SJ INTERACTS 2021

Engaging with all things interactive!

[sjthom2021]

Pitches, proposals and plans

The last blog entries have been my rough workings of my individual project - now fondly dubbed as OptIN!

The pitch was the perfect opportunity to bring it all together and package it into something I could explain quickly(ish) with clarity. A tough but useful exercise to refine the thought process and actually build a plan.

Following the panels' feedback, I was hugely thankful that they found the pitch clear and showed enthusiasm for the idea, with some really helpful tips and advice as how to take OptIN a step further. It's defintely inspired me to consider the project as something to develop beyond the course.

The two weeks of pitches were also a great chance to see my classmates showcase their ideas which I've witnessed grow week by week and the level of presentations was amazing. What I really enjoyed was how many of the ideas had a real tangent of social activism and causes which I find really heartening. As I shared in earlier blog posts, I think this is what's particularly exciting about interactive media is it's potential to bring communities - and causes - together.

As I finish my final proposal, I'm conscious of how a simple spark of creativty and questioning what's possible in using interactive media can really grow into something worthwhile and I think this will be my key takeaway from the course.

[sjthom2021]

Good-Loop and the future of online advertising

Consent, consumer participation, and a whole lot more money and value in advertising online. A HAT customer profile.

This week, I've been enjoying finding out more about Good-Loop - an ethical ad agency in Edinburgh.

They're committed to creating a more postive relationship between consumer and advertisers while supporting charities the consumer thinks about.

"It’s control. If I’m in control of who can talk to me, I’m very happy to be talked to. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being followed around the Internet. What’s wrong is being followed around the Internet by people I don’t like or trust."

- Amy Williams, Co-Founder

It's a brilliant idea and one I'm inspired to try and incorporate into my app - rethinking how you can make ads a postive experience for the users and the brands.

[sjthom2021]

I highly recommend watching this fantastic talk from the very charming Rebecca Knill who shares how technology has improved deaf experiences but our general mindsets are still to catch up.

[sjthom2021]

The plan so far...

A location-based app allowing disabled people to easily capture and communicate accessibility issues as they go.

The how is still a work in progress...

The core development team would require expertise in geolocation (with an eye for security/data issues), designers (both graphic and UX/UI), communications and design accessibility, testing and a marketing function.

But that's only the start...

I’ve selected three membership charities in Scotland that focus on improving inclusion and equality for disabled people:

Disability Equality

Inclusion Scotland

Enable Scotland

Approaching these charities as early as possible would enable their members to share their experiences and feed into the development of the app/project so it meets their needs.

For funding, these organisations would be able to advise on grants or funds available.

To ensure change...

The app itself would be free to download. It could use advertising but this would have to align with the app's overall accessibility (I do hope this could be a great opportunity to invite advertisers to be more inclusive).

Additionally, we will need the collaboration of local authorities and local businesses/employers before it could hit the market to ensure the experiences could be addressed.

I’d propose a trial of the app in one local authority area which, once refined, could be distributed wider.

The app would be a great chance for local businesses to promote themselves and their Inclusion & Diversity commitments to other users (via other users) so I’d include the design of a logo/press toolkit that they could easily use to showcase this.

Building on...

A campaign of content created by disabled creatives and voices to share their experiences and also why this app would be so important. Pushed across social media, this would generate wider discussion around inclusivity while also marketing the app to wider audiences.

As for costs, this is a community-based app and needs to be a community effort from the start. It’s a time-heavy effort which needs support behind it, influencing the costs (but its benefits would be hugely worth it!).

[sjthom2021]

Testing user experience for accessibility

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about my project’s user experience, particularly with its accessibility focus.

In research, I found some great existing tool and tips for testing out some of the accessibility of apps.

Color Safe – lets you (or your design team) input your colour scheme and will guide you to an accessible colour combination/contrast ratio for users with different conditions.

VoiceOver – a screen reader app for iOS and Macs and;

TalkBack – the Android equivalent.

I also found guidance online about how to use these Screen Readers to test how your own app or project works them for the best user experience for those who will have these apps enabled.

Also, of great use from everyone and anyone, is getting in the habit of using Alt Text. These image descriptors (for those who can't see your images) can be used on everything from websites to making your social media posts more inclusive.

This article was a great resource with plenty of helpful tips to improve your image descriptions and your audience’s experience.

[sjthom2021]

SJ watches: Do Not Track

I really liked the Do Not Track personalised documentary and it's user experience.

Do Not Track, a personalized web series about privacy and the web economy. Directed by Brett Gaylor, coproduced by Upian, Arte, ONF & BR.

Having a choice of episodes really appeals to our modern viewing styles, as does, having information presented in smaller chunks (to suit our multi-tasking habits.)

However, the info presented is not one to be listened to absently (or SPOILER, one that’s going to reassure about what’s happening to all the data we’re constantly sharing...)

The more personal questions and prompts throughout added to the experience and the use of the geolocation right at the start was a great hook of personalised storytelling (displaying what the weather was like where and as I was watching).

It definitely gave me a lot to think about for what I want my own project to achieve and how its mechanics will engage its users – particularly if it has a content element to it.

[sjthom2021]

DYK, Together Everyone Achieves More?

Phil’s sessions highlighted how it’s important to be able to articulate your idea as clearly and concisely as possible.

Projects (of all shapes, sizes and industries) are the effort of different disciplines pulling together.

Alt text: Moira Rose (Schitt's Creek) quote "If that isn't teamwork, I don't know what is."

Applying it to my own project (although not a game), I’m starting to think about how I would best explain it to the team of different skillsets who'd hypothetically develop it?

So, the idea is an app which allows users to opt-in to making our communities more accessible.

The interactive project would consist of two key parts.

Part 1

A location-based app allowing disabled people to easily capture and communicate accessibility issues as they experience them.

This would need collaboration with local authorities and businesses etc alike to ensure experiences are logged and acted on. However, I’m confident that a streamlined way of making communities more accessible would be welcomed.

I found a great example of a similar app (used for reporting issues to local authorities) in New Zealand and Australia – I like its simplicity and focus on community building.

Part 2

A series of content led by disabled creators and voices to raise awareness, launch and promote the project.

Inspired by Phil’s narrative design prompt based around a room, I thought it could be interesting to focus on a single room/sense of place but show how differently it appears (and is experienced) to people with different disabilities and conditions.

Content could exist in a wide variety of forms (giving people the freedom to articulate their experiences in the way that works best for them and share this with others).

I feel these two parts would then provide something for disabled and non-disabled users and encourage real, community-driven change.

Go Teamwork!

[sjthom2021]

SJ watches: The Portal Diaries

This Instagram Adventure Series follows a young girl who finds a portal to the future.

Each episode (presented as an Instagram Story) allows us to follow her travels  as she posts to her diary. 

It’s brilliantly compelling and cleverly uses filters, animated GIFs and stickers to tell an engaging story in a way it’s younger audience are more versed in.  

Reminds of the quote, the pace of change will never be this slow again. 

[sjthom2021]

Individual project, collective goals

Starting to really think about my individual project and its goals, I remembered a TED Talk from immersive artist Chris Milk. He was speaking specifically about VR and how it provides a new canvas to allow us to experience other’s perspectives. 

As someone with a mild physical disability, I thought more generally how could we use interactive, immersive tech to show how people experience the world differently in terms of disability?

There are a few examples of simple websites that do this:

This colour blindness simulator shows how images look according to the main variations of colour blindness.

This example depicts what reading may be like for someone with dyslexia (there are different types of dyslexia so this isn’t exclusive.)  

As per Brian’s recommendation in class, I discovered this great app WelcoMe from Neatebox. It allows users who are planning a visit to a venue to flag up their accessibility needs ahead of the visit, streamlining the customer service and removing a lot of anxiety and stress when visiting a new place. It’s great to see businesses thinking of inclusivity and fantastic to see an app making this easier for them!

As many as 18% of the UK population is disabled so raising awareness of all these differing conditions is vital, whether it’s in designing spaces or posting something on your social media. Not just from a practical perspective but from an empathetic one too.

Now to see what’s possible...

[sjthom2021]

Interacting with the present

I largely live in someone else’s moments.

This was my key takeaway from the Seven Digital Deadly Sins (SDDS) experience. It made me wonder, if social media allows us to essentially live in each other’s moments, shouldn’t we be living in a world of empathy? Maybe not... 

I try to use social media with caution. The SDDS experience inspired me to reflect on when these networks appeared. Watching Arctic Monkey’s blow up on MySpace (RIP) to trying to figure out the point of Twitter. It used to be (semi-harmless) fun.  

The section on Wrath was particularly interesting and worrying. I’m a big fan of Jon Ronson and encourage everyone to deep dive into So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (podcast and book). It really questions the consequence of newfound platforms. What started as a quicker way to communicate has become a dangerously rapid way to judge.

It also reminded me of the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma (2020) which highlights how we’re social media’s product (and not vice versa). 

What was especially clever and engaging about the SDDS experience was how it used different addictive elements to highlight this problematic story. The use of interactive mediums (video, quick reads, infographics) appeal to an attention span that’s consuming many screens at once and the varied contributors show how relatable it is, especially now! 

It was interesting to hear in our first class discussion that others were questioning this relationship. We can’t simply hit the delete button, social media is essential. Going forward in this class, I’m interested to explore ways we can limit the drawbacks and use these great tools to ground ourselves in the present, with more empathy (less wrath, please!).