Intermedia & Communication Design · MA
I am Sabrina Dibl — an intermedia and communication designer working at the intersection of human-centered design, human-centered interaction and digital learning innovations. My practice is grounded in ISO 9241-210 and research through design: every interface begins with people, and every claim rests on evidence.
Design earns trust when it is accountable to people — evidence is not the opposite of aesthetics, but its foundation.
Selected Work
Each case follows the same evidence logic: the human problem, the methodical approach, the outcome.
Problem: Hybrid courses fragmented attention; online participants felt like spectators.
Approach: Contextual inquiry with teachers and students, co-design workshops, iterative prototyping of a shared journey format.
Outcome: A rhythmised learning journey with synchronised touchpoints, collaborative boards and clear facilitation cues.
↑ participation of remote learners in pilot courses
Problem: A static exhibit failed to engage younger visitors.
Approach: Observation on site, rapid spatial prototypes, evaluation with visitor groups.
Outcome: A spatial, multi-sensory narrative blending projection, sound and tangible interaction.
↑ dwell time & repeat visits
Further work and detailed case documentation on request.
Master's Thesis · Featured Case
Theory-guided conception of a facilitation environment for emotion visualisation and intervention support (FH Vorarlberg, 2025)
Digital simulation games are powerful learning environments — yet facilitators often lack insight into how participants are actually doing while the game is running. The thesis designs a facilitation environment that visualises physiological real-time data as emotional states and pairs them with theory-based intervention formats for professional game facilitation (Dibl, 2025).
Paradigm
Research through Design
Artefacts
100+ digital artefacts
Evaluation
SUS · N = 9 · 3 scenarios
Institution
FH Vorarlberg, 2025
Context
In live simulation games, emotional dynamics decide learning outcomes — frustration, overload or disengagement remain invisible until the debriefing. The guiding research question: on which design-practical models and theories must a data-supported facilitation environment be grounded?
Research
The conception follows the research-through-design paradigm (Frayling, 1993), iteratively extended by design-thinking principles (Brown, 2008): theory-guided analysis, divergent exploration and continuous synthesis of design knowledge.
Decision
Physiological signals are translated into legible status cards; each card is linked to adequate, theory-based intervention formats — the facilitator decides, the system supports. Human agency remains the design principle.
Prototype
The iterative process produced more than 100 digital artefacts: interfaces of the facilitation environment, status cards, intervention interfaces and dashboard components in several configurations.
Outcome
Nine participants matched interventions to status cards across three typical simulation-game scenarios on a collaborative board; satisfaction was assessed with the System Usability Scale (Brooke, 1996). The result: a theory-grounded, usable foundation for data-supported facilitation.
Dibl, S. (2025). Datengestützte Moderation digitaler Planspiele: Theoriegeleitete Konzeption einer Moderationsumgebung zur Emotionsvisualisierung und Interventionsunterstützung [Master’s thesis, Fachhochschule Vorarlberg]. OPUS.
Skills
A skill profile shaped by academic training and design practice — from field research to interactive learning environments.
Understanding contexts of use and translating them into justified design decisions (ISO 9241-210).
Interfaces and intermedial experiences that keep systems legible, controllable and worth people's attention.
Learning environments in which data, emotion and didactics come together — from simulation games to facilitation design.
About
With a Master of Arts in Intermedia and Communication Design, I work where interaction design, communication and educational technology meet. My focus is making complex systems legible — so that people stay in control, in trust and in the mood to learn.
I combine qualitative research, co-design and rapid prototyping with a firmly evidence-based stance: design decisions are argued, tested and documented — not asserted.
Degree
M.A. Intermedia & Communication Design
Focus
Human-Centered Design & Interaction
Field
Digital Learning Innovations
Based in
Austria
Approach
Four activities, iterated until the evidence carries the design — not the other way round.
01
Analyse the context of use: people, goals, environments and constraints — through field research and interviews.
02
Derive user requirements transparently and make trade-offs explicit before pixels exist.
03
Produce design solutions iteratively — from paper sketches to interactive prototypes and intermedial spaces.
04
Test user-centred: usability, accessibility and trust — with methods such as SUS, and iterate on the evidence.
References
Selected sources this portfolio and its claims rest upon (APA 7).
Contact
Open to collaborations, commissions and conversations about human-centred design and digital learning.
hello@sabrina-dibl.example
