For autistic individuals, navigating social and emotional interactions can be complex, often involving disproportionately high cognitive labor in contrast to neurotypical conversation partners. Through a novel approach to speculative co-design, autistic adults explored affective imaginaries — imagined futuristic technology interventions — to probe a provocative question: What if technology could translate emotions like it can translate spoken language? The resulting speculative prototype for an image-enabled emotion translator chat application included: (1) a visual system for representing personalized emotion taxonomies, and (2) a Wizard of Oz implementation of these taxonomies in a low-fidelity chat application. Although wary of technology that purports to understand emotions, autistic participants saw value in being able to deploy visual emotion taxonomies during chats with neurotypical conversation partners. This work shows that affective technology should enable users to: (1) curate encodings of emotions used in system artifacts, (2) enhance interactive emotional understanding, and (3) have agency over how and when to use emotion features.

Youth who undergo a kidney transplant can experience a fluctuation of successes and challenges throughout their chronic illness journey. Designing to capture their journey could help youth to reflect on their experiences, collaborate on their care, and be empowered to live their lives to the fullest. We interviewed 11 youth kidney transplant patients and 12 caregivers to elicit their transplant journey experiences. We found that probing participants about specific parts of their transplant journey gave them structure to tell us rich stories about their experiences. Based on our findings, we discuss informing the design of a tool to support the capturing of stories for youth with chronic illnesses. Designing such tool could help youth and their caregivers to identify barriers, support reflection, and promote self-efficacy. Youth with chronic illnesses already have to change so many aspects of their lives to accommodate their illness, however, by giving them a platform to capture their chronic illness journey, it could encourage them to take more control of their lives and better collaborate with others.

Well-being apps promise to improve people's lives. Yet evidence shows that the data-hungry app culture that contextualizes well-being apps normalizes the user experience of affective discomfort. This apparent contradiction raises a difficult question: Is it responsible to ask people to improve their well-being by engaging further with an app culture that normalizes affective discomfort? We approached this question by deploying an online, scenario-based survey (n=688) about a fictional, but realistic well-being app called "Thalia." Thalia represents a novel class of well-being apps that are envisioned to: (i) utilize AI-driven facial recognition and analysis; and (ii) collect data for use in medical contexts. We found that people perceived Thalia to be affectively discomfiting even as they judged Thalia to be beneficial. Such findings imply a trade-off between 'better living through technology' and the negative affective implications of surveillance capitalistic app culture. Such a trade-off necessitates high-level analysis of just what "well-being" means in the context of contemporary app culture. Through analysis and discussion, we explore a troubling interplay between novel well-being apps and affective discomfort that requires careful attention from HCI researchers if human-centered well-being -- flourishing -- is truly what our products are intended to foster.

During interpersonal interactions, conversational moves can help people establishcommon ground ---a shared frame of reference to support communication. Neurodiverse conversation dyads that include autistic and non-autistic members can experience challenges in creating and maintaining such a shared frame of reference due to differing communication and cognitive styles. We conducted a design study to understand conversational patterns among neurodiverse dyads and then used those patterns to co-design concepts for supporting the creation and maintenance of common ground by those conversation pairs. Our study involved two activities with participants: (1) a paired interview with autistic adults and a trusted conversation partner that used a novel swimlane visual elicitation activity, and (2) a remote design study during which the autistic participants designed a game intended to visualize and support neurodiverse conversation dynamics. We found that communication technology can scaffold neurodiverse dyads in locating common ground by supporting crucial individual and joint decision-making; clarification of language and emotions; and embodied sense-making of identity, relationships, and shared information. This project generated insights related to two distinct aspects of designing assistive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to support autistic individuals: (1) the ability for visual elicitation activities to help autistic individuals recognize interaction patterns, gain a deeper understanding of other's perspectives, and imagine more desirable alternatives, and (2) the importance of recognizing and supporting multi-dimensional aspects of communication practices (i.e., social, emotional, sensory) in establishing and maintaining shared points of reference for neurodiverse conversation dyads.

One of the grand challenges of artificial intelligence and affective computing is for technology to become emotionally-aware and thus, more human-like. Modeling human emotions is particularly complicated when we consider the lived experiences of people who are on the autism spectrum. To understand the emotional experiences of autistic adults and their attitudes towards common representations of emotions, we deployed a context study as the first phase of a Grounded Design research project. Based on community observations and interviews, this work contributes empirical evidence of how the emotional experiences of autistic adults are entangled with social interactions as well as the processing of sensory inputs. We learned that (1) the emotional experiences of autistic adults are embodied and co-constructed within the context of physical environments, social relationships, and technology use, and (2) conventional approaches to visually representing emotion in affective education and computing systems fail to accurately represent the experiences and perceptions of autistic adults. We contribute a social-emotional-sensory design map to guide designers in creating more diverse and nuanced affective computing interfaces that are enriched by accounting for neurodivergent users.

Visualizations of personal data in self-tracking systems can make even subtle shifts in mental and physical states observable, greatly influencing how health and wellness goals are set, pursued, and achieved. At the same time, recent work in data ethics cautions that standardized models can have unintended negative consequences for some user groups. Through collaborative design and critical visual analysis, this study contrasts conventional visualizations of personal data with the ways that vulnerable populations represent their lived experiences. Participants self-tracked to manage bipolar disorder, a mental illness characterized by severe and unpredictable mood changes. During design sessions, each created a series of timeline drawings depicting their experiences with mental health. Examples of adaptive and vernacular design, these images use both normative standards and individualized graphic modifications. Analysis shows that conventional visual encodings can support facets of self-assessment while also imposing problematic normative standards onto deeply personal experiences.

Research in personal informatics (PI) calls for systems to sup- port social forms of tracking, raising questions about how privacy can and should support intentionally sharing sensitive health information. We focus on the case of personal data related to the self-tracking of bipolar disorder (BD) in order to explore the ways in which disclosure activities intersect with other privacy experiences. While research in HCI of- ten discusses privacy as a disclosure activity, this does not reflect the ways in which privacy can be passively experienced. In this paper we broaden conceptions of privacy by defining transparency experiences and contributing factors in contrast to disclosure activities and preferences. Next, we ground this theoretical move in empirical analysis of personal narratives shared by people managing BD. We discuss the resulting emer- gent model of transparency in terms of implications for the design of socially-enabled PI systems. CAUTION: This paper contains references to experiences of mental illness, including self-harm, depression, suicidal ideation, etc.

Issues of social identity, attitudes towards self-disclosure, and potentially biased approaches to what is considered "typical" or "normal" are critical factors when designing visualizations for personal informatics systems. This is particularly true when working with vulnerable populations like those who self-track to manage serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder (BD). We worked with individuals diagnosed with BD to 1) better understand sense-making challenges related to the representation and interpretation of personal data and 2) probe the benefits, risks, and limitations of participatory approaches to designing personal data visualizations that better reflect their lived experiences. We describe our co-design process, present a series of emergent visual encoding schemas resulting from these activities, and report on the assessment of these speculative designs by participants. We conclude by summarizing important considerations and implications for designing personal data visualizations for (and with) people who self-track to manage serious mental illness.

Personal informatics systems for supporting health largely grew out of a "self"-centric orientation: self-tracking, self-reflection, self-knowledge, self-experimentation, self-improvement. Health management, however, even when self-driven, is inherently social and depends on a person's direct relationships and broader sociocultural contexts, as an emerging line of research is coming to recognize, study, and support. This is particularly true in the case of mental health. In this paper, we engage with individuals managing the serious mental illness bipolar disorder and members of their support circles to (a) identify key social relations and the roles they play in condition management, (b) characterize patients' complex interactions with these relations (e.g., positive or negative, direct or peripheral, steady or unstable), and (c) understand how personal informatics mediates these recovery relations. Based on these insights, we offer a model of this social ecology, along with design implications for personal informatics systems that are sensitive to these interpersonal contexts.

Information visualizations are often evaluated as a tool in terms of their ability to support performance of a specific task. This article argues that value can be gained by instead evaluating visualizations from a communicative perspective. Specifically, it explores how text visualization can influence the impacts that framing has on the perception of political issues. Using data from a controlled laboratory study, the results presented here demonstrate that exposure to a text visualization can mitigate framing effects. Furthermore, it also shows a transfer effect, where participants who saw the visualization remained uninfluenced by framing in subsequent texts, even when the visualization was absent. These results carry implications for the methods used to evaluate information visualization systems, for understanding the cognitive and interpretive mechanisms by which framing effects occur, and for exploring the design space of interactive text visualization.

A case study of early adopters of a head-mounted assistive device for low vision provides the basis for a sociotechnical analysis of technology-mediated sight. Our research complements recent work in HCI focused on designing, building, and evaluating the performance of assistive devices for low vision by highlighting psychosocial and adaptive aspects of digitally enhanced vision. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with users of the eSight 2.0 device and customer-facing employees of the eSight company, we sought to better understand the social and emotional impacts associated with adoption of this type of low-vision assistive technology. Four analytic themes emerged from our interviews: 1) assessing the value of assistive technology in real life, 2) negotiating social engagement, 3) boundaries of sight, and 4) attitudes toward and expectations of technology. We introduce the concept of multiplicities of vision to describe technology-mediated sight as being a form of skilled vision and neither fully-human nor fully-digital, but rather, assembled through a combination of social and technical affordances. We propose that instead of seeing low-vision users through a deficit model of sight, HCI designers have more to gain by viewing people with low vision as individuals with a distinct type of skilled vision that is both socially and technologically mediated.

Vernacular visualizations are visual representations of information created by and for non-expert users, in contrast to those developed by experts for specialized audiences. Research looking at everyday design practices and the democratization of innovation indicates that deeper understanding of non-expert design practices has a positive impact on technology development. This qualitative study focuses on the creation, use and dissemination of vernacular visualizations in a citizen science project. Findings from this research (1) map visualization practices in an established citizen science project, (2) contribute to theoretical understanding of the ways in which vernacular visualization practices support data-rich collaborative and coordinated work, and (3) suggest ways in which visualizations and visual resources can be evaluated in terms of their abilities to enrich coordination and communication in these contexts.

There has been a recent increase in the development of digital self-tracking tools for managing mental illness. Most of these tools originate from clinical practice and are, as a result, largely clinician oriented. As a consequence, little is known about the self-tracking practices and needs of individuals living with mental illness. This understanding is important to guide the design of future tools to enable people to play a greater role in managing their health. In this article, we present a qualitative study focusing on the self-tracking practices of 10 people with bipolar disorder. We seek to understand the role self-tracking has played as they have come to grips with their diagnosis and attempted to self-manage their health. A central motivation for these participants is to identify risky patterns that may be harbingers of mood episodes, as well as positive trends that support recovery. What emerges is a fragmented picture of self-tracking, with no clear delineation between clinician-initiated and self-initiated practices, as well as considerable challenges participants face in making observations of themselves when their sense of self and emotional state is in flux, uncertain, and unreliable. Informed by these observations, we discuss the merits of a new form of self-tracking that combines manual and automated methods, addresses both clinician and individual needs, helps engage people with bipolar disorder in treatment, and seeks to overcome the significant challenges they face in self-monitoring.

Users of wearable vision technology, such as eSight assistive eyewear, have a distinct relationship with sight influenced by personal, social, and cultural perceptions and practices. In order to better understand the ways in which vision is socially constructed through technology-mediated sight, we conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 13 users of eSight glasses. Our interviews focused on eliciting narratives about eSight use from initial introduction of the technology to current daily practices. Emerging findings describe ways in which technology-mediated vision is experienced in relation to (1) adaptive practices, (2) social participation, (3) experiences of space, and (4) opportunities for choice and self-determination.

Recognized stress management techniques include cultivating mindfulness, breathing exercises, and meditation. While these approaches have been shown to mitigate the negative effects of stress, they can be difficult to learn or consistently apply. To support these techniques, we developed MoodLight, a playful system that uses ambient colored light to provide feedback regarding an individual's current arousal levels. Like many affective computing systems, MoodLight was designed to help users observe their internal state and learn to relax. However, our findings indicate that prompting or leading feedback can be more effective than real time feedback in helping users relax. This work contributes to affective computing by suggesting alternative approaches to designing biofeedback systems for stress management.

MoodLight is an interactive ambient lighting system that responds to biosensor input related to an individual's current level of arousal. Changes in levels of arousal correspond to fluctuations in the color of light provided by the system, altering the immediate environment in ways intimately related to the user's private internal state. We use this intervention to explore personal and social implications of the ambient display of biosensor data. A design probe study conducted with university students provided the opportunity to observe MoodLight being used by individuals and dyads. Discussion of findings highlights key tensions associated with the dialectics of technology-mediated self-awareness and automated disclosure of personal information, addressing issues of agency, skepticism and uncertainty. This study provides greater understanding of the ways in which the representations of personal informatics, with a focus on ambient feedback, influence our perceptions of ourselves and those around us.

Visual approaches for conducting research during the design process often give voice to people and ideas that might otherwise remain obscured. Recent and increasing interest in visual research techniques has coincided with technological advances such as camera phones and visually oriented mobile applications. As a result of this close association between digital technologies and image-based research techniques, there are multiple opportunities and challenges within human–computer interaction (HCI) design practice to employ these strategies to improve user experiences. This article provides an overview of current visual approaches to research highlighting the role technology has played in facilitating and inspiring these techniques. A series of case studies are presented that provide a basis for understanding a breadth of visual approaches in HCI design practices as well as serve as a point of entry to a critical and reflective discussion about the use of these approaches in different circumstances. Based on these reflections, three value statements are offered as a means to encourage the use of these visual approaches more broadly and critically in HCI design studies.

Anyone who has clarified a thought or prompted a response during a conversation by drawing a picture has exploited the potential of image making to convey information. Images are increasingly ubiquitous in daily communication due to advances in visually enabled information and communication technologies (ICT), such as information visualization applications, image retrieval systems, and virtual collaborative work tools. Although images are often used in social contexts, information science research concerned with the visual representation of information typically focuses on the image artifact and system building. To learn more about image making as a form of social interaction and as a form of information practice, a qualitative study examined face‐to‐face conversations involving the creation of ad hoc visualizations (i.e., “napkin drawings”). Interactional sociolinguistic concepts of conversational involvement and coordination guided multimodal analysis of video‐recorded interactions that included spontaneous drawing. Findings show patterns in communicative activities associated with the visual representation of information. Furthermore, the activity of mark making contributes to the maintenance of conversational involvement in ways that are not always evident in the drawn artifact. This research has implications for the design and evaluation of visually enabled virtual collaboration environments, visual information extraction and retrieval systems, and data visualization tools.

Advances in image-making tools have greatly increased our opportunities to use images to collaborate. Much current research in the area of visualization focuses on building systems to generate visual representations of large data sets. A small but growing subset of this research focuses on collaborative aspects of information and data visualization. In order to expand the scope of collaborative visualization research, a qualitative study examined the role that spontaneous drawing practices play in face-to-face conversations. Empirical examples describe the creation and use of drawing as a form of social interaction. This study provides a methodological and theoretical basis for viewing the process of generating a visual artifact in a collaborative context from an interactional sociolinguistic perspective. Findings identify affordances of drawing related to both material object (artifact) and communicative performance (activity). Implications for design are discussed in terms of both refined heuristics and enhanced features for image-enabled collaborative tools.

Abstract Successful professionals in technical disciplines require abilities beyond technical competence—to interpret complex and ambiguous situations, interact with experts from other specialties and disciplines, and constructively evaluate their own work and the work of others. In this article, we argue that experiences and interactions with the arts should play an important role in the education of a specific group of technical workers—information professionals—and that such interactions provide a useful and necessary complement to the more familiar rational, scientific model that currently informs technical professional education. We discuss the principles inherent in an arts‐based approach to learning and show how the work done by information professionals is similar to the work done by creative and performing artists as well as those in the design professions. Finally, we describe three examples of complementary learning opportunities built on arts‐based practices.