Design for Art and Leisure.
Patrizia Marti · 2001
The paper is a reflection about the compelling yet difficult nature of design and evaluation of entertainment or edutainment systems. Such systems are not designed to help users perform work tasks or save time. They should encourage users to spend time and enjoy the interaction, and their ultimate mission is to engage the user and stimulate learning. The nature of this kind of systems imposes the definition of a theoretical and methodological policy of design that mediates betwecn design visions and user needs. In the paper we describe the ftamework adopted to design and develop a tourist guidc that transforms the user experience from one of consultation, whether with an audio guide, a multimedia kiosk, a CD ROM or even a book, to one of immersion in a rich information environment. The technology used allows to overlay multiple information structures over the physical world in a non intrusive fashion, opening up new possibilities for creative design. We believe that the success of the "new generation " systems for tourist applications, especially those exploiting advanced technologies, strongly relies on a design philosophy that mediates between a deep and continuous focus on the users and ~nnovative design visions.