Xinyu was an undergraduate student at Queen’s School of Computing. She worked on several projects at the iStudio exploring social counter measures for COVID-19 using interactive homeware that changes colour and smell to connect us with the outdoor environment indoors. She is now a Solutions Architect at Dell Technologies.
Publications
Jones, Lee; Nousir, Alaa; Chen, Renee (Xinyu); Liu, Anne; Donovan, Meara; Wallace, Eliza; Nabil, Sara
Making From Home: Reflections on Crafting Tangible Interfaces for Stay-at-home Living Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, Warsaw, Poland, 2023, ISBN: 9781450399777.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3569009.3572744,
title = {Making From Home: Reflections on Crafting Tangible Interfaces for Stay-at-home Living},
author = {Lee Jones and Alaa Nousir and Renee (Xinyu) Chen and Anne Liu and Meara Donovan and Eliza Wallace and Sara Nabil},
url = {https://doi-org.proxy.queensu.ca/10.1145/3569009.3572744
https://labs.cs.queensu.ca/istudio/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2023/01/tei23-19-1.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3569009.3572744},
isbn = {9781450399777},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Warsaw, Poland},
series = {TEI '23},
abstract = {Pandemic lockdowns created new barriers for HCI researchers, but also provided new opportunities for deeper engagement and reflection in our home environments. Five participants were introduced with a design brief on self-isolation and engaged 12 of their friends and family in the design process of in-the-isolated-wild deployments. By analysing the design process, we found that –while ‘making from home’– our participants noticed the subtlety of the interactions and materials, the processes of remembrance embedded in craft, the use of imperfection and metaphor in homeware, and how ambient presence can provide emotional support. We then conducted a follow-up study on the benefits and limitations of using a crafting approach while ‘making from home’ and discuss the tensions that novices experience while designing TUIs in such an environment. Our results expand the literature by highlighting the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of user-led design, DIY user empowerment, and harnessing the power of craft.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Pandemic lockdowns created new barriers for HCI researchers, but also provided new opportunities for deeper engagement and reflection in our home environments. Five participants were introduced with a design brief on self-isolation and engaged 12 of their friends and family in the design process of in-the-isolated-wild deployments. By analysing the design process, we found that –while ‘making from home’– our participants noticed the subtlety of the interactions and materials, the processes of remembrance embedded in craft, the use of imperfection and metaphor in homeware, and how ambient presence can provide emotional support. We then conducted a follow-up study on the benefits and limitations of using a crafting approach while ‘making from home’ and discuss the tensions that novices experience while designing TUIs in such an environment. Our results expand the literature by highlighting the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of user-led design, DIY user empowerment, and harnessing the power of craft.
Nousir, Alaa; Chen, Renee (Xinyu); Liu, Anne; Donovan, Meara; Wallace, Eliza; Jones, Lee; Nabil, Sara
COVIDware: Designing Interactive Everyday Things as Tangible Homeware for Social Isolation Journal Article
In: Interaction Design & Architecture(s) Journal (IxD&A), vol. 54, iss. 9, pp. 209–240, 2022.
@article{nousir2022covidware,
title = {COVIDware: Designing Interactive Everyday Things as Tangible Homeware for Social Isolation},
author = {Alaa Nousir and Renee (Xinyu) Chen and Anne Liu and Meara Donovan and Eliza Wallace and Lee Jones and Sara Nabil},
url = {https://labs.cs.queensu.ca/istudio/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2023/06/54_9.pdf},
doi = {10.55612/s-5002-054-009},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Interaction Design & Architecture(s) Journal (IxD&A)},
volume = {54},
issue = {9},
pages = {209–240},
abstract = {This paper describes our collaborative journey of creating everyday interactive artefacts to help us think, reflect, and live through self-isolation.
Through a co-design approach, we designed interactive homeware objects (that we collectively refer to as ‘COVIDware’) to address the challenges of isolation
during the pandemic. Five artefacts were developed by self-isolated designers as interactive art installations. We discuss how each creator reflected on her design
concept, process, and encounter through concepts of critical making, speculation, and engagement via in-the-isolated-wild deployments. By empowering early
researchers/enthusiasts to design ‘with’ smart-materials, and off-the-shelf items, we reflect on how these homey interfaces can enhance people’s wellbeing beyond
screen-based interactions. Despite not collaborating in the making process, our findings from the designer’s making process show how all the designed artefacts
shared attributes of biophilic design, imperfection, and unconventional interactions with the overarching goal of promoting wellbeing, and meaningful connection with nature, self, and others.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper describes our collaborative journey of creating everyday interactive artefacts to help us think, reflect, and live through self-isolation.
Through a co-design approach, we designed interactive homeware objects (that we collectively refer to as ‘COVIDware’) to address the challenges of isolation
during the pandemic. Five artefacts were developed by self-isolated designers as interactive art installations. We discuss how each creator reflected on her design
concept, process, and encounter through concepts of critical making, speculation, and engagement via in-the-isolated-wild deployments. By empowering early
researchers/enthusiasts to design ‘with’ smart-materials, and off-the-shelf items, we reflect on how these homey interfaces can enhance people’s wellbeing beyond
screen-based interactions. Despite not collaborating in the making process, our findings from the designer’s making process show how all the designed artefacts
shared attributes of biophilic design, imperfection, and unconventional interactions with the overarching goal of promoting wellbeing, and meaningful connection with nature, self, and others.
Through a co-design approach, we designed interactive homeware objects (that we collectively refer to as ‘COVIDware’) to address the challenges of isolation
during the pandemic. Five artefacts were developed by self-isolated designers as interactive art installations. We discuss how each creator reflected on her design
concept, process, and encounter through concepts of critical making, speculation, and engagement via in-the-isolated-wild deployments. By empowering early
researchers/enthusiasts to design ‘with’ smart-materials, and off-the-shelf items, we reflect on how these homey interfaces can enhance people’s wellbeing beyond
screen-based interactions. Despite not collaborating in the making process, our findings from the designer’s making process show how all the designed artefacts
shared attributes of biophilic design, imperfection, and unconventional interactions with the overarching goal of promoting wellbeing, and meaningful connection with nature, self, and others.