Semiotic circles: an inclusive methodology in HCI design

Advances in technology have penetrated all aspects of our lives. Consequently, our interactions with devices and other users become ubiquitous, demanding well thought-out design approaches. In the last few years, several methodologies for HCI design have been proposed, which attempt to capture users' thoughts and other information from multi-layered user hierarchies [1-2]. However, these methodologies do not scale well in hierarchical situations, where participants can be of differing levels of expertise/authority. We have designed an inclusive methodology which acknowledges all participant perspectives and facilitates interaction between stakeholders. Semiotic Circles draws inspiration from well-established methodologies such as Paper Prototyping, Think-Aloud protocol and Object Labeling. This methodology combines visualization on paper with a tangible tagging system, enabling the final aggregated model to be genuinely inclusive, rather than the result of designers/researchers choices.