This thesis describes my artistic practice as essentially project-based, site-responsive and hypermediating. Hypermediacy—i.e. the tendency of certain media or objects to keep their various constituents separate from their structure—is to be understood as opaque, juxtaposed and after a recurring contiguity with different kinds of interfaces. Accordingly, and within the context of the various projects that constitute this thesis, it is demonstrated how, in response to the particular places I work and to the various people I collaborate with, different kinds of materials and methodologies are incorporated in broader hybrids that are mediated (interfaced) in miscellaneous ways to this way result in original works of art. Materials and methodologies are shown to be intertwined and interdependent with each other as well as with the different ways in which they are interfaced, which accounts for an explicitly projectbased, rather than artwork-based, approach which, on its turn, de-emphasises the finished artefact in favour of process, performance, research and exploration. Projects are, then, shown to be explicitly site- or situation- responsive, as they are not implementations of preexistent ideas, but rather emerge as my original response to the particular sites, materials, people and the various other constituents that are involved in their very production. Interfaces to such hybrids as well as their very material and methodological elements are also shown to be hyper-mediated. It is finally argued that such an approach essentially accelerates multi-perspectivalism in that a project may spawn a number of diverse, typically medium-specific and/or site-specific, artworks that all exemplify different qualities which are congenital to the particular nature of each project.

Creating and encouraging longer-lasting relationship between designed products and its users is one of the goals that researchers in Sustainable HCI trying to achieve. The attachment framework is proposed by previous study that aims to provide knowledge and insight for designers to create longer-lasting relationship between products and users. As arguments have been made that there is a gap between Sustainable HCI theory and design practice. The attachment framework is one of the well established theoretical frameworks that need effective knowledge transformation from theory to practice. The aim of the study is to design, develop and evaluate a web-based interactive tool -- StickyDesignSpace, which helps product designers to embed the attachment framework into their design background research process. The study employs a research through design approach which focuses on the creation of innovative artifacts to solve practical problems. A web-based tool was designed and developed through the grounding, ideation and iteration process. And a high-fidelity prototype was evaluated by four design participants. The results indicated that the web tool StickyDesignSpace fostered the participated designers' attachment-related thinking by providing attachment design principles and generic design properties in a two dimensional space for organizing design background research data. Furthermore, the tool promoted the participated designers' attachment design knowledge transformation from background research process to design ideation process. According to participants' design objectives and background research goals, the tool also showed flexibility to be applied in other design process such as design idea formation and design evaluation process. The study shed light on the possibility of creating interactive tools to communicate sustainable HCI design frameworks to design practitioners, and offer the insights of how design practitioners integrate the attachment framework into their design thinking and process.

Current computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) tools are too focused on what technologies can do, rather than focusing on learner needs and pedagogy. They also lack an embodied perspective on learning. This thesis presents a Research through Design project exploring what kind of interactive design features can support second language learners’ pronunciation learning of segmental speech sounds with embodiment in mind. ComPron was designed: an open simulated prototype that supports learners in learning perception and production of new segmental speech sounds in a second language, by comparing them to native language speech sounds. ComProm was evaluated through think-aloud user tests and semi-structured interviews (N=4). The findings indicate that ComPron supports awareness of speech sound-movement connections, association building between sounds, and production of sounds. The design features that enabled awareness, association building, and speech sound production support are discussed and what ComPron offers in comparison to other CAPT-tools.

Sharing one’s emotions is the first step in taking care of one’s mental health and well-being. Teenagers struggle to open up and share their feelings, making them more vulnerable to mental health conditions extending into adulthood. Researchers and designers have been looking for new solutions to support users' health. One solution is wearables. These technologies need to be explored to better understand users’ needs and their behavioral changes to create a more beneficial user experience. One way to deal with emotions for teenagers is through conversation, however, it can be difficult to start these conversations. In this paper, the potential of a wearable as a tool for triggering communication about emotions is investigated. This study was based on a Research through Design (RtD) methodology and was carried out through a user-centered approach by using participatory design. The case study was conducted with a family of two parents and their two teenage children. By using the methods of cultural probes, interviews, and a co-design workshop, a concept named EmoWri was created. The concept consists of a prototype with a wristband connected to a mobile application. Qualitative data was collected from user tests, interviews, and a questionnaire and was thematically analyzed. The results show that wearables can be used to trigger sensitive conversations between parents and their teenage children. The results show that seven design qualities were considered to be important: visibility, accessibility, flexibility, expressiveness, actability, motivating, and aesthetic. The main contribution of this study is starting a discussion about designing wearables as a tool that focuses on improving the users’ mental well-being.

Mobile devices have become a massively prevalent part of everyday life, as their capabilities and functionality have expanded into new domains. One form factor that has attracted recent renewed interest is the smartwatch.  This paper looks at how devices can be used to track the time, and in particular how we can invent new visualisations for timekeeping. It draws on different psychological theories of time to sketch out six new time visualisations, drawing on both old and new timekeeping devices as inspiration. These visualisations address linear time visualisations and cyclical time visualisations. The designs are contrasted with each other, with a final design selected and prototyped on the Apple Watch. The prototype is briefly evaluated through a 48 hour user test with one user. The design is then reiterated upon based on the feedback from this user test. / Mobila enheter har blivit en allt större del av våra vardagliga liv i samma takt som deras kapacitet och funktionalitet har ökat och spridit sig till nya områden. Ett av dessa områden som nyligen fått ett nyfunnet intresse är smarta klockor. Den här uppsatsen tittar på hur mobila enheter och framför allt smarta klockor kan användas för att hålla reda på tiden. Den undersöker framför allt på hur vi kan ta fram nya sätt att visualisera tid. Arbetet bygger på olika psykologiska teorier om tid för att skissa sex stycken olika tidsvisualiseringar, de olika visualiseringarna använder också historiska tidmätningsinstrument som inspiration. Dessa visualiseringar bygger också på ett framtaget koncept om att tid kan ses som konstant eller cyklisk. Designförslagen jämförs sedan med varandra och en slutgiltig design väljs ut. En prototyp för Apple Watch skapas, baserat på den slutgiltiga designen. Prototypen utvärderas genom att en användare bär klockan under 48 timmar. Därefter förbättras och förändras designen baserat på återkopplingen från testet.

Healthcare practices are changing as focus shifts fromtreating acute illnesses to chronic diseases. Theresponsibility of managing the treatment has shifted fromhealthcare providers to the individual in a higher degree. Toachieve good treatment the patients need to be empoweredso that they understand their condition and can makeinformed choices throughout their self-care. A researchthrough design approach was used to investigate how todesign a personalized empowering application for heartfailure patients. Aside from information relating to thecondition, the themes of physical activity, dieting and socialconnectedness were identified as central to address for theempowerment of this group. Patients, partners andhealthcare providers contributed with different perspectivesthroughout the design process. As a result five personas,representing potential users, were developed. Based on thepersonas and knowledge of the domain, user scenarios incurrent- and preferred state were constructed in order toguide the design of the empowering application called ‘TheHeart Companion’. It is a tablet application catering to thedifferent needs of the personas that also addresses the threethemes relevant for empowerment. The purpose of theapplication is to facilitate better understanding, a feeling ofsafety and a more active empowered life for the patient.The application enables personalization of the content byproviding bookmarking and addresses empowerment ofphysical activity by enabling various guided exercisesessions, personalized feedback, the possibility of reflectionand construction of personalized exercise sessions. / Sjukvårdens praxis förändras i takt med att fokus skiftar från behandling av akuta sjukdomar till kroniska sjukdomar. Ansvaret för behandling av kroniska sjukdomar har överförts från vårdgivare till att inbegripa individen till en högre grad. För att uppnå god behandling måste patienterna stärkas så att de förstår sitt tillstånd och kan fatta välgrundade beslut i sin egenvård. ’Research through design’ användes som metod för att undersöka hur en personifierad stärkande applikation för hjärtsviktspatienter kan utformas. Bortsett från information om tillståndet så identifierades fysisk aktivitet, kosthållning och social samhörighet som centrala teman att adressera för att stärka denna grupp. Patienter, partners och vårdgivare bidrog med olika perspektiv under designprocessen. Som ett resultat utav detta utvecklades fem personas för att representera potentiella användare. Baserat på personorna och kunskap om domänen så konstruerades användarscenarion i det nuvarande- samt det föredragna tillståndet för att vägleda designen av den stärkande applikationen som kallas Hjärtkompanjonen. Hjärtkompanjonen är en tablet-applikation som tillmötesgår de olika personornas behov och som även tar upp de tre teman som är relevanta att införliva för att stärka hjärtsviktspatienter. Syftet med applikationen är att åstadkomma bättre förståelse, en känsla av säkerhet och ett mer aktivt stärkt liv för patienten. Applikationen möjliggör personalisering av innehållet genom att tillhandahålla bokmärkning och adresserar hur en patient kan stärkas vid fysisk aktivitet genom att öppna upp för olika guidade träningspass, personlig feedback, möjligheter till reflektion samt konstruktion av personliga träningspass.

Involuntary loneliness is today considered to be a public health problem, and studies show that feeling lonely can have major negative effects on one's health. Project Omtanke and the social administration in Helsingborg has mapped a big problem with loneliness in Helsingborg, and has come to the conclusion that they need a website with the purpose of mitigating loneliness. Thus, this research project explores how a website should be designed to make people feel less lonely.  This thesis essay explores the research question with the approach Research Through Design (RtD). The research was conducted by conducting user research, creating a prototype and validating the design with users.  This thesis has come to the conclusion that a website with the purpose of supporting lonely individuals should include content providing help and support to all relevant target groups, such as educational content and help alternatives. It should also be designed with the goal to decrease the gap between available help and the people in need of help, by increasing awareness and reassuring personal relevance of available help. The website should also include functions that promote social contact between people, and be designed with the goal of being perceived as inclusive. The website prototype that was created in this thesis was well received by potential users. The users expressed in the validation of the website that they would like to use it, and that they believe it could help them with their loneliness.

This thesis project explores how communication technology can foster the sense of togetherness to maintain the feeling of social connectedness during physical distancing. The current global pandemic COVID-19 is causing billions of people across the world to live in isolation or by physical distancing regulations. The elimination of almost all in-person interactions is affecting people’s mental health and has resulted in many people turning to communication technology to feel a sense of social connectedness.The project builds upon three main areas of theory: the social and mental effects of physical distancing, designing for crises and design theories about togetherness within communication technology. The design process is guided by a research through design methodological approach, with the aim find out how people who are living in isolation and by physical distancing regulations are using existing forms of communication technology to feel a sense of social connectedness with others and what they need from it. The project addresses two key problematic areas which were identified during the fieldwork and literature review and are explored through prototypes. The prototypes focus on how to create a hang out feeling within online group interactions and how to create the in-the- moment feeling during shared online live experiences.The outcome of this project includes in a problem framing, design process knowledge, research insights and prototypes that explore how to foster the sense of togetherness within communication technology. The findings from this project intend to contribute knowledge to the research and design community on how to design new or alternative forms of communication technology that foster social connectedness during physical distancing.

In this thesis I present explorative work that shows how sounds beyond speak can be used on the input side in the design of interactive experiences and natural interfaces. By engagingin explorative approaches with a material view on sound and interactive machine learning, I’ve shown how these two counterparts may be combined with a goal to envision new possibilities and perspectives on sonic natural interfaces beyond speech. This exploration has been guided with a theoretical background ofdesign materials, machine learning, sonic interaction design and with a research through design driven process, I’ve used iterative prototyping and workshops with participants to conduct knowledge and guide the explorative process. My design work has resultedin new prototyping tools for designers to work with sound and interactive machine learning as well as a prototypes concept for kids that aims to manifest the material ndings around sound and interactive machine learning that I’ve done in this project.By evaluating my design work in contextual settings with participants, I’ve conducted both analytical and productive investigations than can construct new perspectives on how sound based interfaces beyond speech can be designed to support new interactive experiences with artefacts. Here my focus has been to engage with sound as a design material from both contextual and individual perspectives, and how this can be explored by end-users empowered by interactive machine learning to foster new forms of creative engagement with our physical world.

Interactive machine learning (IML) is a promising approach for personalising physiotherapy training. This thesis uses a research- through-design and reflective approach to explore how IML can be ecologically integrated within in-clinic physiotherapy. Domain expert interviews and observations with physiotherapists were conducted to gain a broader understanding of the physiotherapy context, the role of feedback provided to patients, and how technology could be integrated into this context. Three design artefacts were proposed to participants to provoke a discussion on the implications and current practices. Due to time constraints, the findings suggest incorporation within the consultation may be difficult. The clinic’s gym or administration time revealed to be promising alternatives. Furthermore, results highlight the importance of IML supporting richer interaction forms and the implicitness and flexibility needed to describe movement and feedback, which define physiotherapy’s hands-on approach. Togetherness was a reoccurring theme, suggesting that the input and guidance of the IML system could be something done with the patient. Finally, a reflection on the results and the study opens up a discussion of the fitness of IML in physiotherapy.