Publications

Conferences

Chen, Q., Mishra. R., Purnamasari, L., El-Zanfaly, D., Kitani, K. (2025). Origami Sensei: A Mixed Reality AI-Assistant. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), April 26–May 01, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 18 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3714099

Yi, S., Byrne, D., & El-Zanfaly, D. (2025). AirCraft: Exploring Air as a Design Medium. Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1145/3689050.3704932

Hu, P., Llach, D. C., & El-Zanfaly, D. (2024). Bridging the Gap: Exploring a Design-via-Making Approach through Digital Guidance Systems. In ACADIA 2024: Designing Change [Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) Banf, Canada 14-16 November, 2024]

Johnson, T., Li, A., Knowles, A., Chen, Z., Yi, S., Zhuang, Y., Tang, M. T., Byrne, D., & El-Zanfaly, D. (2024). XRweld: An In-Situ Extended Reality Platform for Welding Education. ACM SIGGRAPH 2024 Immersive Pavilion, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1145/3641521.3664409

Gavra, H., Kotsopoulos, S., Knight, T., Llach, D. C., El-Zanfaly, D., & Gannon, M. (2024). Robotics in Design and the Makings of Embodied Interfaces. DRS Biennial Conference Series. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2024/conversations/20

Hans, I., El-Zanfaly, D., & Cranor, L. F. (2024). Penumbra of privacy: A people-centered and place-centered approach to data privacy for smart workspaces. DRS Biennial Conference Series. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2024/researchpapers/313

Du, Y., Huang, X., El-Zanfaly, D. (2024) Subtle Visual Cues in Mixed Reality: Influencing User Perception and Facilitating Interaction. In Companion Publication of the 2024 ACM Creativity and Cognition Conference (C&C ’24 Companion), June 23, 2024. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA.

Chen, Z., Johnson, T., Knowles, A., Li, A., Yi, S., Zhuang, Y., Byrne, D., & El-Zanfaly, D. (2024). Augmenting Embodied Learning in Welding Training: The Co-Design of an XR- and tinyML-Enabled Welding System for Creative Arts and Manufacturing Training. Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1145/3623509.3633398 (Honorable Mention)

Johnson, T., Li, A., Knowles, A., Chen, Z., Yi, S., Zhuang, Y., El-Zanfaly, D., & Byrne, D. (2023). Augmenting Welding Training: An XR Platform to Foster Muscle Memory and Mindfulness for Skills Development. Companion Proceedings of the 2023 Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces, 61–64. https://doi.org/10.1145/3626485.3626544 (Best Demo Paper Award)

Liu, S., Zhao, E., Renouf, A. A. J. A., & El-Zanfaly, D. (2023). MindfulBloom: Spatial Finger Painting for Mindfulness Intervention in Augmented Reality. Companion Proceedings of the 2023 Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces, 74–78. https://doi.org/10.1145/3626485.3626548

Chen, Q., Mishra, R., El-Zanfaly, D., & Kitani, K. (2023). Origami Sensei: Mixed Reality AI-Assistant for Creative Tasks Using Hands. Companion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 147–151. https://doi.org/10.1145/3563703.3596625

El-Zanfaly, D., Huang, Y., & Dong, Y. (2023). Sand-in-the-loop: Investigating embodied co-creation for shared understandings of generative AI. Companion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 256–260. https://doi.org/10.1145/3563703.3596652

Dina El-Zanfaly, Yiwei Huang, and Yanwen Dong. 2022. Sand Playground: Designing Human-AI physical Interface for Co-creation in Motion. In Creativity and Cognition (C&C ’22), June 20–23, 2022, Venice, Italy. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 7 pages.

Chen, Z., Byrne, D., El-Zanfaly, D. (2022) Google Home, Listen: Building Helper Intelligences for
Non-Verbal Sound. ACM Creativity & Cognition 2022, 20-23 June 2022, Venice, Italy ACM, New
York, NY, USA

Byrne, D., El-Zanfaly, D., Rosenberg Munoz, D., Peters, D., and Scupelli, P. (2022) Here and There,
Now and Then: Creativity, Design and Instruction for Hybrid Environments. In Creativity and
Cognition (C&C ’22), June 20–23, 2022, Venice, Italy. ACM, New York, NY, USA

Khosho, A., and Nagan, I., and Francovich, C., and Arredondo, R. and El-Zanfaly, D. (2021). Time [in]Material: A Portal for Spatial Memories: DIS ’21: Proceedings of Designing Interactive Systems Conference, June 28-July 2, 2021, Woodstock, NY. ACM, New York, NY, USA. Under Review

El-Zanfaly, D. (2017). A Multi-Sensory Computational Model for Human-Machine Making and Learning. In ACADIA 2017: DISCIPLINES & DISRUPTION [Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) Cambridge, MA 2-4 November, 2017), pp. 238-247

El-Zanfaly, D., & Abdelmohsen, S. (2017). Imitation in Action: A Pedagogical Approach for Making Kinetic Structures. In 17th CAAD Futures 2017 International Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.

El-Zanfaly, D., & Knight, T. (2016). Why to Make (almost) Anything: A human-centered Learning Approach. In ISAM 2016 [Proceedings of the International Symposium of Academic Maker Spaces]. USA.

El-Zanfaly, D. (2011). Active shapes: Introducing a Design framework for Kinetic Architectural Structures. In SIGraDi 2011 [Proceedings of the 15th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics]. Argentina, Santa Fe, pp. 176-179

El-Zanfaly, D. (2009). Design by Algorithms: A Generative Design System for Modular Housing Arrangement. In SIGraDi 2009 [Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics], Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Books and chapters

El-Zanfaly, D. (2013). Active Shapes: Case studies in designing kinetic structures. In S. Ferracina & R.  Armstrong (Eds.), Unconventional Computing: Design Methods for Adaptive Architecture (First edition, pp. 152–155). Toronto: Riverside Architectural Press / ABC Art Books Canada.

El-Zanfaly, D. (2013). Sensorial Computing as a Pedagogical Approach for Designing Responsive and Kinetic Architectures. In S. Ferracina & R. Armstrong (Eds.), Unconventional Computing: Design Methods for Adaptive Architecture (First edition, pp. 156–167). Toronto: Riverside Architectural Press / ABC Art Books Canada.

Journals

El-Zanfaly, D. & Özkar, M. (2021). Rules for Play: Making for Design Learning. Under Review

El-Zanfaly, D. (2015). [I3] Imitation, Iteration and Improvisation: Embodied interaction in making and learning. Design Studies, 41, Part A, 79–109.

Contact

Lab Director:
Dina El-Zanfaly
delzanfa@andrew.cmu.edu