Subtle and Personal Workspace Requirements for Visual Search Tasks on Public Displays

Abstract

We explore how users approach and define personal space on large, public displays. Our results show that users of public displays use one of two strategies for visual search tasks: minimizers create a small window and work up close to the display, and maximizers expand content to its full resolution and work at a distance. We show that these interaction styles match predicted 'personal' and 'subtle' interaction zones, characterize typical width and height requirements for these interactions, and show that these requirements are independent of the onscreen content's dimensions. Finally, we suggest practical guidelines for defining workspaces during personal and subtle interaction on large, public displays.

Charting Subtle Interaction in the HCI Literature

“…We also found that some publication lean on a previous definition, such as Vogel and Balakrishnan's concept of a "subtle interaction phase" [42,[77][78][79], but do not provide additional details on their own. Hence while these publications seemed relevant while skimming, they did not add to the subsequent analysis.…”

“…At the same time "[t]he information shown in this phase can be personal, but should be harmless, in that it should not be something that a user is highly protective of. " This notion of a subtle interaction zone was also applied by Wallace et al [79]. Similarly, Kukka et al studied two phases of interaction with a public display: "1) subtle interaction, where users can interact with the display through gestures or movement, and 2) direct interaction, when users interact with the display by directly manipulating it through e.g.…”