Who I Am

i’m Vanessa Cesário

Vanessa Cesário, PhD

Portugal

Hi!

I am Vanessa Cesário, a Professor of Communication Sciences at the University of Madeira. With a Ph.D. in Digital Media, specializing in Communication Sciences and Technology, and a profound interest in Technology and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), I am currently involved with the eGames Lab, where I supervise projects by students. My career represents a rich blend of education and research, primarily focused on the confluence of communication, culture, and technology within cultural heritage spaces. Additionally, serving at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS) and having contributed to numerous publications in international journals and conferences, my efforts are dedicated to enhancing engagement and the preservation of cultural heritage through participatory communication design. I aim to create immersive experiences that effectively bridge the gap between diverse audiences and their histories.

  • Explore my latest Digital Media projects and delve deeper into my work! I am excited to share with you the culmination of my research and passion: Natural History Museum Project, MEMEX Project, eGames Lab Project.
  • Full CV on Ciência Vitae – projects, publications, invited talks, event organization, interviews, supervision, and academic juries.

    • HIGHLIGHTS:
    In 2025, I was featured in the book Mulheres na Ciência, an initiative by Ciência Viva that celebrates the contributions of women to scientific advancement in Portugal.
    In 2024, I received the Excellent Teaching Award from Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon.
    In 2021, my Ph.D. thesis was awarded Cum Laude by the University of Porto.

    RESEARCH INTERESTS: communication, digital media, storytelling, museums, cultural heritage, user experience (UX), user-centered design, co-design, children and teenagers, gamification, ethics in technology

    TEACHING AREAS: Advertising, Social media, Press advisory, Rhetoric and communication, Communication and multimedia, Interactive narratives, Transmedia storytelling, Technology and society, Research methods, Interaction design

    JOURNAL REVIEWER: Museum Management and Curatorship · Information and Culture · ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage · Human-Computer Interaction · Children & Society · Inclusive Museum · Metaverse · New Design Ideas · Heritage · Societies

    Supervised theses / internships

    Proudly guiding the next generation of multimedia and communication professionals through their master's research. My supervision spans a range of topics, emphasizing communication and storytelling, interactive technologies, and enhancing educational and museum experiences.

    • Institutions: University of Madeira, University of Porto
    • Focus Areas: Interactive storytelling and narratives, Immersive technologies in museums and education, Digital and collaborative storytelling platforms
    • Total Supervised: 19 Master's theses, 12 Research fellows

    Key themes

    • Digital Communication Strategies
    • Interactive and Immersive Storytelling
    • Youth Engagement through Comics and Games
    • Inclusive Media Representation
    • Social Media Trends and Book Communities
    • Mixed-Reality Technologies in Museums
    • Storytelling and User Motivation
    • Sound and Narrative in Interactive Media
    • Virtual Excursions and Cultural Learning
    • Tools for Museum Branding and Curation

    Skypevanessaqcesario
    Emailvanessa.cesario[at]staff.uma.pt
    CountryPortugal

    • Professor & Researcher
    • UX Designer
    • Game Designer

    Employment

    • 9
      Assistant Professor

      Faculdade de Artes e Humanidades, University of Madeira (UMa)

      2024-Present

    • 8
      Assistant Professor (Guest)

      Faculdade de Engenharia, University of Porto (FEUP)

      2023-2025

    • 7
      Post-doctoral Researcher @eGames Lab, Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR)

      Intreactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS)

      2023-2024

    • 6
      Assistant Professor (Guest)

      Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon

      2020-2023

    • 5
      Post-doctoral researcher, ARDITI fellow

      Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS)

      2021-2023

    • 4
      Post-doctoral researcher @ Memex (H2020 Project)

      Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS)

      2020-2021

    • 3
      Visiting PhD Candidate

      Sheffield Hallam University @Digital Materiality Lab

      2019

    • 2
      PhD Candidate in Digital Media

      ARDITI fellow

      2015-2020

    • 1
      Communication Consultant

      Museum of Caniço (Madeira island)

      2014-2015

    Education

    • 4
      Postdoc in HCI applied to Cultural Heritage

      Interactive Technologies Institute, IST University of Lisbon

      2020-2024

    • 3
      Ph.D. in Digital Media (Cum Laude distinction)

      University of Porto

      2015-2020

    • 2
      M.Sc. in Cultural management (Honors)

      University of Madeira

      2012-2015

    • 1
      B.Sc. in Communication, Culture and Organizations

      University of Madeira

      2009-2012

    Skills

    • Co-design methods
    • Dynamic presentations
    • Cultural projects
    • Game Design
    • Interaction Design
    • Creative Writing
    • User studies
    • Communication
    Check my blog
    - JOURNEY THROUGH ACADEMIA AND FASHION -
    @prof_vanessacesario

    Publications

    Vanessa Cesário and Pedro Campos. 2025. Bridging Cultural Gaps: Insights from Communication in Migrant-Inclusive Cultural Initiatives. Societies International Journal (SOC’25)
    https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15040083
    Maria Van Zeller and Vanessa Cesário. 2025. Haka’a’Museum: Designing for a Sustainable Ocean. In ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS’25)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3715668.3734168
    Luiz Sachser, Andrés Isaza-Giraldo, Anna Jiskrová, Vanessa Cesário, Pedro Campos, Lucas Pereira, Paulo Bala. 2025. En-Join: Speculative LLM Play for Energy Community Engagement and Sustainability Awareness. In ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS’25)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3715668.3735600
    Thais Weiller, Mauricio Perin, Pedro Campos, and Vanessa Cesário. 2025. Negotiated Agency: The Constant Deliberation between the Player’s Abilities and Developer’s Permissions. In Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET’25)
    https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1005970
    Vanessa Cesário and Pedro Campos. 2024. Ethics in Artificial Intelligence: Ensuring Integrity in Research and Media. In ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT’24)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97257-7_11
    Anna Jiskrová, Andrés Isaza-Giraldo, Pedro Campos, and Vanessa Cesário. 2024. EN-JOIN: Exploring Inclusive Visuals for a Game to Give Perspective on Energy Communities. In ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT’24)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97257-7_13
    Mariana Fernandes, Pedro Campos, and Vanessa Cesário. 2025. Hearing Heritage: Conveying and Preserving Cultural Expressions. In Advances in Design and Digital Communication (DIGICOM’24)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-77566-6_43
    Thais Weiller, Pedro Campos, and Vanessa Cesário. 2024. The Role of Negative Emotions in Videogames. In Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET’24)
    https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1005474
    Catarina Santos Faria, Vanessa Cesário, Pedro Filipe Campos, Muhammad Satar, and Teresa Alvadia. 2024. Assessing Stress Reduction of Relaxation Gaming: Investigating the Interrelation of Gamification, Advertising Intrusion and Stress Responses in Master’s Students. In HCI International 2024 Posters (HCII’24)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61963-2_42
    Vanessa Cesário and Pedro Campos. 2024. The Integrated Museum Engagement Model (IMEM): Bridging Participatory Design, Immersive Storytelling, and Digital Representation for Enhanced Museum Experiences. In International Journal of the Inclusive Museum (IJIM’24)
    https://doi.org/10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v17i01/63-81
    Vanessa Cesário, Mariana Ribeiro, and António Coelho. 2023.Design Recommendations for Improving Immersion in Role-Playing Video Games: A Focus on Storytelling and Localisation. In International Journal of Interaction Design and Architecture(s) (IxDA'23)
    https://doi.org/10.55612/s-5002-058-009
    Vanessa Cesário, Paulo Bala, Shuhao Ma, and Valentina Nisi. 2023. Fostering social inclusion: empathic approaches for migrant-centred design. In Proceedings of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR'23)
    https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.122
    Vanessa Cesário, João Freitas and Pedro Campos. 2023. Empowering Cultural Heritage Professionals: Designing Interactive Exhibitions with Authoring Tools. In International Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship (MMC'23)
    https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2023.2209896
    Valentina Nisi, Paulo Bala, Hollie Bostock, Vanessa Cesário and Nuno Nunes. 2023. “Before gentrification, we claim for habitation”: Eliciting Values and Assets through Cultural Heritage Storytelling. In Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS'23)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3563657.3596124
    Vanessa Cesário. 2023. Vintage Meets Modern: A Retro-Inspired Audio Guestbook for Event Communication. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Communities & Technologies (C&T'23)
    https://doi.org/10.48340/ct2023-8666
    Valentina Nisi, Paulo Bala, Vanessa Cesário, Stuart James, Alessio Del Bue and Nuno Nunes. 2023. Connected to the people”: Social Inclusion & Cohesion in Action through a Cultural Heritage Digital Tool. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM Conference on Computing-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW'23)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3610168
    Vanessa Cesário, Mariana Ribeiro and António Coelho. 2023. Exploring the Intersection of Storytelling, Localisation, and Immersion in Video Games - A Case Study of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. In Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI'23)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35989-7_69
    Paulo Bala, Pedro Sanches, Vanessa Cesário, Sarah Leão, Catarina Rodrigues, Nuno Nunes and Valentina Nisi. 2023. Towards Critical Heritage in the wild: Analysing Discomfort through Collaborative Autoethnography. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'23)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581274
    Vanessa Cesário and Valentina Nisi. 2023. Lessons Learned on Engaging Teenage Visitors in Museums with Story-based and Game-based Strategies. In International Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH'23) -> check the accepted manuscript here!
    https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3575867
    Duarte Sousa, Vanessa Cesário and Pedro Campos. 2023. Enabling Genuine Connections in a Digital Learning Environment for Students through Information Communication Technologies. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Arts and Technology, Interactivity & Game Creation (ArtsIT'22)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28993-4_40
    Vanessa Cesário and Valentina Nisi. 2022. Designing Mobile Museum Experiences for Teenagers. In International Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship (MMC'22) -> check the accepted manuscript here!
    https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2022.2111329
    Duarte Sousa, Pedro Campos and Vanessa Cesário. 2022. Design Implications for Interactive and Analogue Technologies supporting Distance Education: A Longitudinal Mixed-Method Study during the Pandemic. In International Journal of Interaction Design and Architecture(s) (IxDA'22)
    https://doi.org/10.55612/s-5002-052-001
    Vanessa Cesário and Valentina Nisi. 2022. A Co-Design Method for Museums to Engage Migrant Communities with Cultural Heritage. In Proceedings of the Design Research Society Conference (DRS'22)
    https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.523
    Vanessa Cesário and Valentina Nisi. 2022. Designing with Teenagers: A Teenage Perspective on Enhancing Mobile Museum Experiences. In International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction: vol 33 (IJCCI'22)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100454
    Vanessa Cesário, Albert Acedo, Nuno Nunes and Valentina Nisi. 2021. Promoting Social Inclusion Around Cultural Heritage Through Collaborative Digital Storytelling. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Arts and Technology, Interactivity & Game Creation (ArtsIT'21)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95531-1_17
    Vanessa Cesário, Albert Acedo, Nuno Nunes and Valentina Nisi. 2021. People-Place Interactions: From Pictures and Stories to Place and Sense of Place. In Proceedings of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR'21)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4472-7_60
    Vanessa Cesário and Valentina Nisi. 2021. Collecting Qualitative Data During COVID-19. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT'21)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85607-6_41
    Valentina Nisi, Hollie Bostock, Vanessa Cesário, Albert Acedo and Nuno Nunes. 2021. Impalpable Narratives: How to Capture Intangible Cultural Heritage of Migrant Communities. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Communities & Technologies (C&T'21)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3461564.3461575
    Vanessa Cesário, Sandra Olim and Valentina Nisi. 2020. A Natural History Museum Experience: Memories of Carvalhal’s Palace – Turning Point. In Proceedings of the 13rd International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS'20)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62516-0_31
    Vanessa Cesário. 2020. Enhancing Museum Experiences for Teenagers through Gamification and Storytelling Frameworks. Doctoral Thesis in Digital Media. May 20th, University of Porto, Portugal.
    https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/127648
    Vanessa Cesário, Daniela Petrelli and Valentina Nisi. 2020. Teenage Visitor Experience: Classification of Behavioral Dynamics in Museums. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'20)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376334
    Valentina Nisi, Vanessa Cesário and Nuno Nunes 2019. Augmented Reality Museum’s Gaming for Digital Natives: Haunted Encounters in the Carvalhal’s Palace. In Proceedings of the Entertainment Computing and Serious Games (ICEC-JCSG'19)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34644-7_3
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2019. “This Is Nice but That Is Childish”: Teenagers Evaluate Museum-Based Digital Experiences Developed by Cultural Heritage Professionals. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Fun and Games and Gamification (CHIPLAY EA'19)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3341215.3354643
    Vanessa Cesário, Rui Trindade, Sandra Olim and Valentina Nisi. 2019. Memories of Carvalhal’s Palace: Haunted Encounters, a Museum Experience to Engage Teenagers. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT'19)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29390-1_36
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2019. Word Association: Engagement of Teenagers in a Co-design Process. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT'19)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29390-1_65
    Vanessa Cesário. 2019. Guidelines for Combining Storytelling and Gamification: Which Features Would Teenagers Desire to Have a More Enjoyable Museum Experience? In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA'19)
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3308462
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2018. Co-Designing Gaming Experiences for Museums with Teenagers. In Proceedings of the 07th EAI International Conference: ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT'18)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06134-0_5
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2018. Cultural Heritage Professionals Developing Digital Experiences Targeted at Teenagers in Museum Settings: Lessons Learned. In Proceedings of the 32nd British Human-Computer Interaction Conference (BHCI'18)
    http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.58
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2018. Design Patterns to Enhance Teens’ Museum Experiences. In Proceedings of the 32nd British Human-Computer Interaction Conference (BHCI'18)
    http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.160
    Vanessa Cesário. 2018. Analysing Texts and Drawings: The Teenage Perspective on Enjoyable Museum Experiences. In Proceedings of the 32nd British Human-Computer Interaction Conference (BHCI'18)
    http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.215
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Teenagers as Experience Seekers Regarding Interactive Museums Tours. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Design & Digital Communication (DIGICOM'17), 127-134
    https://www.researchgate.net
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2017. An unlikely seamless combination – future curators designing museum experiences towards the desires of actual teenagers. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Design & Digital Communication (DIGICOM'17), 101-109
    https://www.researchgate.net
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Enhancing Museums’ Experiences Through Games And Stories For Young Audiences. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS'17)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_41
    Marko Radeta, Vanessa Cesário, Sónia Matos and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Gaming Versus Storytelling: Understanding Children’s Interactive Experiences in a Museum Setting. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS'17)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_14
    Vanessa Cesário, Marko Radeta, Sónia Matos and Valentina Nisi. 2017. The Ocean Game: Assessing Children’s Engagement and Learning in a Museum Setting Using a Treasure-Hunt Game. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Fun and Games and Gamification (CHIPLAY EA'17)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/10.1145/3130859.3131435
    Vanessa Cesário, Marko Radeta, Sónia Matos and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Designing Interactive Technologies for Interpretive Exhibitions: Enabling Teen Participation through User-Driven Innovation. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT'17)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67744-6_16
    Vanessa Cesário, Marko Radeta, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Shifting from the Children to the Teens’ Usability: Adapting a Gamified Experience of a Museum Tour. In Proceedings of the The 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT'17)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68059-0_52
    Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho and Valentina Nisi. 2017. Audio Guides and Human Tour Guides: Measuring Children’s Engagement & Learning at a Museum Setting. In Proceedings of the The 12th Biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI Chapter (CHITALY'17)
    http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1910/paper0208.pdf
    Filipa Nóbrega, Eduardo Gomes, Harry Vasanth, Henrique Ferreira, Vanessa Cesário, Paulino Caetano, Paulo Mendez, Jéssica De Pontes and Gian Spicci. 2017. Designing Multi-Gateway Interactions In A Multi-Player Strategy Game. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA'17), 226–229.
    https://doi.org/10.1145/3027063.3048411
    Vanessa Cesário, Valentina Nisi and António Coelho. 2017. ClueKing: Allowing Parents to Customize an Informal Learning Environment for Children. In 6th Conference on Serious Games, Interaction and Simulation | Springer, Carlos Vaz de Carvalho, Paula Escudeiro and António Coelho (eds.). ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2017 (SGAMES'16)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51055-2_4
    Vanessa Cesário, Joel Rodrigues, Helen Li, Iris Wu and Valentina Nisi. 2016. Crescendo: Routine Learning App for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. In Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC'16), 571–576.
    https://doi.org/10.1145/2930674.2935997
    Vanessa Cesário, Paulo Freitas, Diana Pimentel and Valentina Nisi. 2016. Children’s Books: Paper VS Digital, What Do They Prefer? In Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC'16), 625–630.
    https://doi.org/10.1145/2930674.2936004
    Vanessa Cesário. 2015. Ler, Ver e Ouvir - Estudo sobre narrativas infanto-juvenis em suporte impresso e em suporte digital (e-book e áudio-livro). Master Thesis in Cultural Management. March 18th, University of Madeira, Portugal.
    http://digituma.uma.pt/handle/10400.13/832  

    Contact


    vanessa.cesario[at]staff.uma.pt