Shaping the Ambience of Homes with Domestic Hypermedia

Abstract

Abstract. We currently witness a massive digitization of domestic materials e.g. photos, music, calendars, recipes, notes, messages. This digitization provides new conditions for how we interact with materials as well as how users shape the ambience of their homes. Observing the qualities of physical materials in the home, the process of digitization risks loosing the qualities of the spatial distribution, the aesthetics, and common reference points offered by physical materials and places in the home. We present a concept of domestic hypermedia (DoHM), which exploits potentials of digital materials and at the same time allow people to interact with digital materials in engaging ways providing rich experiences when organizing and using digital materials in homes. We present an infrastructure and design concepts that offer: ambient access to digital materials, common reference points, and collective experiences.

Domestic hypermedia

“…The objects may be printouts of pictures or souvenirs like a concert ticket, which then becomes a physical link anchor for an MP3 file or a collection of pictures. We have elsewhere [6] described how the MediaTable in combination with a MediaGate for uploading incoming materials and a MediaWall for providing calm ambient display in combination presents a domestic hypermedia system, which takes into account the specific challenges of the home.…”