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The whisper pillow: a study of technology-mediated emotional expression in close relationships

Published: 03 September 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Emotional expression is crucial to feeling close to each other. However, current lifestyles and working situations often reduce the opportunities for "relatedness experiences". The present paper presents the Whisper Pillow, an interactive artifact for mediating emotional expression among couples with different daily routines (e.g., due to shift work). We provide a detailed reflection about how form of and interaction with the pillow create and shape the desired experience. In addition, we present an empirical exploration of the practices and experiences which emerge when using the pillow in daily life. The study showed that experiences can be successfully inscribed into the material. At the same time, it reminds us of the fact that users still need to embark on the experience and always find alternative practices and experiences through appropriation.

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Cited By

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  • (2024)There is an “I” in “We”: Relatedness Technologies Viewed Through the Lens of the Need for AutonomyExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650985(1-7)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
  • (2023)Chatterbox Opener: A Game to Support Healthy Communication and RelationshipsCompanion Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play10.1145/3573382.3616074(43-48)Online publication date: 6-Oct-2023
  • (2023)A Social Awareness Interface for Helping Immigrants Maintain Connections to Their Families and Cultural Roots: The Case of Venezuelan ImmigrantsProceedings of the 2023 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences10.1145/3573381.3596461(188-193)Online publication date: 12-Jun-2023
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cover image ACM Other conferences
DPPI '13: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces
September 2013
263 pages
ISBN:9781450321921
DOI:10.1145/2513506
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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  • Northumbria University: University of Northumbria at Newcastle

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 03 September 2013

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Author Tags

  1. close relationships
  2. emotional expression
  3. experience design
  4. grounded theory
  5. relatedness

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  • Research-article

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DPPI '13
Sponsor:
  • Northumbria University
DPPI '13: Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces
September 3 - 5, 2013
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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DPPI '13 Paper Acceptance Rate 27 of 53 submissions, 51%;
Overall Acceptance Rate 27 of 53 submissions, 51%

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Cited By

View all
  • (2024)There is an “I” in “We”: Relatedness Technologies Viewed Through the Lens of the Need for AutonomyExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650985(1-7)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
  • (2023)Chatterbox Opener: A Game to Support Healthy Communication and RelationshipsCompanion Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play10.1145/3573382.3616074(43-48)Online publication date: 6-Oct-2023
  • (2023)A Social Awareness Interface for Helping Immigrants Maintain Connections to Their Families and Cultural Roots: The Case of Venezuelan ImmigrantsProceedings of the 2023 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences10.1145/3573381.3596461(188-193)Online publication date: 12-Jun-2023
  • (2022)Future of Intimate Artefacts: A Speculative Design InvestigationProceedings of the 13th Indian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3570211.3570216(57-66)Online publication date: 9-Nov-2022
  • (2021)Flexi Card Game: A Design Toolkit for Unconventional Communication Systems for Long-Distance RelationshipsProceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction10.1145/3430524.3440650(1-16)Online publication date: 14-Feb-2021
  • (2020)Designing Ritual Artifacts for Technology-Mediated Relationship TransitionsProceedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction10.1145/3374920.3374937(349-361)Online publication date: 9-Feb-2020
  • (2018)Review of unconventional user interfaces for emotional communication between long-distance partnersProceedings of the 20th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services10.1145/3229434.3229467(1-10)Online publication date: 3-Sep-2018
  • (2017)Technology-Mediated Relationship Maintenance in Romantic Long-Distance Relationships: An Autoethnographical Research through DesignHuman–Computer Interaction10.1080/07370024.2017.140192735:3(240-287)Online publication date: 20-Dec-2017
  • (2016)Hold Me Tight: A Tangible Interface for Mediating Closeness to Overcome Physical SeparationIntelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment10.1007/978-3-319-49616-0_7(74-85)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2016

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