SlideSpace: Heuristic Design of a Hybrid Presentation Medium
This article presents a systematic deconstruction, and reconstruction, of presentation authoring based on a scholarly and incisive analysis of the design space of presentation systems, leading up to the design of a presentation tool known as SlideSpace.
The SlideSpace system offers many strengths and complementary properties to existing presentation tools, whether derived from the prevalent metaphor of slides or that of the canvas, because indeed it offers an intriguing hybrid of the two (while also strongly supporting elements of a third, the stage metaphor, where visual elements enter and exit the screen, often with well-crafted animations).
User feedback made clear that SlideSpace is especially well suited to more formal, businesslike presentations where the clear big-picture and hierarchical structure imposed by an outline view brings significant value, but what I perhaps found the most thought-provoking was the way in which the work suggests a rich design space of hybrid presentation systems.
Indeed, I found myself wondering if one could go in a different direction from the same core analyses, and contemplate other styles of hybrid presentation tool that might (for instance) reverse the formal and structured nature of the presentations afforded by SlideSpace, to perhaps cater to more freeform and informal ‘talks’ or collaborative sessions.
Whether or not this is a good idea, the general principles and heuristics articulated by this TOCHI article could certainly go a long way in informing such a venture, if not even more intriguing visions for ‘The Presentation of the Future.’
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2898970).