-Expert Users (NEUVis).