Cherish: Smart Digital Photo Frames

The introduction and rapid acceptance of digital cameras has fundamentally changed the way people take and share images. When displaying and interacting with images in the home, people still print out the photos as if they had been taken on a film camera. Although sharing occurs on computer monitors or even on TV, the digital photo hasn’t made complete circle in being represented digitally in a home environment. This research explores the display and social interaction with digital photos in the home.

To find design opportunities we used a User-Centered Design approach and studied how people currently display and interact with photos at home. Observed needs were used to generate concept scenarios that were validated with representative users during a concept validation session. Out of this has emerged the design of Cherish, a system for accessing and displaying photos in the home using digital photo frames.