Disrupting Screen-Based Interaction. Design Principles of Mixed Reality Displays

Image credits: The Future of Search. Mac Funamizu, 2008

Abstract: Transparent display technology fundamentally challenges the concept of the screen: it turns viewing first and foremost into using. Transparent media presents users with a complex ensemble of imaging techniques and visual information that is embedded into their action routines, viewing habits and working processes. It shifts the focus from the analysis of visual elements on screen to the iterative interplay of structures and processes in front of and behind the screen. In order to show the associated transformation of design and interaction principles, the paper suggest three elementary conditions to be taken into account when designing transparent media technology: a) the position of the screen, b) the point of view of the user and c) the augmentation of objects.