Dr Jonathan Freeman, BSc MPhil PhD

Psychological evaluation of digital media experience, including: user centred research to inform digital media product design, development and exploitation. Human factors, usability and accessibility of digital media (digital TV, radio, internet, mobile, social networking tools, computer games). User experience of presence in virtual and augmented reality applications.

For a more detailed description of what I do, please visit the i2 website, hosted by Goldsmiths.

Jonathan is Managing Director of i2 media research ltd, a spin off from the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He set up i2 media research with Goldsmiths in 2002, leads the i2 team and directs all research conducted by i2.

The i2 team has applied its expertise in a wide range of research methodologies in industrial and commercial projects for a range of clients, having worked in collaborative projects for Digital UK, Department for Trade and Industry, Department for Culture Media and Sport, Ofcom (the Office of Communications) - research and technology functions, the Ofcom Consumer Panel, Honda, BBC (Research and Development), the Independent Television Commission (Technology Group), Which? (Consumers' Association), Design Council, Digital Television Group (DTG- Domestic Systems Group), the European Commission, BSkyB, and Ford, HP and Orange (in association with GfK NOP).

i2 has applied its skills and experience extensively across the full research process including: (a) design and execution of innovative usability, user-centred design, human-computer interaction and attitudinal research programmes, (b) development, application and analysis of a range of valid, reliable and insight-generating methods in the evaluation of interactive media products and services - covering the full range of a user's experience, from the moment they first hear about a product to the point where they have used it and recommended it to their peers, and (c) insightful analysis and clear reporting of complex experimental and research data.

i2 has extensive research experience evaluating consumer experience of digital TV, mobile communications and the internet. With a client's approval, i2 disseminates its research results through publications in high quality academic journals and conference presentations. i2 staff communicate clearly and effectively to both specialist and non-specialist audiences (ranging from school children to engineering PhDs), enabling i2 to provide high-quality targeted training in its research methods.

In addition to leading i2, as a Senior Research Fellow in Psychology, Jonathan is Principal Investigator on two large scale academic research grants funded by the European Commission - PASION (Psychologically Augmented Social Interaction Over Networks) and Games@Large. Each of these projects is scheduled to run from 2006 to 2010.

In PASION, Jonathan's team is developing, designing and testing intuitive representations of individual and group state (arousal, activity level, context, location, dynamics) and investigating the impact on communication between remotely located parties of sharing such information. Active on PASION are Jonathan, Dr Jane Lessiter, Dr Yanna Vogiazou and [new research fellow, to be appointed q4 2006].

In Games@Large, Jonathan's team is developing and testing use cases for thin client rich gaming experiences utilising Games@Large technology. In addition, the team is responsible for conducting business development and market research to inform planning for future implementation of Games@Large products and services. Active on Games@Large are Jonathan, Dr Jane Lessiter, Dr Yanna Vogiazou, [new research fellow] and [new research associate; both to be appointed q4 2006].

Until November 2003 Jonathan also worked half time for the Independent Television Commission leading research on the usability and accessibility of new digital and interactive media products and systems, with a focus on the user's experience. Jonathan's expertise is in the area of user research with a focus on adoption and use of media products and services. In this role, he led the Royal Television Society Technical Innovation Award-winning VISTA project, which developed to proof of concept a talking (speech query-able) Electronic Programme Guide featuring a virtual human.

Jonathan led his team's input to the FET Presence Research OMNIPRES and EMMA projects. The team has extensive expertise and experience in research investigating presence through immersive media, and usability issues related to media (TV, internet) services. He studied psychology (BSc and MPhil) at the University of Sheffield, and then worked in advertising (McCann-Erickson, Manchester) before moving to the University of Essex to do his PhD. At Essex he played a key role in the EC ACTS TAPESTRIES project (1996-1999), developing innovative presence assessment methodologies to inform the optimization of future media services (in particular 3DTV). Jonathan's research interests have included visual psychophysics, presence and the psychological evaluation of advanced media. He has published in each of these areas, was Guest Editor of a Special Issue of Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments and is joint editor of a forthcoming LEA publication (Handbook of Presence Research).