Abstract:

\"WayMaker\" is a tool enabling non-professionals to create digital layouts for large-scale graphical virtual environments. The design tool is based on \"elements of the city image\" as described by the urban planner, Kevin Lynch (1960). Ultimately, WayMaker should be situated within a virtual environment so that output from the tool is transformed as extensions to the virtual world. Here we describe an initial prototype that simulates a virtual domain through a series of composited frames. Our work with users informs continued development of the tool. We also plan usage studies conducted from a cognitive science perspective, examining issues of constructive learning and spatial cognition.