Our publications!
[2024] [2023] [2022] [2021] [2020] [2019] [2018] [2017] [2016] [Theses].
2024
- Illi, M., Gustafsson, R., and Masoodian, M., Visual Metaphors for Collaboration Planning in Strategy Meetings. Journal of Strategy and Management, Emerald Publishing Limited, published online, (10.1108/JSMA-05-2024-0089).
- Cerioli, N., Vyas, R., Reeve, M. P., and Masoodian, M., Designing Complex Network Visualisations using the Wayfinding Map Metaphor. Information Visualization, SAGE Publications, Vol. 23, No. 4, 384-403, (10.1177/14738716241270341).
- Aula, I., and Masoodian, M., Creative Co-imagination in Transgenerational Comics Workshops. Sociological Research Online, SAGE Publications, published online, (10.1177/13607804241259733).
- Lee, D., Aula, I., and Masoodian, M., Fostering Collective Impact in Arts-based Interventions and Cultural Programs for Creative Well-being of Older Adults. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, LiU Electronic Press, published online, (10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.4866).
- Illi, M., Saarino, J., Simola, J., and Masoodian, M., A Method for Thematic Analysis of Visual Metaphors Represented using Physical Artefacts. ACM ISS 2024 Workshop on Visual Methods, ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces Conference (Vancouver, Canada, 27-30 October), to appear.
- Illi, M., Gustafsson, R., and Masoodian, M., Collaboration Planning using Visual Landscape Metaphors in Group Meetings. Conference Proceedings of ECSCW 2024, The 22nd European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (Rimini, Italy, 17-21 June), European Society for Embedded Technologies, (10.48340/ecscw2024_po03).
- Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., Managing Personal Health and Well-being by Integrating Data Streams using Interactive Visualizations. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2024, The 17th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Arenzano, Italy, 3-7 June), ACM Press, 90:1-90:3, (10.1145/3656650.3656743).
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., MAPII — Map-based Interfaces and Interactions. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2024, The 17th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Arenzano, Italy, 3-7 June), ACM Press, 119:1-119:4, (10.1145/3656650.3660534).
- Airikka, M., and Masoodian, M., Comparing the Effects of Illustration Styles on the Functionality of Tourist Maps. INTERACT 2023 Workshops, Revised Selected Papers Part II, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14536, 132–146, (978-3-031-61698-3_13).
- Simeoni, F., Cerioli, N., Daly, M., Reeve, M. P., Vyas, R., and Masoodian, M., Zoomable Heatmaps: Improving Manhattan Plots to Compare Multiple Genome-Wide Studies. INTERACT 2023 Workshops, Revised Selected Papers Part II, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14536, 147–162, (10.1007/978-3-031-61698-3_14).
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., A Summary of the Workshop on Designing for Map-based Interfaces and Interactions. INTERACT 2023 Workshops, Revised Selected Papers Part II, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14536, 83-90, (10.1007/978-3-031-61698-3_8).
- Hertzum, M., Barricelli, R., Bouzekri, E., Clemmensen, T., and Masoodian, M., Workshop on Sustainable Human-Work Interaction Designs: Introduction and Summary. INTERACT 2023 Workshops, Revised Selected Papers Part I, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14535, 323–331, (10.1007/978-3-031-61688-4_31).
- Mahler, L., Designer-maker: Merging cognition and construction in practice-led design research. Conference Proceedings of Design Research Society (Boston, USA, 23–28 June), Article 46, (10.21606/drs.2024.298).
- Mahler, L., Structure and Construction: Investigating Perceptual Space through the Making Process. International Conference on Design Principles & Practices: Cultures of Transformative Design (Valencia, Spain, 11–13 March), (https://cgscholar.com/cg_event/events/G24en/proposal/68945).
2023
- Aula, I., and Masoodian, M., Creativity and Healthy Ageing: Future Research Directions. Journal of Population Ageing, Springer, published online, (10.1007/s12062-023-09431-8).
- Lee, D., and Masoodian, M., Theoretical Models of Collaborative Partnerships in Arts-Health Care Practices for Older Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI, Vol. 20, No. 19, Article 6888, (10.3390/ijerph20196888).
- Lee, D., Aula, I., and Masoodian, M., Perspectives on Creative Well-being of Older Adults. Journal of Aging Studies, Elsevier, Vol. 66, 101159, (10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101159).
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., Designing for Map-based Interfaces and Interactions. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2023, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14145, 616-620, (10.1007/978-3-031-42293-5_82).
- Bouzekri, E., Barricelli, R., Clemmensen, T., Hertzum, M., and Masoodian, M., Sustainable Human-Work Interaction Designs. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2023, The 19th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (York, UK, 28 August - 1 September), Springer, LNCS 14145, 674–679, (10.1007/978-3-031-42293-5_92).
- Rogers, B., Apperley, M., Reyes, E. D., and Masoodian, M., Wedge Video: Supporting Remote Participants in a Mixed Mode Video Conference. Interacting with Computers, Oxford University Press, (10.1093/iwc/iwad032).
- Korpilahti, T., and Masoodian, M., Guidelines for the Visual Design of Mobile Application Icons: An Experiential Case Study. Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal, IxD&A, 241-276, (10.55612/s-5002-054-010).
- Mahler, L., Symmetry Notation as a Multidisciplinary Method for the Design of Origami Tessellations. Conference Proceedings of Bridges 2023 (Halifax, Canada, 27-31 July), The Bridges Organization, 393-396, (https://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2023/bridges2023-393.html).
- Mahler, L., Simultaneous Space: Re-envisioning the Role of the Designer-Maker through the Production and Design of Origami Tessellations. Conference Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Creativity and Cognition (Online, 19-21 June), ACM, 13-17, (10.1145/3591196.3596809).
2022
- Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., Exploring Environmental and Geographical Factors Influencing the Spread of Infectious Diseases using Interactive Maps. Sustainability, MDPI, Vol. 14, No. 16, 9990, (10.3390/su14169990).
- Comincioli, E., Hakoköngäs, E., and Masoodian, M., Identifying and Addressing Implicit Ageism in the Co-design of Services for Ageing People. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI, Vol. 19, No. 13, Article 7667, (10.3390/ijerph19137667).
- Sheehan, S., Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., Task-based Quantitative Evaluation of the Concordance Mosaic Visualization. Conference Proceedings of IV 2020, The 26th International Conference on Information Visualisation (Vienna, Austria, 19-22 July), IEEE, 123-129, (10.1109/IV56949.2022.00028).
- Cerioli, N., Vyas, R., Reeve, M. P., and Masoodian, M., Mapping the Colocalization Network: A Wayfinding Approach to Interacting with Complex Network Diagrams. Conference Proceedings of IV 2020, The 26th International Conference on Information Visualisation (Vienna, Austria, 19-22 July), IEEE, 186-193, (10.1109/IV56949.2022.00038).
- Sheehan, S., Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., Corpus Summarization and Exploration using Multi-Mosaics. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2022, The 16th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Rome, Italy, 6-10 June), ACM Press, 81:1-81:3, (10.1145/3531073.3534468).
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., Map-based Interfaces and Interactions. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2022, The 16th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Rome, Italy, 6-10 June), ACM Press, 88:1-88:4 (10.1145/3531073.3535258).
- Rist, T., and Masoodian, M., Interactive Map Visualizations for Supporting Environmental Sustainable Development Goals. Sense, Feel, Design, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 13198, 36-46, (10.1007/978-3-030-98388-8_4).
- Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., An Informatics-based Approach for Sustainable Management of Factors Affecting the Spread of Infectious Diseases. Sense, Feel, Design, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 13198, 47-57, (10.1007/978-3-030-98388-8_5).
- Rodrigues, K. R., Neris, V. P., Piccolo, L. S. G., and Masoodian, M., Human-Centred Technology for Sustainable Development Goals - Workshop Results. Sense, Feel, Design, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 13198, 3-9, (10.1007/978-3-030-98388-8_1).
2021
- Comincioli, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., and Masoodian, M., The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Approaching Ageing-related Design Research and Practice. Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., Vol. 12, (10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750178).
- Comincioli, E., Chirico, A., and Masoodian, M., Improving the Language of Designing for Ageing. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2021, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 12933, 405-425, (10.1007/978-3-030-85616-8_24).
- Rogers, B., Apperley, M., and Masoodian, M., BubbleVideo: Supporting Small Group Interactions in Online Conferences. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2021, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 12933, 67-75, (10.1007/978-3-030-85616-8_5).
- Piccolo, L. S. G., Neris, V. P., Rodrigues, K. R., and Masoodian, M., Human-Centred Technology for Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2021, The 18th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Bari, Italy, 30 August - 3 September), Springer, LNCS 12936, 553-557, (10.1007/978-3-030-85607-6_76).
- Sheehan, S., Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., TeMoTopic: Temporal Mosaic Visualisation of Topic Distribution, Keywords and Context. Proceedings of the EACL Hackashop on News Media Content Analysis and Automated Report Generation (Online, 19 April), Association for Computational Linguistics, 56-61. (www.aclweb.org/anthology/2021.hackashop-1.8).
2020
- Koivunen-Niemi, L., and Masoodian, M., Visualizing Narrative Patterns in Online News Media. Multimedia Tools and Applications, Springer, Vol. 79, 919–946, (10.1007/s11042-019-08186-9).
- Wang, Y., and Masoodian, M., Creating Visual Tools to Support Human-Centered Design Methods. Conference Proceedings of IV 2020, The 24th International Conference on Information Visualisation (Online, 7-11 September), IEEE, 459-464. (10.1109/IV51561.2020.00086).
- Wang, N., and Burns, L., Visual Design Thinking for Public Education: Improving Knowledge Development and Exchange via Transformative Pictogram Design. Conference Proceedings of IV 2020, The 24th International Conference on Information Visualisation (Online, 7-11 September), IEEE, 499-505. (10.1109/IV51561.2020.00087).
- Sheehan, S., Luz, S., Albert, P., and Masoodian, M., TeMoCo-Doc: A Visualization for Supporting Temporal and Contextual Analysis of Dialogues and Associated Documents. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2020, The 15th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Salerno, Italy, 28 September - 2 October), ACM Press, 96:1-96:3, (0.1145/3399715.3399956).
- Wang, Y., and Masoodian, M., Designing Visual Tools to Facilitate Human-Centered Design. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2020, The 15th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Salerno, Italy, 28 September - 2 October), ACM Press, 81:1-81:3, (10.1145/3399715.3399936).
2019
- Rist, T., and Masoodian, M., Promoting Sustainable Energy Consumption Behavior through Interactive Data Visualizations. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, MDPI, Vol. 3, No. 3, Article 56, (10.3390/mti3030056).
- Kallio, O., and Masoodian, M., Featuring Comedy through Ludonarrative Elements of Video Games. Entertainment Computing, Elsevier, Elsevier, Vol. 31, August, Article 100304, (10.1016/j.entcom.2019.100304).
- Luz, S., and Masoodian, M., A Comparison of Linear and Mosaic Diagrams for Set Visualization, Information Visualization, SAGE, Vol. 18, No. 3, 297–310, (10.1177/1473871618754343).
- Masoodian, M., and Silva, P. A., Designing for Aging People. Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2019, The 17th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Paphos, Cyprus, 2-6 September), Springer, LNCS 11749, 719-724, (10.1007/978-3-030-29390-1_69).
- Comincioli, E., and Masoodian, M., A Storytelling-based Approach to Designing for the Needs of Ageing People. Adjunct Conference Proceedings of INTERACT 2019, INTERACT Workshop on Designing for Aging People, DEAP 2019 (Paphos, Cyprus, 3 September), 3-12, (10.18573/book3.a).
- Airikka, M., and Masoodian, M., A Survey of the Visual Design of Cartographic and other Elements of Illustrated Tourist Maps. Conference Proceedings of IV 2019, The 23rd International Conference on Information Visualisation (Adelaide, Australia, 16-19 July), IEEE, Part II, 7-13, (10.1109/IV-2.2019.00011).
- Sheehan, S., Albert, P., Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., TeMoCo: A Visualization tool for Temporal Analysis of Multi-Party Dialogues in Clinical Settings. Conference Proceedings of CBMS 2019, The 32nd IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (Córdoba, Spain, 5-7 June), IEEE, 690-695, (10.1109/CBMS.2019.00140).
- Korpilahti, T., The Things That Make Us Remember. Tidskriften Laboratorium för folk och kultur, Vol. 1, (bragelaboratorium.com/2019/06/09/the-things-that-make-us-remember/).
2018
- Burns, L., and Masoodian, M., Visual Storytelling: An Arts-based Method to Explore Seniors' Health and Well-being. Abtracts Proceedings of the Nordic Arts & Health Research Conference (Turku, Finland, 7 November), 17.
- Burns, L., and Masoodian, M., Storytelling: A Medium for Co-design of Health and Well-being Services for Seniors. Conference Proceedings of IFIP-ICEC 2018, The IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (Poznań, Poland, 17-20 September), Springer, LNCS 11112, 349-354, (10.1007/978-3-319-99426-0_43).
- Kallio, O., and Masoodian, M., Comedy in the Ludonarrative of Video Games. Conference Proceedings of IFIP-ICEC 2018, The IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (Poznań, Poland, 17-20 September), Springer, LNCS 11112, 115-126, (10.1007/978-3-319-99426-0_10). [BEST PAPER AWARD]
- Silva, P. A., and Masoodian, M., Designing Entertainment for the Aging Population. Conference Proceedings of IFIP-ICEC 2018, The IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (Poznań, Poland, 17-20 September), Springer, LNCS 11112, 345-348, (10.1007/978-3-319-99426-0_42).
- Masoodian, M., and Koivunen, L., Temporal Visualization of Sets and their Relationships using Time-Sets. Conference Proceedings of IV 2018, The 22nd International Conference on Information Visualisation (Salerno, Italy, 10-13 July), IEEE, 85-90, (10.1109/iV.2018.00025).
- Sheehan, S., Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., COMFRE: A Visualization for Comparing Word Frequencies in Linguistic Tasks. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2018, The 14th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Grosseto, Italy, 29 May - 1 June), ACM Press, 42:1-42:5, (10.1145/3206505.3206547).
- Rogers, B., Masoodian, M., and Apperley, M., A Virtual Cocktail Party: Supporting Informal Social Interaction in a Virtual Conference. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2018, The 14th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Grosseto, Italy, 29 May - 1 June), ACM Press, 80:1-80:3, (10.1145/3206505.3206569).
- Korpilahti, T., Approaches to Interface Icon Classification. Conference Proceedings of HCI International 2018, The 20th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 15-20 July), Springer, LNCS 10901, 126-137, (10.1007/978-3-319-91238-7_11).
2017
- Laing, S., Apperley, M., and Masoodian, M., Investigating the Effects of Client Imagery on the Ideation Process of Graphic Design, Design Studies, Elsevier, Vol. 53, November, 78-98, (10.1016/j.destud.2017.08.001).
- Masoodian, M., Buchwald, I., Luz, S., and André, E., Temporal Visualization of Energy Consumption Loads using Time-Tone. Conference Proceedings of IV 2017, The 21st International Conference on Information Visualisation (London, UK, 11-14 July), IEEE, 146-151, (10.1109/iV.2017.13).
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., Ecoepidemiological Simulation as a Serious Game Engine Module. Conference Proceedings of CBMS 2017, The 30th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (Thessaloniki, Greece, 22-24 June), IEEE, 193-194, (10.1109/CBMS.2017.45).
2016
- Laing, S., and Masoodian, M., A Study of the Influence of Visual Imagery on Graphic Design Ideation, Design Studies, Elsevier, Vol. 45, Part B, July, 187-209, (10.1016/j.destud.2016.04.002).
- Luz, S., Masoodian, M., Cesario, R. R., and Cesario, M., Using a Serious Game to Promote Community-based Awareness and Prevention of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Entertainment Computing, Elsevier, Vol. 15, June, 43–55, (10.1016/j.entcom.2015.11.001).
- Rist, T., Willam, M., Herpich, M., and Masoodian, M., Illustrating Energy Related Properties of Buildings Using an Interactive 3D-InfoKit. Sustainability in Energy and Buildings: Research Advances, KES International, To appear.
- Masoodian, M., and Luz, S., Time-load: Visualization of Energy Consumption Loads over Time. Conference Proceedings of AVI 2016, The 13th ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (Bari, Italy, 7-10 June), ACM Press, 326-327, (10.1145/2909132.2926061).
- Masoodian, M., Mohd Yusof, A. b., and Rogers, B., Identifying Problems Associated with Focus and Context Awareness in 3D Modelling Tasks, Interacting with Computers, Oxford University Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, 125-147, (10.1093/iwc/iwu039).
- Masoodian, M., Luz, S., and Kavenga, D., nu-view: A Visualization System for Collaborative Co-located Analysis of Geospatial Disease Data. Conference Proceedings of AUIC 2016, The 17th Australasian User Interface Conference (Canberra, Australia, 2-5 February), ACM, 48:1-48:10, (10.1145/2843043.2843374).
Theses
Adapting Estonian Werewolf Folktales to the Medium of Comics
Toom Tragel, MA, 2024 This thesis deals with the topic of Estonian folklore. The starting point of this thesis came from the desire to explore Estonian folklore from the visual aspect. Taking inspiration from fantasy art and illustrations of mainly western pop culture, this thesis started with the idea of how and why to visualize Estonian folklore in the same vein. The challenge was to uncover if there is something unique about the folklore of such a small nation - and if so, how to capture the sensibilities of it in visual form. If successful, the outcome of this thesis is to present the relatively unknown folklore of Estonia to a wider audience through the medium of comics.
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Bivariate Hue Blending: Color Scale Design for Bivariate Choropleth Maps with a Custom Tool
Jonatan Hildén, MA, 2022 Bivariate maps are a type of map visualization where two related data series are displayed at once for each data point. They can answer questions of how two variables interrelate in a geographical context using several kinds of encodings — visual variables — such as shape or color. The most common types are choropleth maps that use color hue and lightness to encode data and symbol-based maps that use shape size for both data series. Bivariate maps have seen a minor surge in popularity with new software tools but remain an understudied visualization type with a lack of clear usage recommendations. The thesis consists of a theoretical and a practical part. The purpose was to collate existing recommendations about the design of bivariate maps and determine whether they are considered a useful type of visualization. The theoretical part was a literature survey of relevant visualization and cartography literature, including empirical studies. The practical part was building a web tool prototype for bivariate color scale creation limited to choropleth maps, the Bivariate hue blender. The tool uses the Hue-Chroma-Lightness (HCL) color space for scheme design.
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Animating Stained Glass: How to Combine the Visual Narratives of Stained Glass and 3D Animation
Anna Mäkelä, MA, 2022 This thesis is an artistic research about how the visual narrative techniques of stained glass and animation can be combined in a 3D animation. The thesis consists of a written part and an artistic component. The methodology used is artistic research where the production serves as the research material. The artistic component is a self-initiated project, a 3D animation loop depicting stained glass windows. In the animation a camera moves through different stained glass windows, forming a loop and creating the illusion of endless movement forward. The theme of the artistic production is heartbreak, and the animation visualizes the grieving process after a heartbreak. Each window illustrates a different stage of the grieving process such as anger or denial of the situation. By using a visual narrative tool of moving through openings, in this case windows, the aim is to tell the story of recovering from a heartbreak.
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Character Design for Animated Films: A Look into the Factors that Shape Character Design for Animated Films through Research and a Practical Design Project
Veera Krouglov, MA, 2022 This thesis discusses the process of designing characters in an animation film production setting. In particular it investigates how that setting influences character designs. The thesis consists of a written part and a practical design project component. The written part looks into animation industry practices and traditions related to animated films, and aims to build a holistic picture of how the different aspects related to animation production can influence character design. The simple question behind this inquiry is how and why do characters in animated films end up looking like they do?
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Sound-image Relations in Audiovisual Narrative: Improving Audiovisual Storytelling with a Better Understanding of Sound
Janne Kuisma, MA, 2022 This master’s thesis explores the relationship between sound and image in audiovisual narrative, as well as their influence on perception. It is a practice-led research project that investigates the characteristics of hearing and sight, sound and image, and the history of their connection in audiovisual practice. The aim of this thesis is to collect and identify the relevant information from various sources of existing research, as well as map out the current needs for working with audiovisual narrative as a visual practitioner to answer the following question: how can a visual designer improve their audiovisual storytelling abilities with a better understanding of sound? This thesis consists of a literary review, a case study, and a production component. The literary review prodives a theoretical framework, in which the studied cases will be observed and investigated. The production component presents understandable ways to involve sound as a part of visual practice.
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Graphic Adaptation in Soundscapes: Generating the Visual Sound
Antti Honka, MA, 2022 In an audio-visual universe of storytelling, the soundscape conveys narrative information generally alongside its visual counterpart. This thesis focuses on the concept of a graphical adaptation of sound when soundscape acts as a crucial means in storytelling. In this artistic research, the notion of visual soundscapes is considered in the context of audio-visual storytelling in one of its main mediums – that of a film. The research is additionally reviewing the concept of graphical sound adaptation in music video narrative, focusing on the structural elements such as the spatial information of moving objects and the visual elements on the screen that are causing the strategic sound impulses. The aim of the research is to establish an experimental concept for the graphical representation of soundscapes in the context of the audio-visual narrative, by studying how the sound conveys the narrative information and focusing on the key factors that are generating the sound.
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The Cycle of Creative Resources: The Creative Process and Creative Well-being from the Perspective of Picturebook Illustrators
Laura Valojärvi, DA, 2021 This thesis examines creative well-being and the complexity of the creative process from the perspective of picturebook illustrators. The methodological basis of the thesis is a qualitative approach called grounded theory. The term "grounded" refers to the idea that the theory emerging from the research is grounded in data, instead of having its basis in a particular theoretical framework. I collected the research data by documenting my own picturebook illustration process and by conducting narrative interviews with eight Finnish picturebook illustrators. Initially, my aim with the thesis was to gain a better understanding of the creative process of illustrating a picturebook. I started by trying to answer the question: what is the creative process of illustrating a picturebook? However, the more I examined my data, the clearer it became that it suggested a new kind of theory about the work-related well-being of creative professionals in general. Consequently, I ended up posing and answering two further questions: what are the main elements of creative resources, and what are the main factors contributing to creative well-being?
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Designing Better Tourist Maps: How Can Illustration Be Used to Improve the Functionality of a Tourist Map?
Mikko Airikka, MA, 2020 This Master’s Thesis examined the functionality of tourist maps. Through the research conducted in the thesis, the aim was to find out how to create tourist maps not only aesthetically appealing, but properly functioning for information acquisition purposes. The emphasis of the research was on finding out what kind of visual styles should be used when striving to design a functional tourist map and how illustration can be used to improve the functionality of tourist maps. The purpose of the research was also to identify different kinds of problematic issues appearing on tourist maps designed by graphic designers. The topic was first studied by getting familiar with theoretical perspectives in cartography, tourism and place branding, wayfinding and illustration. Next, a material research was conduct-ed in order to acquire knowledge regarding the characteristics and functions of illustration on tourist maps and about the styles that are used to implement different map elements. The results of the material research were used in the design component, where three different versions of a tourist map were designed. After the design component, the functionality of the different map versions was studied in a user study using analysis of variance (ANOVA).
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Tirhal Family: A Bilingual Typeface Bridging Two Worlds
Samar Zureik, MA, 2020 This thesis attempts to show considerations related to typeface design specifically for the use in printed customer materials used in immigration sector. The genre of typefaces used for the government always highlights the importance of legibility. With the massive immigration flow into Europe after the Syrian crisis, it is fundamental for immigration services to provide documents in Arabic language using legible and well-designed typefaces. Having a legible typeface plays a pivotal role for immigrants in helping them to comprehend information about their new surroundings. The specific objective of the thesis is to explore the design of the Migri (Finnish Immigration Services) multilingual materials and determine on how to create a bilingual typeface in Arabic and Latin for use in the governmental sectors aimed at helping immigrants. The thesis sheds light on the methodological processes in harmonization and explores bilingual typefaces. It also investigates typefaces used in the public sector. This study explores the common trends in bi-script typefaces and investigates how these trends came into being. It documents the process on how to create a multilingual typeface family. The final outcome is presented in the form of a bi-script typeface of Arabic and Latin. The goal is to achieve good legibility and a unified visual identity..
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Visual Anxiolytics: Developing Theory and Design Guidelines for Abstract Affective Visualizations Aimed at Alleviating Episodes of Anxiety
Lukasz Geratowski, MA, 2020 Visual Anxiolytics is a novel term proposed to describe affective visualizations of which affective quality is predetermined and designed to alleviate anxiety and anxious pathology. This thesis presents ground theory and visual guidelines to inform the design of screen-based interfaces to give users aspects of a restorative and anxiolytic environment at a time when attention restoration is least likely and anxiety highly probable; during sedentary screen-time. Visual Anxiolytics are introduced as an affective layer of the interface capable of communicating affect through aesthetic, abstract, ambient emotion visualizations existing in the periphery of the screen and users’ vision. Their theory is brought into the field of Visual Communication Design from a number of disciplines; primarily Affective Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Visual Anxiolytics attempt to alleviate anxiety through restoration of attentional cognitive resources by rendering the digital environment restorative and by elicitation of positive emotions through affect communication. Design guidelines analyse and describe properties of anxiolytic affective visual attributes color, shape, motion, and visual depth, as well as compositional characteristics of Visual Anxiolytics. Potential implications for future research in emotion visualization and affect communication are discussed.
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From Eyes to Notes: Designing and Facilitating Qualitative Field Interviews with Creative Visual Tools
Yuzhou Wang, MA, 2019 A number of visual tools have been developed for qualitative field research. Researchers aim to use these tools for various purposes in three stages of field research: data collection, data analysis, and data representation. However, field researchers often find it difficult to determine which existing visual tools to use, or how to create new tools for their own specific projects. Previously, many visual tools have been produced by researchers on their own, but these days more and more researchers work with visual communication designers to co-create visual tools for their projects. This thesis examines the use of creative visual tools in qualitative field research by outlining a theoretical framework and reviewing an in-depth case study of one field research project in Bihar, India. Furthermore, this thesis provides a thorough interdisciplinary design approach which can guide visual communication designers in the creation of visual tools for field research projects.
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Exploring the Inevitability of Insignificance through Storytelling in Animation
Xinran Wang, MA, 2019 Derived from the deeply-rooted memories of living in different cities where I witnessed the everyday life and struggle of migrant workers and temporary residents as one of the 'outsiders', my research was an attempt to explore the concept of both psychological and cosmological aspects of insignificance while trying to show that individuals are responsible for the discovery of their own meaning of life and thus a search for their identities. Grounded on both practice-based research and the professional experience, the artistic component of my project is a 3D animation short film, which was developed through the design process, in which I demonstrate my growing and deepened understanding of character-driven approach in both animated storytelling and scriptwriting. By incorporating the storytelling method in animation with combined techniques and simplified visual language, I set out to emphasize and provoke empathy and build connections by metaphorically conveying the struggle of existential crisis that many of us commonly share.
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Narrative Variance: Visualizing Patterns in Media Coverage
Laura Koivunen, MA, 2018 The media plays an increasingly large role in shaping social reality, and even small shifts in its narrative content or tone can have widespread repercussions in the public’s perception of past and present phenomena. Being able to track changes in media coverage over time, particularly visually, could have many conceivable applications and offer the potential for aiding social change in journalism. This case study explores how data visualization could be used to examine differences in media narrative patterns over time and across publications. The findings indicate that while there are many existing means of visualizing patterns in such narrative data on a timeline axis, few if any address the aspect of co-occurrence of variables. Comparing co-occurrence chronologically, particularly when applied to word and topic choices in media coverage, can shed more light on currents in public opinion than simply counting the occurrence of terms independently. Furthermore, the findings suggest that visualizing such patterns in this case could be best accomplished using a form of set visualization, specifically a simplified vertical version of linear diagrams repeated horizontally across parallel timeline axes. This case study also outlines the methods, ethical considerations, and examples of employing such a visualization prototype using a sample dataset of full text news articles.
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Comedy in the Ludonarrative
Oskari Kallio, MA, 2018 Although humor is a prevalent component of numerous video games, thus far it has not been converted to an established genre of its own. Comedy—the deliberate act to harness and perform humor—represents one, but an important segment of the emotional range that games should aspire to cover in order for them to be considered an artistic medium. This study examines the prospects, but also the challenges, that interactivity introduces to comedic narratives. The theoretical substructure of this thesis comes from the academic field of humor studies, and from various expert opinions as well. Ludonarrative comedy is approached through examples that illustrate trends that can be discerned from games that introduce humor through their narrative and gameplay-related, i.e. ludic, elements. The findings confirm the initial hypothesis that there are enough conventions present for ludonarrative comedy genre to surface. As a conclusion for the findings, a proposition for a general framework for defining comedic video games is presented.
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The Sensory Voyage to Inner Islands
Sunwha Park, MA, 2017 Humans are born storytellers. The visual narrative has been widely facilitated for people to express personal stories and internal feelings. Experiences and meanings are expressed, materialized and delivered to others. This collaborative project investigates the efficacy of the creative, sensory storytelling method to enable self-expression in both conscious and unconscious ways. Drawing and food, both of which are universal concepts, were combined as the major visualising tool. These components facilitated self-expression through the workshop experience in physical, emotional and multi-sensory ways. Focusing on personal storytelling, this workshop was an attempt to explore the unconscious space of the mind. It borrows from therapeutic methods of projective drawing and expressive therapy. In other words, participants created an imaginative self-portrait in a form of landscape—an island to be specific—with nature as a thematic metaphor. Each mental landscape was in turn transformed into recipe of bread. Bread, as edible self, thus enabled people to materialize their inner selves through making it. Participants shared their stories with others by sharing about and eating each other’s bread throughout the entire multi-sensory experience. The analysis of stories visualized in drawings and in bread, along with participants’ feedback, examined participants’ feelings of self-expression and how familiar elements (drawing and food) could be used when combined for storytelling in a creative way. As a result of this study, a new form of self-portrait, created by workshop participants, was delivered. By doing so, this project encouraged people to enjoy an emotional experience; focusing on themselves as well as sharing their stories with others.
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