People and Computing Lab
Welcome to ZPAC!
The Human-Computer Interaction group at the University of Zurich.
Mission
We strive to design great experiences with computing and create technologies that benefit people in everyday life. To do so, we take an approach to research that goes beyond interface design and usability. We focus on gaining a deep, contextualized understanding of the relationship between people and computing technologies from which to draw insight.
Research
In our research, we apply approaches drawn from a variety of fields, with a focus on qualitative methods such as interviews for data collection or affinity diagramming for data analysis. Building upon a thorough understanding of a problem space, we iteratively develop designs and systems that offer people new interactive experiences.
Currently, we are working in areas such asstorytelling for ML and AI education, digital health personalization, Social and Design Justice in the context of Gender-Based Violence sensing technologies in prenatal care and designing at the intersection of culture and mental health.
Teaching
We take a hands-on approach to learning that is reflected in our teaching. Our courses are highly interactive in nature and incorporate projects, discussion, and in-class activities to give students the opportunity to put knowledge and skills to use.
Additional Information
ZPAC News
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Aarhus Workshop on Ethics, Power, and Participation
At the recent Aarhus Decolonial Conference, Nimra Ahmed, Lu Arn, and Natasha Obukhova, together with [co-organizers: Nadia Campo Wotyuk, Nicolai Brodersen Hansen, Anupriya Tulli, Angelika Strohmayer], co-organized the workshop “Ethics, Power, and Participation” within the Crisis × Computing theme.
The workshop explored tensions of ethics and power in participatory and justice-oriented design research, especially when working in crisis contexts. We were delighted to welcome 16–18 participants, including several who joined spontaneously on the day. Together, participants engaged in lively discussions, shared critical reflections from their own practice, and co-created a collective zine capturing experiences, challenges, and strategies for navigating ethics and power in design work.
The workshop not only sparked thoughtful conversations but also fostered new connections among researchers committed to addressing justice, care, and participation in computing. The workshop paper is available here.
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Nimra Ahmed Invited Speaker on Feminist Design and GBV
Nimra recently spent time at Northumbria University on a research stay with the Design Feminisms Lab, working closely with Angelika Strohmayer. During her visit, she explored how feminist and community-led design approaches can shape technologies that support help-seeking in the context of gender-based violence (GBV).
She was also invited to give a talk at Open Lab Newcastle University, where she shared insights from her research and discussed how we can design technology that is safer, more supportive, and better aligned with the realities of GBV survivors.
This visit was an inspiring opportunity to connect with researchers who share a commitment to feminist HCI, social justice, and community-based design.
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Clara-Maria Barth presented her Late-Breaking-Work at CHI 25!
Clara-Maria Barth presented her Late-Breaking Work at CHI 2025: “Incident Cards: A Tool for Documenting and Reviewing Experiences with Chronic Conditions”. This work was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Anton Fedosov, Prof. Jürgen Bernard, Gabriela Morgenstern, and Prof. Elaine M. Huang.
Have you ever wondered how to translate participants' experiences into actionable insights for research and design? Our paper introduces Incident Cards an artifact that helps researchers and designers to translate participants experiences into a structured format that facilitates documentation, recollection, review, and reflection. Curious about the value of Incident Cards for your research and how to create them? Read our paper!
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Ksenia Beloturkina presented her Late-Breaking-Work at CHI 25!
Ksenia Beloturkina presented her late-breaking work, "Charting the Design Space for Platform Cooperatives" (co-authored with Prof. Dr. Anton Fedosov, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Elaine M. Huang, University of Zurich), at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025) in Yokohama, Japan.The paper explores the unique characteristics of platform cooperatives - a fairer alternative to monopolistic platform-based companies - focusing on how fairness and equity are embedded in their design and how users perceive these values. It also provides actionable design recommendations to help manifest fairness characteristics through platform design.
In addition, Ksenia participated in the CHI 2025 workshop "Maternal Machines: Imagining Experiences in Perinatal Care." This workshop fostered thought-provoking and motivating discussions on how HCI technologies in perinatal care can move beyond quantifiable data and embrace sensorial, non-numerical forms of knowledge. -
Nimra Ahmed participates at the CHI25 Doctoral Consortium!
At CHI 2025, Nimra Ahmed participated in the Doctoral Consortium, where she received valuable feedback on her research from a group of dedicated mentors and connected with a cohort of inspiring fellow PhD students. The DC offered a unique opportunity to reflect on her work in a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment.
In addition to the consortium, Nimra also helped organize events for the Feminist HCI collective, including a well-attended picnic that brought together over 40–50 researchers. These informal gatherings fostered moments of care, solidarity, community, and mutual support, offering a welcoming space for both established feminist HCI researchers and those just beginning to find their way into the community and CHI.