Over the past few days, the ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2025 conference in Funchal, Madeira, has featured four groundbreaking contributions from LoGaCulture researchers, disseminated in papers that reflect LoGaCulture’s ongoing commitment to advancing post-anthropocentric, multispecies approaches in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and heritage engagement.
Marta Ferreira presented “Designing Biotopia: A Transmedia Experience for Natureculture Heritage and More-than-Human Entanglements“. Rooted in posthuman approaches to natureculture engagement, Biotopia blends interactive museum experiences with nature walks to foreground more-than-human entanglements in local ecosystems.
Ferreira and colleagues introduce three Design Constructs developed through research-through-design, proposing novel pathways to integrate posthuman theories into the design of critical heritage experiences. The work explores how transmedia storytelling can foster decentered and caring engagements with natureculture heritage.
Yu Liu and collaborators explored how game mechanics can make cultural heritage experiences more immersive and accessible through augmented reality in their paper Design Patterns for Playful Augmented Reality: Enhancing Cultural Heritage Engagement with Game Mechanics. Using the Microsoft HoloLens 2, they prototyped three playful interactions—jigsaw puzzles, object catching, and spatial drawing—within a natural science museum setting.
Their mixed-method evaluation shows these mechanics enhanced visitor engagement, learning, and immersion, even when faced with technical challenges. The team proposes a design pattern language to guide developers in creating gamified (augmented reality) AR experiences that are both educational and enjoyable across cultural and educational settings.
Mathilde Gouin followed with the presentation of “Critter Connect: Wearable Design for Place-Based & Multisensory Species Encounters“. The wearable prototype offers a tactile and auditory interface for embodied interactions with nonhuman species in biodiverse ecosystems.
Gouin’s design leverages posthuman theory and multispecies ethics to counteract the visual and linguistic dominance of traditional HCI. Through geolocation-triggered sensory feedback, Critter Connect helps users tune into the invisible presence of other species, encouraging non-hierarchical ecological cohabitation and attentiveness to place.
Finally, Noura Kräuter presented her work — Volumetric Human Realities in Augmented Spaces: Interactive Storytelling and the Pursuit of Presence and Immersion — exploring how volumetric video, embodied performance, narrative interactivity, and user-centered design can enhance immersive storytelling in AR cultural heritage experiences.
Together, these four publications exemplify the innovative, practice-led ethos of LoGaCulture. By embedding posthuman and ecological thinking into interaction design, they challenge conventional modes of engagement and offer compelling visions for multispecies futures!