Call for participation: CHI 2012 Workshop on Visual Thinking and Digital Imagery (5th May 2012)

Format and Goals
This workshop focuses on exploring the centrality of visual literacy and visual thinking to HCI. Drawing on emerging critical perspectives, the workshop will address visual literacy and visual thinking from an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary design-orientation, foregrounding the notion that imagery is a primary form of visual thinking. Imagery–which subsumes digital imagery–goes well beyond sketching and beyond storyboards, screenshots and wireframes. We will address how a broader framework for visual thinking and imagery in HCI can play a role in raising the visual standards of HCI research and practice. Workshop participants will investigate possibilities for developing a culture of curatorial gaze in HCI, in order to (i) promote collection of digital images as a method appropriate for a design-oriented discipline, (ii) invite others to contribute to a genre of working and corpus of imagery unique to HCI, and (iii) to expand the approaches that design-oriented HCI may productively and creatively draw upon.

Participant Selection Criteria & Requirements For Imagery and Optional Accompanying Position Papers
In keeping with the transdisciplinary foundation of visual thinking and design-oriented HCI, we hope to bring together a diverse group of HCI researchers and practitioners, as well as practitioners and academics in disciplines including (but not limited to) visual studies, design, photography, criticism, art, cultural studies, social sciences, and the humanities. First and foremost submissions will consist of visual thinking and/or digital imagery artifacts for curatorial review in advance of the workshop. A textual explanation or critical analysis of the artifact of no more than 4 pages in the CHI 2012 Extended Abstract format may be included. Submissions will be reviewed by the organizers, and 15-20 will be accepted. Accepted submissions will be placed on the workshop website, along with links to relevant literature.

Where to Submit Imagery and Papers
Submit your Imagery and Optional Accompanying Position Paper by email visualthinkingCHIworkshop@gmail.com

Important Dates
Jan 27 2012 Imagery and optional accompanying position paper due for review/selection
Feb 10 2012 Notification to workshop participants by organizers
Mar 16 2012 Advance registration ends

Note
At least one author of each accepted position paper must attend the workshop and all participants must register for the workshop and for at least one day of the conference.

Organizers
Eli Blevis School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University at Bloomington eblevis@indiana.edu
Elizabeth F. Churchill Internet Experiences Group, Yahoo! Research, churchill@acm.org
William Odom HCI Institute Carnegie Melon University wodom@cs.cmu.edu
James Pierce HCI Institute Carnegie Mellon University  jjpierce@cs.cmu.edu
David Roedl School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University at Bloomington droedl@indiana.edu
Ron Wakkary School of Interactive Arts & Technology Simon Fraser University rwakkary@sfu.ca

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