Research Interests (go here for past research)

Digital Sign System

This joint venture of the University of MN, Advanced Medical Electronics, and the University of Southern California, is developing and testing a system to help people with impaired vision find their way around buildings. An overview video is available here.

Design of Visually-accessible Spaces

This multi-center project between the University of MN, University of Utah, and Indiana University seeks to understand aspects of geometry, material selection, and lighting that influence visual accessibility of features within an architectural interior. The group's website can be found here.

Presenting information supporting sustainability

Being "green" has been co-opted as a marketing term rather than representing a world view and a way of life. Many of the aspects of modern life depend on consumption of limited resources. If resources are indeed limited, how can potential consumers be provided withinformation about resource use to support their behavior? This work takes visual perception and cognitive psychology to the arena of consumer education and decision making. Two volumes, Packaging Sustainability and Sustainable Graphic Design have recently been published to embody different perspectives related to packaging and presentation of products and information that support a sustainable lifestyle. Arlene Birt's work reflects a perspective very much parallel to mine. One of her insightful presentations can be found here, especially at 3:40ff and 4:20ff.