Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives

A.F. Zijlema; E.A.W.H. van den Hoven; J.H. Eggen

doi:10.1145/3010915.3010958

Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Cherished utilitarian objects can provide comfort and pleasure through their associations to our personal past and the time and energy we have invested in and with them. In this paper, we present a specific type of object relationship, which we call the companion. They are mundane objects that accrued meaning over time, and evoke tiny pleasureswhen we interact with them. We then draw insights from the HCI research literature on digital possessions and attachment that could be applied to enhance digital products or processes with companion qualities. We argue the importance to design for digital companionship in everyday use products, for example by enabling the accruement of subtle marks of the owners past with the product. We wish to evoke thought and awareness of the role of companions, and how this relationship can be supported in digital products.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	OzCHI '16: Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, Launceston, Australia
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.
Pages	170-174
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-4503-4618-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3010915.3010958
Publication status	Published - 30 Nov 2016
Event	28th Australian conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016) - Launceston, Australia Duration: 28 Nov 2016 → 2 Dec 2016 Conference number: 28 http://www.ozchi.org/2016/

Conference

Conference	28th Australian conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016)
Abbreviated title	OzCHI 2016
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Launceston
Period	28/11/16 → 2/12/16
Internet address	http://www.ozchi.org/2016/

Keywords

digital possessions
memory cues
product relationships
traces of use
interaction design
Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI)
User-centered design

Access to Document

10.1145/3010915.3010958

Cite this

@inproceedings{7e53e193db2345648ec595192eabdd3a,

title = "Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives",

abstract = "Cherished utilitarian objects can provide comfort and pleasure through their associations to our personal past and the time and energy we have invested in and with them. In this paper, we present a specific type of object relationship, which we call the companion. They are mundane objects that accrued meaning over time, and evoke tiny pleasureswhen we interact with them. We then draw insights from the HCI research literature on digital possessions and attachment that could be applied to enhance digital products or processes with companion qualities. We argue the importance to design for digital companionship in everyday use products, for example by enabling the accruement of subtle marks of the owners past with the product. We wish to evoke thought and awareness of the role of companions, and how this relationship can be supported in digital products.",

keywords = "digital possessions, memory cues, product relationships, traces of use , interaction design, Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI), User-centered design",

author = "A.F. Zijlema and \{van den Hoven\}, E.A.W.H. and J.H. Eggen",

year = "2016",

month = nov,

day = "30",

doi = "10.1145/3010915.3010958",

language = "English",

pages = "170--174 ",

booktitle = "OzCHI '16: Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, Launceston, Australia",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.",

address = "United States",

note = "28th Australian conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016), OzCHI 2016 ; Conference date: 28-11-2016 Through 02-12-2016",

url = "http://www.ozchi.org/2016/",

}

Zijlema, AF, van den Hoven, EAWH & Eggen, JH 2016, Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives. in OzCHI '16: Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, Launceston, Australia. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., New York, pp. 170-174 , 28th Australian conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016), Launceston, Australia, 28/11/16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3010915.3010958

Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives. / Zijlema, A.F.; van den Hoven, E.A.W.H.; Eggen, J.H.
OzCHI '16: Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, Launceston, Australia. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., 2016. p. 170-174 .

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives

AU - Zijlema, A.F.

AU - van den Hoven, E.A.W.H.

AU - Eggen, J.H.

N1 - Conference code: 28

PY - 2016/11/30

Y1 - 2016/11/30

N2 - Cherished utilitarian objects can provide comfort and pleasure through their associations to our personal past and the time and energy we have invested in and with them. In this paper, we present a specific type of object relationship, which we call the companion. They are mundane objects that accrued meaning over time, and evoke tiny pleasureswhen we interact with them. We then draw insights from the HCI research literature on digital possessions and attachment that could be applied to enhance digital products or processes with companion qualities. We argue the importance to design for digital companionship in everyday use products, for example by enabling the accruement of subtle marks of the owners past with the product. We wish to evoke thought and awareness of the role of companions, and how this relationship can be supported in digital products.

AB - Cherished utilitarian objects can provide comfort and pleasure through their associations to our personal past and the time and energy we have invested in and with them. In this paper, we present a specific type of object relationship, which we call the companion. They are mundane objects that accrued meaning over time, and evoke tiny pleasureswhen we interact with them. We then draw insights from the HCI research literature on digital possessions and attachment that could be applied to enhance digital products or processes with companion qualities. We argue the importance to design for digital companionship in everyday use products, for example by enabling the accruement of subtle marks of the owners past with the product. We wish to evoke thought and awareness of the role of companions, and how this relationship can be supported in digital products.

KW - digital possessions

KW - memory cues

KW - product relationships

KW - traces of use

KW - interaction design

KW - Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI)

KW - User-centered design

U2 - 10.1145/3010915.3010958

DO - 10.1145/3010915.3010958

M3 - Conference contribution

SP - 170

EP - 174

BT - OzCHI '16: Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, Launceston, Australia

PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

CY - New York

T2 - 28th Australian conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016)

Y2 - 28 November 2016 through 2 December 2016

ER -

Companions: objects accruing value and memories by being a part of our lives

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this