Photo Displays and Intergenerational Relationships in the Family Home Abigail Durrant 1 , Alex S. Taylor 2 , David Frohlich 1 , Abigail Sellen 2 , David Uzzell 1 University of Surrey 1 Guildford Surrey GU2 7XH, UK +44 1483 300800 {A.Durrant; D.Frohlich; D.Uzzell}@surrey.ac.uk Microsoft Research 2 Roger Needham Building, 7 JJ Thomson Ave Cambridge CB3 0FB, UK +44 1223 479700 {Alex.Taylor; asellen}@microsoft.com ABSTRACT In this paper we describe a design-orientated field study in which we deploy a novel digital display device to explore the potential integration of teenage and family photo displays at home, as well as the value of situated photo display technologies for intergenerational expression. This exploration is deemed timely given the contemporary take-up of digital capture devices by teenagers and the unprecedented volume of photographic content that teens generate. Findings support integration and the display of photos on a standalone device, as well as demonstrating the interventional efficacy of the design as a resource for provoking reflection on the research subject. We also draw upon the theoretical concept of Dialogism to understand how our design mediates intergenerational relationships and interaction aesthetics relating to the notion of ‘constructive conflict’. Categories and Subject Descriptors H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous. General Terms Design, Human Factors. Keywords Family photo displays, teen photography, situated displays, participatory design, interaction design, critical design, home life. 1. INTRODUCTION Historically, the tools and practices of film photography have been more accessible to adults than juniors within the family home setting [21]. This is arguably due to the nature of the tools that comprise film photography, along with the cultural conventions and socio-economic factors surrounding their use [4]. In contemporary British society it appears that every member of the family home is doing photography. The advent of digital camera technology has coincided with the development of personal mobile devices, sparking the proliferation of photographic tools such as camera-phones and their availability to older teens (16-18) [12]. Processing costs and, in some cases, the cost of the camera itself are no longer a limiting factor. In light of this, many studies of contemporary family photography point to its ‘apparent democratisation’ [25, p.86]. Some claim that the role of photography in family representation is changing, along with the way photography mediates established domestic roles and practices [29]. Certainly, increased participation in photography has, together with its digitisation, led to novel uses and novel forms of representation [18]. Teens are seen to ‘do’ photography differently to their parents, or at least in ways that contrast with conventional practices such as family album-making [29]. For the purposes of this paper we highlight this distinction by adopting the term teen photography. HCI researchers have made attempts to understand these two trends of democratisation and digitisation, and the associated changes to tools and practice, from different vantage points. For example, some studies have considered the take-up of novel capture tools such as camera-phones [12]; others have looked at the growing volume of collections and archiving strategies for their management [13]; others explore emerging cultures surrounding online display [18]. We consider these trends as they mediate the display of photos in the home. Digitisation has produced a new class of situated, dynamic and networkable display technologies that may be developed for home settings [20] and we deem it timely to explore how these technologies might support or transform domestic photo display mediated by new recruits and practices. 1.1 Background & Motivation In our ongoing research of family photo displays, we have observed the perpetuation of familial conventions surrounding film photography and its artifacts. In keeping with tradition, we see that the mother of the nuclear family continues to assume the roles of ‘family photographer’ and ‘family chronicler’ [21]. As we are focused on display, we’ve noted in addition how she coordinates the display of printed photos throughout the home environs on behalf of the household-at-large. We refer to this coordinating activity as home curation and see that it functions to unify a presentation of the family group, or household, throughout the home [28]. A feature of this role is that it affords a dominant voice to the mother for representing household members at home, especially juniors, and as such she is at liberty to impress a singular, maternal narrative upon home displays. According to our previous research [ibid.], home curation is intuitively tied to other roles that reproduce a domestic order, like parenting, housekeeping and interior decoration. These roles are all imbued with ethical sensibilities, power relations and moral obligations [27]. © The Author 2009. Published by the British Computer Society 10 HCI 2009 – People and Computers XXIII – Celebrating people and technology