Cesar Torres at Creativity & Cognition 2023
Alum Cesar Torres presented multiple papers at this years Creativity & Cognition conference, including "Cogcues: Shifting Perception through Interactive Projected Cues in Still Life Drawing," which won a Best Paper Award.
From the abstract:
The ability to visually discern shape, form, and value is fundamental to observational drawing. However, developing this skill requires a drawer to perceive a “raw” version of the scene being drawn, often referred to as regaining the innocence of the eye. This work investigates how interactive projected light cues can be used to alter the perception of drawing objects and understand how users might control their own perception. We introduce an augmented reality system capable of dynamically projecting interactive light cues onto objects within a live drawing studio. We present the design of three cues that address challenging percepts for novice drawers: gauging proportion, discerning shape, and shifting visual attention. In a formal user study with novice and intermediate drawers, we evaluate the effectiveness of these cues in supporting observational drawing. We demonstrate how cues can be designed to correct subconscious errors and visually guide users in learning to draw. We also discuss the role of augmented reality in supporting cognition in physical skill development.
Dr. Cesar Torres is the director of The Hybrid Atelier and an Assistant Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington. As a design researcher, he synthesizes new media and craft theory into the software and hardware design of creative, tangible user interfaces. He has received multiple best paper awards at top-tier venues within HCI and has been recognized with the NSF and Adobe/GEM Consortium Graduate Fellowships and a Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant during his Ph.D. He serves on the program committees for ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) and Creativity and Cognition (C&C), while previously serving on committees for ACM CHI and ACM TEI.