WG2 Workshop on the co-design of digitally-mediated experiences in archaeology

Organisers: Francesca Dolcetti (University of York), Dr Rachel Opitz (University of Glasgow), Dr Sara Perry (University of York)

Summary

User experience (UX) is a critical component of effectively mobilizing legacy datasets and collections in archaeology. In this sense, it is crucial to the success of the discipline as a scholarly, professional and pedagogical pursuit. However, our understandings of UX in archaeology, and our tools to facilitate UX design and evaluation, are arguably negligible. This workshop is focused on the interdisciplinary co-creation and user testing of digitally-mediated experiences geared at archaeological sites and collections. It aims to provide a forum for testing the benefits of design strategies and tools coming from the field of Participatory Design, and devising a digital publication work pipeline that involves end users and stakeholders from the outset. We seek to bring together a multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners working in the field of archaeological knowledge production, use and communication.

The activities proposed here will provide practical experiences on how to integrate archaeological data, storytelling and digital platforms to encourage professional and wider public engagement with the past. Moreover, the workshop aims to foster reflections on the importance of evaluation and iterative design, especially within the prototyping phase, to create experiences bespoke to diverse users’ needs and expectations.

Group activities

The workshop is organised as a two-day event with participants working in 4 groups, structured in four phases:

• case study description: each group will work on a preselected case study and articulate its basic information and available sources (metadata/paradata);
• experience design: each group will define both contents and intended audience, what kind of message they intend to convey and how to structure the experience;
• prototyping: each group will build a 2D/3D paper mock-up to visualise the experience and make it tangible;
• evaluation: each group will act as end users and cross-evaluate other groups’ experiences.

Programme

1 April

9.30-10.00 introductions

10.00-10.30 coffee break

10.30-11.00 introduction to the aim and structure of workshop activities

11.00-12.30 activity 1: case study description

12.30-13.30 lunch break

13.30-15.30 activity 2: experience design

15.30-16.00 coffee break

16.00-17.00 discussion

19.00 Social dinner

2 April

9.30-10.00 resume activities

10.00-10.30 coffee break

10.30-12.30 activity 3: prototyping

12.30-13.30 lunch break

13.30-16.00 activity 4: evaluation

16.00-16.30 coffee and final discussion

Call for participants

We are looking for 16 participants who:

• are working on projects focused on the creation of digital resources related to archaeological collections and heritage sites;
• have research interests in UX design, UX evaluation and participatory design fields.
• Are a member of COST Action ARKWORK.  If you are interested in joining the action please contact the workshop organisers, and submit an expression of interest at https://arkwork.eu/join-us/

If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please send a short expression of interest (no more than 150 words) to Francesca Dolcetti ([email protected]).

Deadline for expressions of interest is Sunday 16 December 2018.

Participation to this event is open to Arkwork members only. If you are interested in joining the Action please contact the workshop organisers, and submit an expression of interest at https://arkwork.eu/join-us/