Overcoming Assumptions and Uncovering Practices: When Does the Public Really Look at Public Displays

Abstract. This work reports on the findings of a field study examining the current use practices of large ambient information displays in public settings. Such displays are often assumed to be inherently eye-catching and appealing to people nearby, but our research shows that glancing and attention at large displays is complex and dependent on many factors. By understanding how such displays are being used in current, public, non-research settings and the factors that impact usage, we offer concrete, ecologically valid knowledge and design implications about these technologies to researchers and designers who are employing large ambient displays in their work