Digitally-Translating-Materiality
📚➡️ 🖥️ Digitally representing books as more than just pixels on a screen (2020).
This project started as my MSc thesis and I have continued to work on it ever since with my previous thesis supervisors Dr. Uta Hinrichs and Dr. Loraine Clarke (St Andrews University), as well as Dr. Stefania Forlini (University of Calgary). It takes the form of a web interface coded in HTML, JavaScript & CSS.
An extensive review was conducted, leading to the identification of two main weaknesses in existing literary collection browsing interfaces: the focus on content at the expense of physical properties, and the onerous nested, keyword-dependent search mechanisms. Several solutions for overcoming these issues were explored, and multiple existing works employing them were reviewed. Based upon the insights gained, several alternative designs were created in various fidelity levels to explore possible interfaces that could offer a novel browsing experience. After adapting, combining, and eliminating some designs, the emerging ones were fashioned into an interactive prototype using Axure RP 9 and Balsamiq. The prototype also incorporated several overview-giving filters oriented around the physical and material aspects of the collection. It additionally employed a natural language, auto-complete-based search bar supplemented visually with anthology snippets. The prototype was evaluated through a pilot study where participants found it engaging and pleasant, especially appreciating the variety of perspectives offered by the alternative layouts and the comprehensiveness and novelty of the filters.
Try Out the Website
You can explore a live version of the website here: https://1o6392.axshare.com/#id=rxd7k8&p=visualization&sc=1
You can also find out more about it, read the research paper, or watch some videos here: https://malaksadek.wordpress.com/2021/03/26/digitally-translating-the-materiality-of-print-collections/
Contact
- email: mfzs1@st-andrews.ac.uk
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/malak-sadek-17aa65164/
- website: http://malaksadekapps.com/