Touch, Gesture, and Conversation: A Case Study in the Choreography of Interaction with a Data Physicalization

Many potential benefits of data physicalizations are thought to stem from their tangible nature and their presence in a shared space, which allows for physical interaction in a social environment. Prior research has studied where observers touch data physicalizations and how these touches depend on task. However, limited research explores the moment-by-moment details of touches, gestures, and verbal dialogue and how these interactions contribute to the larger data physicalization sensemaking process. This case study offers a new data analysis from a previous study to provide fine-grained accounting of one participant’s touches, gestures, and conversations around a data object. We identify four types of touches and gestures and describe relational patterns between individual interactions. This work provides a foundation for further exploring the reasons people touch or gesture with data physicalizations, connecting these efforts with gesture studies research, and identifying design implications for data physicalization.