Abstract:
Bystander is a multi-user, immersive, interactive
environment intended for public display in a museum or art
gallery. It is designed to make available heritage collections
in novel and culturally responsible ways. We use its
development as a case study to examine the role played in
that process by a range of tools and techniques from
participatory design traditions. We describe how different
tools were used within the design process, specifically: the
ways in which the potential audience members were both
included and represented; the prototypes that have been
constructed as a way of envisioning how the final work
might be experienced; and how these tools have been
brought together in ongoing designing and evaluation. We
close the paper with some reflections on the extension of
participatory commitments into still-emerging areas of
technology design that prioritise the design of spaces for
human experience and reflective interaction.
