Work

Exploring Household Preferences for Visualising Consumption Information: Towards Data Physicalizations to Promote Sustainable Practices

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper explores household preferences for visualizing consumption data and investigates the potential of data physicalizations to enhance user engagement and promote sustainable practices within households. We conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen households, utilizing a combination of images and low-fidelity prototypes to gain insights into participants’ preferences, ideas and feedback on visualizing consumption information. We requested participants to discuss an object in their home that symbolizes sustainability. The results revealed different emotional responses, from empathy to repulsion, triggered by different visual representations. Our findings also identified certain physical objects and locations within the household that play a role in fostering family collaboration towards sustainable practices. Participants preferred having a physical representation of their consumption data within their homes over a screen-based display. In light of these findings, we open space to consider designing physicalizations that encourage collaboration, enhance user engagement and motivate households to reduce their consumption.

Source: Interacting with Computers

DOI: 10.1093/iwc/iwae054

Authors: Dushani Perera, Nervo Verdezoto Dias, Julie Gwilliam, Parisa Eslambolchilar

Institution: Cardiff University

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Human-Technology Interaction

Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,861

OpenAlex ID: W4405233989