We are pleased to have Eva Mackamul from the Simon Fraser University presenting at our SFU VINCI seminar.

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Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: ASB 9896, Burnaby campus

Zoom Link: Join via Zoom

Talk Title: Improving Interaction Discoverability through Visual Signifiers

Abstract:
The ability to discover interactions is essential to user interactions yet often overlooked or dismissed as intuitive. However, users commonly fail to recognise which interactions are available to them, even in established interfaces like smartphones. In this talk, I present research on improving interaction discoverability through visual signifiers that correct perceived affordances. I first introduce a conceptual framework that clarifies key factors influencing discovery, before highlighting two projects examining how visual signifiers communicate available inputs. The first explores how signifiers for single-finger inputs (e.g., Tap, Dwell, Force Press) affect user perception and preference, showing that added signifiers improve awareness and reduce mental effort. Building on this, the second project investigates transient hints during animated transitions to reveal hidden widgets.
Together, these projects show how visual signifiers can support more transparent and discoverable interaction design while also highlighting limitations.

Biography:
Dr Eva Mackamul is a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Dr Parmit Chilana in the Interactive Experiences Lab at SFU. In particular, she is interested in user perception and interpretation of interfaces and their affordances and how they translate to discoverability and learnability. Previously, she worked as a Postdoctoal Fellow at the Université Grenoble Alpes on the perception of fragility in Shape-Changing Interfaces and completed her PhD focused on improving the discovery of touch-based interactions through visual signifiers at Inria de l’Université de Lille.