Public defence in New Media, MA Jana Pejoska

The title of the thesis: Contextually responsive interaction design - Design ideation for dynamic contexts

Doctoral student: Jana Pejoska
Opponent: Professor Giulio Jacucci, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, University of Helsinki
Custos: Professor Teemu Leinonen, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Art and Media

This dissertation explores how to improve the design of digital tools for remote social interaction by considering context. The study addresses the challenge of designing tools that can adapt to dynamic remote interaction environments. It highlights how traditional user-centered design methods neglect social, cultural, and business contexts, resulting in a narrow focus on usability and user needs. A contextually responsive interaction design framework that accounts for dynamic contexts and socio-technical layers that affect user experiences is the dissertation's goal. 

The research incorporates HCI, cognitive science, and technology philosophy into practical design methods, making it relevant to the literature. Context-aware design is emphasized in the dissertation on ubiquitous computing, AR/VR, and distributed cognition. It helps create remote interaction tools that consider users' physical, social, and cultural contexts by integrating embodiment and situated cognition. 

A working prototype showing how tools can account for context and a novel design method for diversifying ideation and reducing designer bias are among the dissertation's key findings. Research shows that context-aware designs lead to more responsive and user-aligned solutions in co-design workshops and iterative evaluations. These results suggest that interaction design should consider both immediate user needs and their broader contexts. 

The study's main contribution is a contextually responsive interaction design framework. Our framework shows that designers who consider culture, environment, and embodiment can create more adaptable and effective dynamic remote interaction tools. The study also shows how cognitive biases can obscure user experience context for designers. My dissertation links theoretical and practical design by reducing bias. 

Researchers found that context dynamically affects technology use. Tools for diverse environments must account for context change. The results suggest that designers should consider socio-technical and cultural contexts that influence interactions as well as physical ones. 

This research has many applications, from remote work and online learning to collaborative AR/VR environments. These tools and methods can help designers create more responsive, contextually aware apps that adapt to users' changing needs in real time. This approach challenges user experience standardization and emphasizes design flexibility and adaptability.

Keywords: Remote interaction, Design ideation, Contextually responsive design

Contact information

Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defence at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/doc_public/eonly/riiputus/

Doctoral theses in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/54

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