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Linda Hirsch, Andreas Butz
Blend In or Pop Out? Designing an Embedded Interface for A Historical Cemetery
In: 18th IFIP TC13 International Conference On Human-Computer interaction (INTERACT 2021), August 30th-September 3rd (bib)

Historical cemeteries are under-explored design spaces within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), even though they are visited for many reasons nowadays. We present our strategy to embed interfaces into this sensitive environment and report on interim results and the potential of such interfaces to support these places' preservation. We followed an iterative design approach by (1) brainstorming various ideas and (2) creating four low-fidelity prototypes to (3) discuss them in two expert interviews. This led to a final prototype resembling a birdhouse, a reoccurring and tolerated object in the cemetery. We (4)~tested our prototype in a field study, asking passers-by about their interaction and perception. Our results show that our design approach is suitable and unobtrusive for the culturally-sensitive target environment. Further, embedded interfaces seem to facilitate and are more inviting to visitors to inform themselves about the place's characteristics and historical meaning, supporting its preservation.