Letizia Bollini | Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (original) (raw)

Book Chapters by Letizia Bollini

Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021, 2021

The discourse on the relationship between form and function in the world of design has its roots ... more The discourse on the relationship between form and function in the world of design
has its roots in the industrial and Tayloristic model that contrasts and differs from the artistic
and artisanal process since the disciplinary foundation. At the origin of the debate there are
visions about the role of design in society, but also about the specificity of its own language.
The digital revolution and the introduction of Human-computer interaction and the wider
concept of Human-centered design have profoundly transformed this relationship, strongly
shifting it in favor of people, their expectations and their needs. In particular, when design
then focuses on inclusive and universal approaches – i.e. addressing needs that go beyond
standards – form is often sacrificed on the altar of accessibility transforming the experience
of both audiences – “normal” as well as impaired subjects – into a poor and a “low-resolution”
one. On the other hand, for people with disabilities, form itself is the essence of experience.
Whether it is the sound channel or VUI in the case of visual deficiencies, the figurative
language, for acoustic disabilities, or the tactile-sensory component, considering the cognitive
and perceptual aspects, the form becomes both the medium and the message as well. The
paper aims to identify the stages of a possible cultural and social journey, within the broader
scenario of Universal design/Design for all and the culture of accessibility, which includes the
aesthetic-emotional dimension as a shared design value and driver of innovation in the sector.
Besides, it illustrates through the discussion of case studies, in the field of personal and public
communication, possible approaches to ethics and aesthetics of inclusive design.

Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 12953, 2021

In the last two decades, Milan has undergone profound transformations from both an urban and soci... more In the last two decades, Milan has undergone profound transformations from both an urban and social perspective. The online project MilanoAttraverso, promoted by ASP Golgi Redaelli and by a network of local private and public archives and institutions, wants to give back to the community the history of Milan as the centre of a network of solidarity and social inclusion, from National Unity to today. The knowledgebase open to citizenship includes the digitised and curated primary archival and documentary sources displayed and presented according to three structural organisation criteria: the narrative paths and stories, the protagonists-people, institutions and communities, and the historical cartographies were documents-texts, images, multimedia, maps and objects-are geo-based and contextualised according to space and time criteria. The paper presents and critically discusses the case study and, in particular, the three modes of navigation/experience-logical, narrative and visual-offered as an access point to users.

Proceedings of INTED2021 Conference, 2021

Although virtually implicit since the advent of the internet, the dimension of online teaching ha... more Although virtually implicit since the advent of the internet, the dimension of online teaching has for the
most of us long remained in the realms of the possible, failing to emerge as a practical alternative to
real, face-to-face teaching. In the context of the abrupt changes occurred recently in our lives, the
emergency linked to the pandemic has instead forced us to confront – under different conditions and
with mixed outcomes – a completely new didactic dimension. In light of the exceptional circumstances
we experienced on a global scale last spring for various weeks, it makes sense to expect that, just as it
will be for many other aspects of our lives, our approach to teaching will not, after this test, simply go
back to what it was. With the present article it is our intention, by presenting two parallel experiences in
this domain, to contribute to a reflection on the perspectives that the current state of affairs poses to
design education. In doing so we shall not underestimate the emergence of sensitive issues associated
with this phenomenon, such as those connected with the sphere of academic design teaching, the new
dimension of international competition among universities, and even of a ‘rediscovered’ role of our
profession as a bonding agent for our society. The article focuses on the crucial topic of design
education, on the grounds of those very particular experimental activities – the design practice and its
teaching – that although not specific to design per se, are essential in defining the set of skills we usually
associate with the cultural and professional sphere of our discipline. In this respect, the paper will
primarily discuss how, in the impromptu situation in which we suddenly found ourselves in the early
weeks of lockdown, we sought for ways to respond to the challenges posed by a rather unique
emergency by transforming the emerging challenges into opportunities. In this perspective, the
contribution will discuss the objective of exploring ways to re-enact in the dimension of distant learning
some key elements – such as the emotional participation, sense of belonging, tension and concentration
span – that we have so far typically associated with face-to-face design experience, and that we have
previously considered inseparable from any serious approach to design education. Far from pretending
to reach a conclusive answer to problems facing us in the near future, this contribution moves from two
experiences that in their differences, specificity and highly experimental character, complement each
other, and have led to somewhat encouraging – and surprising – results. In light of such development,
the article aims to address some key topics for a debate to come.
Keywords: Distance learning, design and pandemic, transmedia design,

Proceedings INTED 2021, 2021

he new generations - from Millenials to generation Z - who are starting or finishing their educat... more he new generations - from Millenials to generation Z - who are starting or finishing their educational training are considered digital natives. However, they are still educated by studying with traditional pedagogical approaches and tools. Besides, the pandemic emergency that forced us to distance
learning, i.e. teaching on digital channels rather than in presence, represents a paradigmatic shift in teaching experience On the other hand, alternative pedagogical methods and approaches using new technologies have been developed in recent years. From interactive whiteboards to the use of tables, from digital school publishing to online media, digital has become part of the conceptual framework within which the learning dynamic takes place. The paper explores the gamification approach within
the learning environment and proposes a critical map of the main approaches and technologies used.
In particular, it analyses and systematises the use of innovative interaction paradigms such as the use of AR/VR/XR on the one hand, and transmedia storytelling on the other, in the field of art, history and cultural heritage.

Proceedings of ICERI2020 Conference, 2020

The paper introduces an experimental study aimed at understanding if and how typography and font ... more The paper introduces an experimental study aimed at understanding if and how typography and font
design can influence or help dyslexic subjects with reading tasks. Exploring and comparing the state
of the art both in font design and in previous studies already conducted in the field, the study
investigates three aspects: i) whether the font utilised in the layout influences reading performance; ii)
whether adopting font families intentionally designed for dyslexic subjects helps them to better
perceive and understand texts; and iii) whether digital devices compared to printed paper reveal
different reading performances. The experiment involved both dyslexic and non-dyslexic subjects and
focused on the ability of users to recognise words and no-meaning words. Eight different fonts were
tested in order to conduct a comparison between fonts traditionally considered good: Times New
Roman, Simoncini Garamond, Verdana, Futura, Comic Sans, OpenDyslexic, EasyReading and
Biancoenero. The last three fonts have been intentionally designed and optimised for people affected
by dyslexia; there are two sans-serifs with a low legibility rate, two classic serifs, and a handwriting
font. Tests have been presented both on paper and on a digital display according to measurable
parameters: speed and accuracy of the reading. Results have been discussed and compared with
existing literature in the field.
Keywords: font accessibility, typography

Communicating Complexity 2017, 2020

The data visualization debate is often polarized between the two dominant position of communicati... more The data visualization debate is often polarized between the two
dominant position of communication design and data science. A human-centered
approach can introduce a third perspective putting people who'll use the
information in a prominent role in the design process. According to user research
methods, user personas and task-based testing, and co-design activities,
the paper presents a case study developed for the Historical Italian Mind Science
Archive (Aspi). The project has been focused on the experience of the users
when surfing the hierarchical structure of the Aspi website looking for biographical
information about the protagonists or searching for primary and original
documents – such as correspondence, writings, notes – inside the digitized archives
and their inventory. Interactive data visualization, on one hand, and human-
centered design, on the other, are the two drivers chosen to make links
and connections – otherwise embedded in the historical knowledge of experts
in the field – explicit or, better to say, visible. The results are different conceptual
and visual displays of the archives and curated contents of the website offering
dynamic and interactive insights according to three different selected criteria:
time, space, people. Activities of expert walk-through and user-testing,
used in the research phase of the process have been used to evaluate the final
results to understand and assess the overall experience of users and to validate
the initial design hypothesis to extend the approach beyond the proposed case
study.

Proceedings of the 2nd International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Image and Imagination. IMG 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2020

Visual communication has always been one of the primary forms of human expression. Moreover, sinc... more Visual communication has always been one of the primary forms of
human expression. Moreover, since the digital revolution, we are leaving in
between two phenomena: the so-called société du spectacle directly relying on
images as social representation and the information society. More than ever, we
are living an abundance of mass picture production thanks to mobile devices,
and social network devoted to visual storytelling. Nevertheless, this profusion is
dramatically changing the nature of images: from timeless memory-machines to
ephemeral experiences to be shared and consumed. Besides, the perishable
materiality of digital images and the technological obsolescence risk to erase
original documentary sources forever. The paper presents and discusses the
paradox the end of mythography – the visual form history storytelling as we
know it today – and the cultural creation of the eternal present due to the
mortality of digital images.

Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2020. ICCSA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2020

The privileged key to reading an urban territory has traditionally been cartography. The form "ma... more The privileged key to reading an urban territory has traditionally been cartography. The form "map", in fact, tries to return, two-dimensionally and with a more or less abstract language, the complexity of our perceived and interacted in space, through our physicality. In this process of abstraction many of our visceral abilities must be distilled into a form of representation that elects vision as a privileged channel. The possibility of using mobile devices has widened the range of expression and the ways in which we can orient people in the environment. But, well beyond this instrumental function, the use of the acoustic channel, for example, opens up design scenarios for the construction of an identity of places that involves users from the point of view of experiential richness. Generally used to give procedural indications and free the user in movements, the sound interface has in itself further potential for exploring the communicative design and reading of the anthropic environment. The paper proposes an interpretation of the urban landscape of the city of Milan and its historical transformation through the narrative key of one of the major Italian novels and the construction of soundscapes that gives back the emotional richness of reality. Based on a holophonic recording, the prototype of the mobile app explores the possibility of extending a space-contextual experience through a multimodal storytelling that generates "sound vision".

The urban structure that a tourist explores during a tour is the result of a historical evolution... more The urban structure that a tourist explores during a tour is the result of a historical evolution where spaces have been shaped by events, planned activities and every day life. The identity of the place is a mixed brand composed by material objects, symbolic values and social experience layered on the physical environment. The risk for mass-tourism is to remain on the surface of this historical sedimentation unable to discover, recognize and appreciate the inner soul – the genius loci – of the place in itself. On the other hand, visual artists, writers, novelist, musicians and other cultural protagonists can give a powerful and deep insight of a city life and personality. The paper proposes an experimental project that tries to read the secret life of Milan through the eyes of one of its most famous novelist and intellectual leader of the XIX century, the well-known author Alessandro Manzoni. The time machine, a features of the mobile app The Betrothed 2.0, presents the evolution of the city following the itineraries made by one of the main character of the novel. That allows to show different periods (XVII, XIX centuries and the contemporaneity) and places geo-referenced on historical maps using a multimodal and augmented reality story telling approach. The app, tested with real people among tourists, city-users and inhabitants, is the driver to discover the urban space and its intimate soul.

The school system is progressively adopting digital technologies as a support for teaching and le... more The school system is progressively adopting digital technologies as a support for teaching and learning activities. On one hand, new generations of Millenials, digital natives, Gen Z, and iGen are growing with a pervasive and transparent relationship with interactive devices and platforms.
On the other, teachers are facing this revolution with a digital migrant background. Touch, streaming, multitasking, messaging, chatting, real-time feedback, free access, peer relations and social interactions worldwide are the basis of a technology-mediated relationship with the world, with tools and between people natural and spontaneous for students.
Teachers, on the opposite, are more connected with a world of in-presence and monotasking learning activities, with printed books, frontal lessons and periodical tests to verify if notions and concepts have been learned and understood.
The “Res Logica” app for tablet – presented at the ICERI 2015 conference – is aimed to teach (Italian) grammar to students age 11-14 years. It proposes a way to use digital technologies, based both on a gamification approach and on the dynamics of social interaction among peers typical of social networks and web 2.0 era. In the first phase of the research project (2012-15) it has been prototyped end tested with students to evaluate and assess the original hypothesis,
The second research phase (2016-17) a spin-off has been developed. This aside app is explicitly addressed to teachers has been designed, prototyped and tested to understand how they react to digital innovation and mobile technologies as teaching support.
Res-Logica Magister – the tablet app targeted on theaters – implements some new features to manage and organize the classrooms and to monitor improvements and results made by individuals along the learning process. Besides, it gives the teacher tools to create new exercises and homework activities to update and enrich the online database in a very intuitive way.
A new prototype has been developed using HTML5 and CSS3 (the original version was implemented as an eBook using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite and .folio format to produce an enhanced pdf) for a mobile open and cross-platform e cross-device result. Then it has been tested with subjects belonging to three different "personas" according to Cooper's methodology. The first group, the “traditionals”, was composed by teachers older than 50 years; the second one, "innovators" was made by teachers (30-50); and "digital animator" a new school professional figure aimed to introduce students and colleges to digital technologies.
Users involved in the experiment were asked to make some basics tasks such as: create a class or set up and publish a new exercise using the features implemented in the Res Logica Magister version, using the thinking aloud protocol.
Time of execution and main and minor errors have been traced, compared and ranked to understand the principal usability and experience problems and to fix them in an iterative redesign phase.
Then the subject involved in the research, have been interviewed to understand, according to a qualitative research approach, if they would be interested in adopting the digital app or, in case of adverse answers, why they do not consider this digital tool as pedagogy support.
The paper presents and discuss the findings and compare them with the previous experimental highlights emerged in 2015 from the students' evaluation. It finally proposes some best practices and critical aspects of bringing ICT in the learning process.

As Apple firstly launched iPhone in 2007, first generation of mobile devices rapidly raised using... more As Apple firstly launched iPhone in 2007, first generation of mobile devices rapidly raised using the same interface design approach establish by iOS Human Interface Guidelines that means skeuomorphysm. The interface of iOS and Android smartphones were 3D, bold, rounded, coloured, shaded and hyper-metaphorically similar to the real world. As always happened in design field, when something new is introduced into the market, it uses a mimetic approach with the already existing world so that people can easily create a mental model based on their previous experience.
Colours were used in a natural way to convey a recognizable and reliable image of the world, so realistic to be transparent to the users perception.
The enhancement in 2013 of iOS7 to flat design represent a significant breaking point. Quickly implemented and expanded as material design in a deeply well-structured Android manual, flat approach has significantly altered the use and the language of colours applied to graphical and touch interfaces both in mobile and desktop operating systems.
On one and, material design introduces a wide, massive and bold use of colours so that they become one of the most powerful and expressive assets of the interaction and experience system. But, on the other hand, they assume a connotative and abstract role in identifying elements and in orientating the users across sections, navigations, call-to actions and feed-backs.
Colours become unnatural, saturated, pop, acid. Contrast are strong and effective, but sometimes overwhelming. Moreover some of the established pattern, semiotic and cultural meanings – coming both from basic design and graphical user interfaces guide-lines – are disregarded.
This sloppy and inconsistent use of colour language creates misunderstandings and errors in the users experience.
The paper presents and discusses the main problems of colour design and usability mapping them in the three main mobile operating system - iOS, Android and Windows-Surface – critically comparing design guide-lines according to visual design principles and Gestalt Theory to suggest and improve a general review.

Italian abstract: La ricerca si inserisce nel più vasto panorama della comunicazione visiva e del... more Italian abstract: La ricerca si inserisce nel più vasto panorama della comunicazione visiva e della progettazione ergonomica applicata ai progetti di tipo segnaletico ed ambientale. Partendo da un approccio focalizzato sull'utente (user-centerd) il progetto esplora le possibilità di realizzare sistemi informativi ambientali che supportino e semplifichino l'esplorazione dell'utente all'interno di un sistema spaziale complesso e articolato come quello di un campus universitario a scala urbana. Il lavoro si presenta come una sfida ...

Letizia Bollini piano formale: il pensiero futurista, infatti, investe e scardina i rapporti con ... more Letizia Bollini piano formale: il pensiero futurista, infatti, investe e scardina i rapporti con la società borghese in nome dell'estetica della velocità, della macchina e della guerra.

Design Multiverso. Appunti di fenomenologia del …, Jan 1, 2004

L'ambiente dell'apprendimento. Web design e processi …, Jan 1, 2006

Bollini, L. (2006). Metodologie per il design dei new media. In G. Anceschi, M. Botta, &a... more Bollini, L. (2006). Metodologie per il design dei new media. In G. Anceschi, M. Botta, &amp; MA Garito (a cura di), L&#x27;ambiente dell&#x27;apprendimento. Web design e processi cognitivi (pp. 281-289). Milano : McGraw-Hill. ... There are no files associated with this item. ... Items in DSpace are ...

Piccoli frammenti di città per abitare, Jan 1, 2004

Senses and Sensibility in Technology, Jan 1, 2003

Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021, 2021

Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 12953, 2021

Proceedings of INTED2021 Conference, 2021

Proceedings INTED 2021, 2021

Proceedings of ICERI2020 Conference, 2020

Communicating Complexity 2017, 2020

Proceedings of the 2nd International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Image and Imagination. IMG 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2020

Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2020. ICCSA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2020

Design Multiverso. Appunti di fenomenologia del …, Jan 1, 2004

L'ambiente dell'apprendimento. Web design e processi …, Jan 1, 2006

Piccoli frammenti di città per abitare, Jan 1, 2004

Senses and Sensibility in Technology, Jan 1, 2003

DIID, Disegno industriale industrial design/DIID, Feb 19, 2024

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2003

Ais/Design. Storia e Ricerche, Jun 30, 2020

INTED2022 Proceedings, 2022

17th International Conference on e-Society 2019, 2019

INTED2016 Proceedings, 2016

The paper proposes a critical reflection on the use of icons – silent images – capable of communi... more The paper proposes a critical reflection on
the use of icons – silent images – capable
of communicating functionality, interactions
and emotions, within digital communication
ecosystems with particular reference
to the mimesis/realism dichotomy and the
concept of affordance as criteria for designing
and decoding the visual message.

img journal, 2022

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2022

2CO Communicating Complexity. Contributions from the 2017 Tenerife Conference, 2020

PAD. Pages on Arts and Design, Dec 2022

Memories in Time of Crisis. Design Heritage and Visual Memories. Digitized & Digital-Native Memor... more Memories in Time of Crisis. Design Heritage and Visual Memories. Digitized & Digital-Native Memories.

Authors: F. E. Guida, L. Bollini, A. Facchetti, S. Melis, D. Murgia, C. Ureta Marín, M. Chilet Bustamante, M. Moretti, A. Bosco, S. Gasparotto, M. Lengua, E. Scotucci, A. Vendetti, A. Andrade, L. Défayes, E. Groves, N. Henchoz, D. Ribes, M. Salzmann, A. Schneider, I. Ruggeri, G. Sinni, A. Pollini, M. Zannoni, D. Casciani, A. Vandi, C. S. Galasso, A. Dutkowska-Zuk.

La rivoluzione tecnologica – di internet, del mobile e dell’ubiquitous computing – ha trasformato... more La rivoluzione tecnologica – di internet, del mobile e dell’ubiquitous computing – ha trasformato profondamente il nostro modo di interagire con l’ambiente fisico e sociale che ci circonda, sia esso reale o virtuale.
I singoli punti di accesso alle informazioni, i differenti dispositivi, come smartphone e tablet, i molteplici contesti d’uso ed il flusso comunicativo costituiscono un insieme complesso: un ecosistema digitale dinamico e omeostatico.
In questo scenario, il design della comunicazione nelle sue diverse scale, macro e micro, è l’elemento che unifica e differenzia l’esperienza, non plasmata sulla tecnologia – il device e le sue caratteristiche – bensì sulle persone in un’ottica “right thing at the right place at the right time”. Il libro affronta le sfide del design declinandole secondo temi quali il passaggio dal mouse alle interfacce touch, le dimensioni e le geometrie variabili dello spazio di interazione, la declinazione dei linguaggi visivi nel mondo digitale.

Milano: AIAP Edizioni, Jan 1, 2003

www.aspi.unimib.it An innovative, integrated platform allows easy consultation of the manuscripts... more www.aspi.unimib.it
An innovative, integrated platform allows easy consultation of the manuscripts of the many protagonists in the history of psychology and mental sciences in Italy.
High definition images, navigable on-line inventories, historical contextualisation and cross-searches within the contents of each archive enable one to retrace the complex network of scientific and personal connections that characterize a polyhedron and borderline discipline like psychology.