Apr 10, 2013
My presentation poster at sider2013 #sider2013 #danmark #aarhus (at Nygaard-Bygningen, Aarhus Universitet)
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My presentation poster at sider2013 #sider2013 #danmark #aarhus (at Nygaard-Bygningen, Aarhus Universitet)
Lego king at Sider2013 #sider2013 (at Nygaard-Bygningen, Aarhus Universitet)
Aftermath of the SIDeR 24 Hour Design Challenge...
Final Design - Bears DeVine
DESIGN CONCEPT
Bears DeVine is a global network controlled by three interactive bears, placed in different continents. Each fluffy bear functions as a tangible user interface which input will be displayed as an output on a global website. The bears consist of a GPS, a camera with a trigger and a “harddisk” sending the incoming data.
By connecting each bear with a Vine profile the user is able to record 6 seconds long videos of themselfs, their surroundings or whatever the bear is watching in the moment, by pushing the bear’s tummy. This video will be live feed’ed on the connected website. Therefore it is the users job to shape the bear’s online identity, and make the whole world able to follow each of the bear’s life.
With the bears follows a short text in the back. This will inform users about their responsibility of documenting the bear’s experiences and surroundings and, more importantly, to pass the bear on to another person after some hours or days, so the bear will explore and be a part of a networked chain.
At the website people can watch the recorded Vine-videos and discover the Bear’s path and current placement on a map.
DESIGN PROCESS
The design process of the development of the concept is explained below together with some reflections of the process and methods used.
As visualized on the illustration we were working from a general tendency to a specific design solution in a divergent and convergent process, where we repeatedly went from analyzing our domain and theme, to sketching a design concept.
Brainstorming and shared language
Because of the wideness of the topic we started off with an analysis of the fragments of the question; what does ‘empowerment’ mean to us and which background ‘contradictions’ could be interested. By analyzing the network and contact possibilities of today, we found it interesting to take a closer look at old-fashioned communication. By analyzing the characteristics of Berlin (our current hometown) we came down to two focus points:
- The techno/clubbing environment and the Berlin Wall.
- These were our two constraints and by the introductory brainstorming we had now build up a shared language to discuss these topics and our design space.
Bad Ideas 3.0
To expand our insights of these two design spaces we chose to use the design technique Bad Ideas 3.0 very soon in the process. We got some crazy clubbing-ideas focusing on lots of water and too many drugs, and on a Wall build by glass and with ability to move and encircle you.
Design space (modalities and technologies/materials)
We diverged our design space by listing different technologies and modalities. By combining two of each with the topics (techno / Berlin Walll), we sketched some crash concepts. The technique simply is to develop a concept in 2 minutes bound by the constraints (fx clubbing, DUL Radio and auditory). From this technique we found our interest in the techno/clubbing space.
Constraint and design possibilities
We tried to combine our first keywords - old-fashioned communication - with the kind of silly ideas from previously techniques, concluding in a focus on tangible user interfaces and communication, network and video.
Inspiration
Throughout the development of the concept, we found inspiration in different existing things like;
- Geo-location – Treasure hunts
- Dead Spots
- Build-a-Bear
- Chain messaging
- A thing know from preschool, where you take home a teddy bear for 2-3 days, write down what the teddy bear experiences and the preschool teacher reads aloud the story for all the classmates
Design Context – Materials in Use
We mocked up our TUI-product and brought it to school. Through the train and public space the qualities were discussed. By reflecting on the actual context and not just our ordinary project home we were forced to think in actual use, which brought up different design failures. Things we hadn’t thought about. By discussing the design concept with a possible user, classmate Johan, we learned more about the good and bad sides of the design.
Break-down
It was now obvious that we could not make an interactive bear taking photos of people in techno clubs, which should work as a symbol of a shared network. Since this bear would be used in different ways we developed it to our current design object by making different scenarios -how would the bear work in the train, school, etc.
References
Methods:
Brainstorming Reference: “Biskjær et.al.: Creativity methods in interaction design”
Using constraints
Onarheim, Balder: ”Creativity from Constraints in engineering design: Lessons learned at Coloplast, Denmark.” (2011)
Design process
Löwgren & Stolterman: ”Thoughtful Interaction Design: A Design Perspective on Information Technology ” (2004)
- The iterative process, transcendence <> tradition, convergence <> divergence
Donald Schön: ”Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions”
- The matter of material externalization and reflection-in-action
RESPONSE // ARGUMENTS // DESIGN RATIONALE
Focusing on the very different and free lifestyles in the international city of Berlin, Bear DeVine ought to empower status of the online identity making. Instead of the current individualism and narcissisms reigning on the various networks as Facebook, Twitter, Vine etc., Bear DeVine is a common and global chain project, were users create the bears’ identity together.
We focus on the split between online and offline connection by introducing a physical data collector dressed as a cute, fluffy bear, working as a social boundary object.
In this way the technology is attached human values and will act as a common online identity for each of the countries in which they are currently placed.
Hereby it is our argument, that Bear DeVine will connect people with different backgrounds not only physically by interacting with the bear but also worldwide, where it is our hope that the online portal of Bear DeVine could gather people worldwide and be a unique peep through to another continent.
Putting together user scenarios and the interaction flow for the final concept video…!
Team Digital Futures Submission Video: Rights Revealing Machine
Team Digital Futures / Rights Revealing Machine / Final Note
Consideration Tasked with designing, “...a concept that brings together users with different backgrounds, for their mutual benefit, thus showing how technology can empower through interaction,” it was natural to follow user-centered design methodologies for this 24 hr. challenge as part of the 2013 SIDeR conference in Aarhus, Denmark. Methodologies User-centered design process Research (reflection, bubble diagrams, primary, secondary) Synthesis (keyword organization, theming) Ideation (evaluation, analysis) Concept Development (interaction flows, touchpoint maps) Refinement (user scenarios, use cases) Design Process The design process started with some reflection on the 24 hour challenge brief and some self-reflection. Before I felt I could start designing for empowering interactions for others, it seemed essential to establish my understanding first (1). Next, to get some fresh perspective I reached out to some of my peers for their thoughts asking, “What do you think when you hear the word ‘empower’?” Respondents were from various cultures internationally including, Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, and Norway (2). Responses were grouped into three overlying themes: literal impressions of the word ‘empower’, positive connotations, and negative interpretations (3). After considering the entire brief, including the remaining ‘mutual benefit’ part, four quotes were highlighted from the user input to guide the broad approach for this process. Keywords from these quotes include: liberty, encourage, power, ability, rights, and personal worth. Next, secondary research consisting of online image search via Google on keywords ‘empower’ and ‘mutual benefit’ revealed imagery either political and feminist in nature or business and community driven, respectively (4,5). Going back to the initial quotes from user research recalled the one uncategorized quote around feminism. After reflecting on next steps, it seemed significant to incorporate this into the scope of the project and the final guiding principles that would lead ideation were: ability, encourage, feminism, liberty, and rights. Then, ideas emerged for each of the keywords and after some additional input from user research, the scope for this 24 Hour Challenge narrowed even further to: encourage, feminism, rights (6). Each of the final three directions for this challenge were evaluated further. Interaction flows and touchpoint maps helped to establish the what and when of each idea. This helped to get a better understanding of the complexity of the system, opportunity for impact of the idea, as well as potential problem areas. Concept The final concept is the Rights Revealing Machine: A camera captures and ‘automagically’ recognizes your cultural background and gender to determine the human rights you have in your society. The result is rear-projected onto a mirror. Ideally, your reflected image in the mirror is complete—conveying you receive all human rights deserving. Otherwise, portions of your body will be absent in the mirror accordingly (i.e. Freedom of Speech; Freedom to Love). It was selected because it was not only able to incorporate awareness of human rights for empowerment, it is also inclusive of the feminism elements from early on in the research. This concept has a much broader application across ages and nationalities—amplified impact. It addresses serious issues in an engaging, reflective, and empowering manner that can be shared with others for the benefit of all nations. Interaction Flow The flow of interaction starts when the person approaches the installation. There they are captured by the camera and using facial and cultural recognition technology, a reflection of themselves is rear-projected onto the two-way mirror. Depending on the rights they receive based on their nationality and current political system, certain parts of their reflection will be augmented as a result. This means that if you are not currently receiving freedom of speech for example, that portion of your body in the reflection may be absent. At this time, the user has the option to go with their thoughts and be inspired to take action or further interact with the device. While standing in front of the mirror, the person can toggle between different political states and countries to see a visual reflection of themselves in that new context to see the variation in human rights that are received. A snapshot of them is then captured that is emailed to the participant so they can have the keepsake and point of reference to take with them when they leave. The image that was captured is also now available online. That means the person can login and compare and reflect not only on themselves in the context of human rights, but in the greater context of others. Scenarios Adolescent Family Elders Touchpoint Map Finally, elements of this system are represented visually here in a touchpoint map, where the inner circle represents when the person may interact with the Rights Revealing Machine in a city square or as a museum installation. For example, when told by a friend, serendipitously walking through the city, seeing someone else using the device and being curious. This map also describes what elements are involved including, a camera to capture the person’s body, rear-projection, mobile phone, self-reflection for understanding and identifying, and awareness to empower and inspire. References 1. Bubble Diagram from research: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45288266712/after-reflecting-on-the-brief-for-a-minute-i 2. ‘Empower’ respondents: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45290756515/sider-2013-to-get-some-fresh-perspective-i-reach 3. Early synthesis and categoraization of responses: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45295307674/sider-2013-early-synthesis-of-input-from 4. Secondary research for ‘empower’: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45296953141/sider-2013-after-a-quick-google-image-search-the 5. Secondary research for ‘mutual benefit’: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45300700719/sider-2013-initial-visual-scape-for-mutual 6. Narrowing the project scope: http://digfut.tumblr.com/post/45338047528/sider-2013-after-some-rest-and-reflection-on-the
Final Note
All of us need to think about the text we experience by interacting with others, for we know what we think only when we try to articulate or represent our thought (Booth, 2008)
We believe that in this multi-media, information oriented world it is increasingly important to create opportunities for people to think critically and creatively about current events. With projects such as TruthGoggles and the initiatives of the Knight Foundation we see people and news organizations working together to solve the credibility “problem” that has emerged in the age of the citizen journalist.
The facts are important. But also important is the voice of the people in this participatory age. We are inspired by projects such as Emoto that seek to give form to the emotions people feel around particular events and cultural moments. We recognize that new forms of commentary on current affairs such as viral memes act as the “Flash bulb memories” of our age. We also agree with David Gauntlett that everyday people are creative and that for them “making is connecting.”
So we ask, what would it mean to the news and readers of the news, if the voice of people could be read and shared alongside the context from which they emerged? How can engaging with current affairs become a richer experience when news consumers interact with meme consumers? What are the possibilities when the information that fuels ideas shares the same space as the tools for voicing feelings about those ideas and those consumers transform into makers?
Our proposal aims at creating a bridge between and among context driven readers (the news consumers) and entertainment driven readers (meme consumers) despite geographic or philosophical divides. By capturing not only the spectrum of facts but also the spectrum of feelings surrounding the news, we can enrich our understanding of what we know and what we believe about our world.
References
Booth, David W. (David Wallace). It’s Critical! : Classroom Strategies for Promoting Critical and Creative Comprehension. Markham, Ont.: Pembroke Publishers, 2008.
http://www.emoto2012.org/
http://www.knightfoundation.org/what-we-fund/innovating-media
Shihab, Ibrahim Abu. “Reading as Critical Thinking.” Asian Social Science 7.8 (2011): 209–219.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/18/flashbulb-memery/)
http://truthgoggl.es/