B5059 - Interaction Media Design (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students are put in touch with the intangible cultural heritage mediated by computer science and expressed under the form of practices, representations and skills that the multimedia research community recognizes as part of its identity. Students are able to reflect upon and manipulate a variety of digital instruments, including objects, artifacts and cultural spaces, manifested through interactive multimedia signs and actions.

Course contents

Interaction Media Design focuses on the design of interactive applications in the humanities and specifically in the domain of Cultural Heritage. During the course, media are treated (images, audio, video, 3d, etc.), together with interaction mechanisms and technologies. Main design principles are discussed in relation with CH and cognitive sciences.

The course is one of the modules of the exam "Digital Heritage and Multimedia". The first module (Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments), is held by prof.sa Tartarini.

The course is divided in 3 macroareas:

1. Hybrid Experiences in Cultural Heritage: Concepts, Interactivity and Multimedia
   

   • Physical and digital components of Hybrid Experiences; Virtuality–Reality Continuum; Human–Computer Interaction, from device-based to natural interaction.

   • Cognitive-emotional goals, visitor agency and embodiment; Interactive Digital Narrative, storytelling and gamification.

   • Digital media and formats (images, audio, video, 360° media, 3D and computer graphics); input/output systems and technologies, including screens, projections, mobile and XR devices, sensors and IoT.

   
   
2. Interaction Design: Methods and Tools
   

   • Fundamentals of User-Centred Design: PACT framework, target audience, Personas, needs and Requirements, Scenarios; Design Thinking and Co-Design methods.

   • Design Brief definition and experience representation through User Journeys, Storyboards and Flowcharts.

   • Fundamentals of UI/UX and interaction design: interaction paradigms, WIMP interfaces, usability and accessibility principles, wireframing.

   • From interface design to interactive prototyping: interaction flows, low-fidelity prototypes and interactive mock-ups.

   
   
3. Project Development, Prototyping
   

   • In-class development and iterative review of the course project; technical overview of multimedia (2d,3d) production and asset workflows.

   • Authoring and prototyping tools for interactive, narrative, spatial and immersive experience simulation; low- and high-fidelity prototyping methods.

   • Fundamentals of Web development and Game Engine environments; development tools.

Readings/Bibliography

The preparation of the exam requires:

FOR THOSE ATTENDING THE LECTURES

• Main volume to study: Benyon D. “Designing User Experience: A guide to HCI, UX and interaction design” (2019)

This volume should be integrated by the following chapters or scientific papers (that will be made available in VIRTUALE):

• Waern, A., & Sundnes Løvlie, A. (eds.) (2022). Hybrid Museum Experiences: Theory and Design. Amsterdam University Press. Chapters 2, 5, 8 and 10.
  
  
• Massidda, M. et al. (2026). Design Resources to Enhance Access to Coloured Collections Through Interactive Experiences. In: Ciortan, I.M., Ferdani, D., Hardeberg, J.Y., Sotiropoulou, S., Veggi, M. (eds) Chromatic Visions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 16450. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-17700-1_3

FOR THOSE NOT ATTENDING THE LECTURES

• Paper: Koenitz, H., Barbara, J., & Eladhari, M. P. (2022). Interactive digital narrative (IDN)—new ways to represent complexity and facilitate digitally empowered citizens. New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 28(3–4), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614568.2023.2181503
  
  
• Chapters: Hornecker, Eva, e Luigina Ciolfi. 2019. Human-Computer Interactions in Museums. Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-02225-8. chapters 1,2,4.
  
  
• Chapters: Marschner S., Shirley P. Fundamentals of computer graphics. CRC Press, 2018. chapter 1 and 3
  
  
• Paper: Pescarin, Sofia, et al. "Designing Coloured Experiences." Chromatic Visions: Exploring Colour in Art, Archaeology and Digital Realities, Part I. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025. 223-252.
  
  
• Paper: Travaglini, Laura, et al. "The codesign tool. A card-based framework for interactive and collaborative design in cultural heritage." International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025
  
  
• Paper: Massidda, M., Travaglini, L., Pescarin, S. “Designing Hybrid and XR Narrative Applications: A Framework to Describe Authoring Tools in Cultural Domain.” Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 38, 2025.
  
  
• Paper: Bonifazi, Federica, Manuele Veggi, Marcello Massidda, Daniele Ferdani, e Sofia Pescarin. 2025. «Implementing Curiosity Hooks and Caring Practices in the Reconstruction of Lost Polychromy: Design Prototypes for Interactive Experiences.» Digital Heritage https://doi.org/10.2312/DH.20253108.
  
  
• Paper: Spotti, Samuele, Federica Bonifazi, Marcello Massidda, Sofia Pescarin, e Laura Travaglini. 2025. «Designing Authentic Digital Experiences». Digital Heritage. https://doi.org/10.2312/DH.20253148.

Teaching methods

Students will follow theoretical lectures and participate to hands-on sessions of design and of creation of multimedia content, such as digital images, panoramas, virtual tours and interactive stories.

All students are invitated to attend to the lectures, due to their characteristics and nature (exercises, interaction, hands-on examples, etc.).

Students who could not attend, should advice the teacher at the beginning of the course, to receive indication on the special bibliography for the exam

Assessment methods

The course is part of the "integrated course" Digital heritage and multimedia. So there will be only one final exam which will include module A [Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments (Prof. C. Tartarini)] and module B [Interaction Media Design (Prof. M. Massidda)] assessments.

The exam is made of 3 parts:

1. T1: WRITTEN TEST [Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments (Prof. C. Tartarini)];

2. T2: WRITTEN TEST [Interaction Media Design (Prof. M. Massidda)];

3. O3: FINAL ORAL SESSION [Digital heritage and multimedia (Prof. M. Massidda + Prof. C. Tartarini)].

DETAILS

T1) WRITTEN TEST Module A - Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments (Prof. C. Tartarini): the test is aimed at verifying the acquisition of main concepts among those listed here.

Passing the test is mandatory to be able to enroll for the final exam.

The time for students to complete this written test is 90 minutes.

The mark represents 25% of the overall score.

T2) WRITTEN TEST Module B - Interaction Media Design (Prof. M. Massidda): the test is aimed at verifying the acquisition of main concepts among those listed above.

Passing the test is mandatory to be able to enroll for final exam.

The time for students to complete this written test is 90 minutes.

The mark represents 25% of the overall score.

N.B. In case of GLOC/ERASMUS students attending ONLY module B - Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments the mark will represent 40% of the overall score.

O3) FINAL ORAL SESSION (project work presentation) Digital heritage and multimedia [Prof. M Massidda + Prof. C. Tartarini]

The project must be submitted by mail to both professors at least 10 days before the final examination date (dates of the final examination will be published in https://almaesami.unibo.it/)

The mark represents 50% of the overall score.

In case of GLOC/ERASMUS students attending ONLY module Museology, Museography and Virtual Environments the mark will represent 60% of the overall score.

N.B. Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) or temporary/permanent disabilities should contact the appropriate University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) in advance. The office will be responsible for proposing adaptations to interested students. Such adaptations must be submitted to the teacher for approval at least 15 days before the exam session. The teacher will also evaluate the adaptations regarding the training objectives of teaching.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

• EXCELLENT (i.e. final score: 30 or 30 cum laude): in-depth view of all the course topics; active and intensive involvement in the development of the project following all the theoretical principles and the practical guidelines provided to the student during the lectures;
• VERY GOOD (i.e. final score: between 26/30 and 29/30): accurate knowledge of the topics and very good analysis skills; active involvement in the development of the project following the theoretical principles and the practical guidelines provided to the student during the lectures;
• GOOD (i.e. final score: between 25/30 and 22/30): good knowledge of the topics and involvement in the development of the project following the theoretical principles and the practical guidelines provided to the student during the lectures
• SUFFICIENT (i.e. final score: between 18/30 and 22/30): partial view of the course topics; minor contribution to the development of the project
• INSUFFICIENT = UNSUCCESSFUL (i.e. final score: lesser than 18): either not reaching even partial view on the course topics or not providing any contribution to the project. In the event of an "unsuccessful" assessment, the student must re-apply for a later examination call.

Teaching tools

The following software are suggested and will be used during lessons:

• TWINE
• QCad
• ATON
• FIGMA
• Draw.io
• Gimp/Photoshop/Illustrator
• Blender

Slides, Papers and other resources will be available in VIRTUALE

Office hours

See the website of Marcello Massidda