Café life in the digital age: augmenting information flow in a café-work-entertainment space

Abstract

In this report we detail our experience of designing and installing a large-screen public, interactive community board, the eyeCanvas, in a neighbourhood café and art gallery in San Francisco. Features of the community board include the ability to display content related to the café, including menus, nightly events and artists' work; the possibility of signing up for the cafe's email newsletter; and a touch-screen, "finger scribble" application that allows comments to be left. We describe the café, the eyeCanvas interactive display, the contents that are posted to the display comment on the adoption, use and impact of the eyeCanvas display.