The thesis was conducted as the master thesis for a Master's in innovation and design. The aim of this thesis was to investigate in what ways scent can be used as an olfactory stimulation within exhibitions and to access the possible effects that occur from bridging historical contexts with scent within the exhibitions – as a tool for embodied storytelling. The olfactory study focuses on Leksmedjan Smetuna in Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna. The thesis theoretical framework presents theories on sense of smell, museum experiences, storytelling, and embodied storytelling. A space analysis and a qualitative interview with a museum pedagogue at Västermanland´s county museum. An observational smellscape with different scented elements is conducted as well, with visiting children at Leksmedjan Smetuna in Rademachersmedjorna – where children get the chance to experience historical scents from the 17th century, through their sense of smell. This with the aim to visualize the physical-, emotional- and social effects that occur during children´s sensory museum experiences. The scented elements for the observational smellscapes were designed and produced during the thesis design process and are based on theoretical and empirical data collection. The results of the thesis bring forth important perspectives regarding children´s sensory museum experiences that incorporate scented elements. / Examensarbetet genomförs som ett examensarbete för en Master i innovation och design. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka på vilka sätt doft kan användas som luktstimulering inom utställningar, samt att visualisera möjliga effekter som uppstår genom att överbrygga historiska sammanhang med hjälp av doft inom utställningar – som ett verktyg för embodied storytelling. Doftstudien fokuserar på Leksmedjan Smetuna i Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna. Studiens teoretiska ramverk presenterar teorier om människans luktsinne, museiupplevelser, storytelling med en fördjupning av embodied storytelling. Studiens empiriska metodarbete utgörs av en rumsanalys och en kvalitativ intervju med en museipedagog på Västermanlands länsmuseum. Metodarbetet inkluderar även en observerande smellscapes med besökande barn på Leksmedjan Smetuna i Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna – där barnen får chansen att uppleva historiska dofter från 1600-talet, genom sitt luktsinne. Detta i syfte att visualisera de fysiska-, emotionella- och sociala effekterna som uppstår under barns sensoriska museiupplevelser av studiens doftelement. Doftelementen som ingår i studiens observerade smellscapes, designades och producerades under studiens designprocess och baseras på den teoretisk och empirisk datainsamling. Studiens resultat lyfter fram viktiga perspektiv på barns sensoriska museiupplevelser som innehåller doftelement.

Denna studie behandlar problemet med ojämn struktur och design hos lärplattformar, brist på struktur kan innebära svårigheter med att hitta information vilket kan ha negativ påverkan på studenters upplevelser. Därför blev forskningsfrågan: hur kan strukturen och designen på lärplattformar förbättras för att öka studenternas studieupplevelse? Syftet med studien är att belysa de problem och frustrationer som kan uppstå när universiteten använder sig av allt fler digitala verktyg samt sammanställa förbättringsförslag för framtida kurshemsidor. Studien är kvalitativ och använder sig av en design-baserad forsknings metodik där två tester utfördes. Det första testet utfördes på en befintlig kurshemsida och det andra testet utfördes på en prototyp. Den nya prototypen skapades för studien med en ökad grad av standardiserad struktur som sedan kom att testas av universitetsstudenter. Prototyputvecklingen var iterativ och för att utvärdera sidan användes användbarhetstester med CTA (Concurrent think aloud) och en uppföljande semistrukturerad intervju. Data samlades in och analyserades med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Urvalet bestod av 9 st IT-studenter från Stockholms Universitet med erfarenhet av iLearn och valdes ut med hjälp av ett strategiskt urval. Resultatet visade att studenter upplever att en ökad grad av standardiserad struktur och stilsättning leder till att kurshemsidorna blir enklare att navigera och att det är därför viktigt att ta hänsyn till dessa faktorer vid utvecklingen av nya kurshemsidor. På det första testet uppfattade studenter det som att kurshemsidan har en låg grad av standardisering och att det kan leda till bland annat att man missar viktig information vilket kan vara frustrerande och stressande. Det kom vidare fram att det finns problem när stilsättningen är inkonsekvent eftersom det skadar läsbarheten på sidan. Under det andra testet upplevdes de största problemen såsom ordningsföljden och stilen som lösta. Som resultat av studien upptäcktes ett flertal viktiga faktorer som kan innebära mindre stress och oro för studenter kopplat till kurshemsidans utformning. Av dessa faktorer upplever studenter att ordningsföljden av innehållet var mycket viktig. Innehållet bör ordnas efter 1) grad av generalitet 2) Hur viktig informationen är 3) I kronologisk ordning. Vidare upplever studenterna att stilsättningen även den är viktig. Fokus är där på att stilsättningen är konsekvent, att viktig information sticker ut och att innehållet av en rubrik eller länk har en tydlig beskrivning. En viktig slutsats som kan dras är att hur svårt det är att hitta information har en negativ påverkan på studenters studieupplevelse. Det visades vara viktigt att informationen kategoriseras på ett bra sätt där relaterat innehåll bör vara placerat på samma plats eftersom det annars finns en ökad risk att studenterna missar informationen. I övrigt upplevde studenter att en ny funktion med en samlad inlämningslåda är mycket positiv eftersom det skulle minska risken med att missa inlämningar när de är utspridda på flera sidor. Om utvecklare tar större hänsyn till dessa faktorer kan det leda till en förbättrad studieupplvelse för framtida studenter. / This study deals with the problem of the lack of structure and design of learning platforms. Lack of structure can mean difficulties in finding information which can have a negative impact on students' experiences. Therefore, the research question became: how can the structure and design of learning platforms be improved to increase the students' study experience? The purpose of the study is to shed light on the problems and frustrations that can arise when universities use more and more digital tools and to compile proposals for future course websites. The study is qualitative and uses a design-based research methodology where two tests were performed. The first test was performed on an existing course homepage and the second test was performed on a prototype. The new prototype was created with an increased degree of standardized structure which was then tested by university students. The prototype development was iterative, the prototype was evaluated with usability tests, CTA (Concurrent think aloud) and a follow-up semi-structured interview. Data were collected and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The sample consisted of 9 IT students from Stockholm University with experience of iLearn and were selected using a strategic selection. The results showed that students feel that an increased degree of standardized structure and style leads to course homepages becoming easier to navigate and that it is therefore important to take these factors into account when developing new course homepages. On the first test, students perceived that the course website has a low degree of standardization and that it can lead to, among other things, missing important information, which can be frustrating and stressful. It was further revealed that there are problems when the style setting is inconsistent because it damages the readability of the page. During the second test, the biggest problems such as order and style were perceived as solved. As a result of the study, a number of important factors were discovered that can lead to less stress and anxiety for students linked to the design of the course website. Of these factors, students felt that the order of the content was very important. The content should be arranged by 1) degree of generality 2) How important the information is 3) In chronological order. Furthermore, the students feel that style is also important. The focus is there on the style being consistent, that important information stands out and that the content of a heading or link has a clear description. An important conclusion that can be drawn is that how difficult it is to find information has a negative impact on students' study experience. It was therefore shown to be important that the information is categorized in a good way where related content should be placed in the same place because otherwise there is an increased risk of the students missing the information. Otherwise, students felt that a new feature with a consolidated submission box is very positive as it would reduce the risk of missing submissions when they are spread over several pages. If developers pay more attention to these factors, it can lead to an improved study experience for future students.

The concert industry has been expanded enormously the last couple of years. At the same time as the increasing engagement for concerts, the digital market is growing rapidly. Today during concerts, people use their smartphones to send text messages, connect on social media, take photos, record film clips, and use the flashlight function in a replacement of a lighter. This behaviour may be perceived as a distracting moment and instead moves the person’s focus from the live performance to the phone. The distracting moment can be solved by making an application that makes the interaction more enjoyable through the study of user experience. This can lead to more focus on the music and therefore, enhance the concert experience. In this project, the work behind the development of designing prototypes is described. The method used in the thesis is the process of Design Thinking. The process is divided into a five-step model: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. The result presents three prototypes that are based on digital competitions that interact the audience during a concert experience. At the end of the thesis, a discussion about how to secure a positive outcome of interacting the audience and the artist is presented. The conclusion was that the interactions have good potential to work in a concert environment, but the interactions need to be additionally tested to secure a positive outcome. Another conclusion was that the time before a concert has more scope to make interactions work well and to not distract the users from the live performance. / Konsertindustrin har expanderat enormt de senaste åren. Samtidigt som det ökande engagemanget för konserter, växer den digitala marknaden snabbt. Idag använder publiken sina mobiltelefoner under en konsert för att skicka textmeddelanden, ansluta på sociala medier, ta foton, spela in filmklipp och använda ficklampans funktion som en tändare. Det här beteendet kan uppfattas som ett distraherande ögonblick och i stället flytta personens fokus från konserten till telefonen. Det distraherande ögonblicket kan undvikas genom en studie av användarupplevelse som gör att en mobilapplikation gör samspelet smidigare. Det kan leda till mer fokus på musiken och genom det förbättra konsertupplevelsen. I det här projektet beskrivs arbetet bakom utvecklingen av prototyper. Metoden som används i rapporten är processen Design Thinking. Processen är uppdelad i en femstegsmodell: sympatisera, definiera, föreställa, prototyp och testa. Resultatet presenterar tre prototyper som bygger på digitala tävlingar som interagerar publiken under en konsertupplevelse. I slutet av rapporten presenteras en diskussion om hur man kan få ett positivt resultat av att interagera publiken och artisten med varandra. Slutsatsen var att interaktionerna har god potential att fungera i en konsertmiljö, men interaktionerna måste testas ytterligare för att säkerställa ett positivt resultat. En annan slutsats var att tiden före en konsert har mer spelrum för interaktionerna att fungera bra och att inte distrahera användarna från konsertupplevelsen.

Eye tracking-teknologi har blivit mer och mer populärt att använda inom user experience-forskning med åren. I den här studien undersöks hur forskare väljer att visualisera eye tracking-data, vad dessa visualiseringar fyller för syfte och hur de skapades. Målet med studien är att identifiera hur forskare inom området motiverar deras val av visualiseringsmetod och om de redogör för hur de genererat deras figurer för visualisering. Studien är en litteraturstudie där artiklar har analyserats för att hitta jämförbar data. Alla artiklar är relaterade till user experience och har utfört sina studier med hjälp av eye tracking-teknologi. Deras eye tracking data samlas från webbaserade plattformar och visualiserasgenom figurer inkluderade i texterna. Resultat visar att samtliga studier inte motiverar deras val av visualiseringsmetod eller redogör på ett tydligt sätt hur de skapat visualiseringar. Samtliga studier gör också antaganden och slutsatser om användarupplevelsen av deras gränssnitt baserat på deras respektive visualiseringar trots att skapandet av visualiseringar inte redogjorts. / Eye tracking-technology has become increasingly popular to use in user experience research over the years. This study examines how researchers choose to visualize eye tracking-data, the purposes these visualizations serve, and how they were created. The aim of the study is to identify how researchers in the field justify their choice of visualization method and whether they explain how they generated their figures for visualization. The study is a literature review where articles have been analyzed to find comparable data. All articles are related to user experience and have conducted their studies utilizing eye tracking-technology. Their eye tracking data is collected from web-based platforms and visualized through figures included in the texts. The results show that none of the studies justify their choice of visualization method or clearly explain how they created their visualizations. All studies also make assumptions and draw conclusions about the user experience of their interfaces based on their respective visualizations, despite not providing details about the creation of said visualizations.

The objectives and goals of this study is to analyze different styles of viewing information on mobile platforms and to find out what each different view brings to the table by creating and testing them with varied users. The study takes into account List View, Scroll View, and Grid View and compares them while viewing three different data formats. For this study, plain text, tabulated text, and interactive text will be analyzed. Smart mobile devices are the most used platform to view data in today's information rich world according to a survey conducted by Forrester Research. When designing for them, a lot must be considered but not knowing what is best suited for each application can be daunting for developers and designers, especially in the user experience context. This study aims to explore each mobile interface and give a better understanding about the different user interface designs features. Information visualization on cross-media information spaces and platforms is an important part of how information is disseminated today. Considering nowadays people get their information through multiple different media platforms like tablets, mobile phones, and web browsers, how to visualize data across all these platforms is a study to focus on in itself. The study showed that users performed better with certain views paired with different data types over others. Certain features of each view helped users understand the data types better over others while others improved users speed in reading data. Users showed certain preferences when interacting with each view on mobile devices when viewing cross media information which is mentioned in the study. / Målet för den här studien är att analysera olika sätt att visa information på mobila enheter och jämföra dessa genom att testa med olika användare. Studien undersöker de olika vyerna List View, Scroll View och Grid View och jämför dem med tre olika dataformat: vanlig text, tabellerad text och interaktiv text. Smarta mobila enheter är den mest använda plattformen för att synliggöra i dagens informationsrika samhälle enligt en undersökning av Forrester Research. När man utformar designlösningar för smarta mobila enheter är det mycket man behöver ta hänsyn till. Att inte veta vad som är bäst för varje applikation kan vara en svår uppgift för utvecklare och designers, särskilt ur användarperspektiv. Den här studiens syfte är att utforska varje mobilt gränssnitt och ge en bättre förståelse för de olika designlösningarna. Att visualisera information på olika mediers informationsytor och plattformar är en viktig del av hur information sprids idag.Om man tar i beaktan att människor numera får information via flertalet medieplattformar som tex läsplattor, mobiltelefoner, och webbläsare så inser man att visualisering av data på alla dessa medieplattformar är en studie i sig. Studien visade att användare lyckades bättre med vissa vyer och datatyper i kombination jämfört med andra. Specifika funktioner i varje vy hjälpte användare att förstå vissa datatyper bättre än andra, medan andra förbättrade användarnas snabbhet att läsa data. Användare tycktes föredra att interagera med vyer på mobila enheter när de tittade på information på olika medieplattformar, vilket nämns i studien.

<p dir="ltr">Asian international students face various challenges and emotional issues during the process of acculturation, often finding it difficult to truly connect with the domestic culture. Current research often focuses on interactions and adaptation within the international student community, with little mention of how international students communicate with domestic students. Especially in the digital age, the ways people acquire information and communicate have evolved significantly from the past. This research takes into account the current era's context, seeks to understand the current status and needs of new Asian international students and propose further assistance guidelines. It employed interviews and co-design activities to delve into the issues from the perspective of Asian international students, encouraging them to integrate into the domestic culture. The findings suggest that new Asian students encounter similar challenges and utilize various strategies, with a view to fostering social connections with domestic students in future platforms.</p>

This research addresses the challenge of integrating ecodesign tools into the digital media industry to reduce the environmental footprint of digital products. Despite increasing awareness of sustainability, many digital media experts struggle to adopt these tools practically. This study investigates experts’ perception of the usefulness and ease of use of ecodesign tools and explores influences on their user experience. The research included two phases: a survey and a user study. The survey involved N=93 digital media experts in Europe and evaluated the perceived ease of use and usefulness of ecodesign tools utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model. It revealed the IBM Checklist for Sustainability and the Sustainable Web Design Guidelines as the most useful and easy to use ecodesign tools. These tools were then examined in a one-week user study, involving N=12 digital media experts. This phase included a diary study and user experience questionnaire. Results indicate that practical guidance, clear understanding, efficiency, trustworthiness, motivation, and innovation influence user experience. While sustainability awareness is rising, integrating ecodesign tools into daily workflows remains challenging for some experts. Comprehensive training and guided integration are needed to address these challenges. Ecodesign tools should fit diverse user needs, enhancing relevance and usability across various roles. Incorporating customizable features, clear guidance, interactive learning resources, and alignment with industry standards better support digital media experts and enhance their user experience. This research highlights the importance of ongoing development and refinement of ecodesign tools within the digital media industry.

The primary aim of the research project presented in this thesis was to develop and test a comprehensive psychological model of interaction experience with news Web sites. Although news media have been publishing on the Web increasingly since the second half of the 1990s and news sites have become a favoured source of news for many, there is a lack of knowledge about news sites in terms of interaction-experience constructs and their structural relationships. The project aimed to examine people’s use of news sites from the perspective of interaction-experience research by developing a model and, based on this model, to provide guidance for designers of news sites. The project comprises three research phases: (1) exploratory phase, (2) modelling phase and (3) experimental phase. In the exploratory phase, a review of literature and an exploratory study of interaction experience with news Web sites were conducted. The latter explored how users of a particular news site interact with the site and which aspects of their experience they report. Data for the exploratory study were collected with an online questionnaire and by recording participants’ use of a news site under think-aloud instructions. In the modelling phase, an online questionnaire was used to collect answers to psychometric scales that were selected based on the literature review and the exploratory study. A measurement model was formulated to test the relationship between measurement items and the measurement scales, and structural models were formulated to test hypotheses related to the structural relationships of variables. Following the test results, a model of interaction experience with news sites was formulated to predict outcome measures of interaction experience from variables measuring aspects of interaction experience. Components of interaction experience, in turn, were predicted from measures of perceived news-site characteristics. In the experimental phase, an experiment was conducted to test the model of interaction experience with news sites in a controlled setting. Additionally, measures of person- and context characteristics were included in the prediction of components of interaction experience. The model of interaction experience with news sites was supported and accounted for a medium to substantial amount of variance in outcome measures. Finally, design guidance was derived from the model to advance interaction-experience knowledge, and conclusions were drawn regarding the model, in relation to existing research.

This empirical work aims to investigate the impact of using multimodal communication metaphors on e-learning systems’ usability, overall user experience and affective state. The study proposed a triple evaluation approach to avoid the problem of conventional assessment relying only on usability measurements of efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfactions. Usability in that sense refers only to the functionality and pragmatic side of the product and neglects other aspects of the system. Learning is a cognitive and repetitive task, requiring learners’ attention as well as their interest. Therefore, when delivering content, in addition to the pragmatic functionality, an e-learning system should provide a constructive overall user experience and positive affective state. Doing so will ensure user engagement, facilitate the learning process and increase learners’ performance. The impact of using five different communication metaphors was evaluated in three dimensions using the proposed approach. Within the usability dimension, the evaluation criteria involved measuring system efficiency, effectiveness, user satisfaction and learning performance. Within the user experience dimension, the evaluation criteria involved measuring pragmatic aspects of the user experience, the hedonic aspects of user experience in terms of stimulation as well as identification and the overall system attractiveness. Within the affective state dimension a self-assessments manikin technique was used in conjunction with biofeedback measurements, and users’ valence, arousal and dominance were measured. The study found that system attractiveness and the hedonic user experience had a profound impact on users’ learning performance and attitude toward the tested system. Furthermore, they influenced users’ views and judgement of the system and its usability. The communication metaphors were not equal in their influence within the evaluation criteria. Empirically derived guidelines were produced for the use and integration of these metaphors in e-learning systems. The outcome of the study highlights the need to use the triple evaluation approach in the assessment of e-learning interfaces prior to their release for better adoption and acceptance by end users.

Frågan som denna rapport ställer sig är hur en användares engagemang i en aktivitet påverkas av vetskapen att motparten är en datorstyrd, dels jämfört med om motparten är en människostyrd Agent jämfört med en människostyrd Avatar och dels beroende på om den datorstyrda Agenten uppvisar ett mer mänskligt beteende, till motsats till ett mer maskin-likt. I syfte att besvara denna fråga har en utförlig litteraturstudie gjorts, som dels utforskat konceptet Engagemang, men även utforskat andra koncept, såsom Social närvaro, Ethopoeia och Simulering av mänskligt beteende. Dessa teorier har sedan använts för att utveckla ett webbaserat experiment, vars mål har varit att samla empiriska data. Experimentet gick ut på att lösa en serie enklare matematiska uppgifter, vissa mot datorn och andra med en mänsklig administratör som deltog på distans, och det som mättes var s.k. Dwell time, d.v.s. hur länge användaren var engagerad nog att ha fokus på aktiviteten. Resultatet visade att det fanns klara indikationer på att engagemanget i aktiviteten är lägre om motparten styrs av en dator, jämfört med om den styrs av en människa. Den andra ”delfrågan” var svårare att definitivt svara på, men författaren anser att det går att tolka resultatet som att engagemanget blir högre. / The question that this essay posed was how the user’s engagement is affected by the fact that the other party is a computer controlled Agent, both compared to if the other party was a human-controlled Avatar, but also depending on whether the Agent displays a more human-like behavior, as opposed to a more machine-like one. To answer this question an extensive litterature study was performed, both to develop the concept of Engagement, but also to explore other concepts, such as Social presence, Ethopoeia and Simulation of human behaviour. These theories were then used to design a web based experiment, with the purpose of collecting empirical data. The experiment consisted of solving simple math tasks, some against the computer, but others involving a human administrator, who participated from a remote location. The measured metric was Dwell time, i.e. the actual time the user was engaged enough to focus on the activity. The result showed that there is a definite indication that the level of engagement in activities is lower if the other party is controlled by a computer, as opposed to it being controlled by a human. The second part of the question was not as clearly answered by the result, but the author believes the result can be interpreted as showing an increase of engagement.