Week 6 Start of Part 2 - Group collaboration

MILESTONE:

Forming a new group with the goal of developing a interaction design solution to the following design problem: Connecting and feeling social presence across a distance through tangible interactions.
In our first group meeting we developed a schedule, and brainstormed new tangible, interaction designs. Furthermore we evaluated our concepts, with good and bad qualities, and also tried combining our ideas. Then we wrote down a draft for our initial design brief.

Design brief objectives:

- Metaphors, totem
- Connecting people
- Public
- Connecting environment (physical)
- Waiting rooms? Hotel lobbies? cities/sister cities?
- Fun/explore/getting engaged
- Passive/active
- Shadow of another person?
- After image
- Representations?

Brief:

Our project is dealing with the public sphere and considers split environments; to create social cohesion and provide a sense of a presence of others. It includes ludic design elements that allow both passive and active input to give the users a sense of a society’s presence. The user gains a presence of many people, a community. We are considering the metaphors of footprint and afterimage. 

Objectives:

-          Create social cohesion

-          Allow users to gain sense of social connectedness

-          Counteract the loss of sense of place occurring in urban spaces

-          Counteract the dehumanising effects high density cities

-          Activate spaces by tangible interaction

-          Complement users’ experiences without forced participation

-          Connect users of specific public environment based on location in city. 

We were informed that our design brief was not specific enough, so here is our attempt to clarify any confusion and explain our initial design thoughts further.

We aim to design a tangible installation, encouraging the public to approach the product, through an inspiring and engaging design. We wish to focus on interactive and responsive features, allowing the user to have a positive experience in the area of social awareness in a public space. One idea was that a 'twin installation' will be placed in a sister city, connecting people across a distance.

Focus of our design:
Public totem/interactive art/installation considerations:
- Symbolism
- Aesthetic
- Obtrusive
- Metaphors, international?
- State

What could our installation possibly sense?

Passive/active
- Word
- Position
- Activity
- Motion
- Scent
- Light
- Heat
- Weather
- Day light
- Sounds
- Amount
- Measure
- Sequence
- Presence 

 Motives to interact with a product, specifically a public installation:

- Make an impact
- Curiousity
- Learn
- Teach
- Explore
- Feel/Emphatise
- Sympathy
- Entertainment
- Connectivity
- Closeness
- Support
- Distraction
- Experience
- Relate, understand
- Information
- Share/help
- Speak/express
- Develop
- Establish
- Remember
- Leave mark
- Collaborate
- Grow
- Build
- Destroy
- See/invision
- 


Things to learn:

- Song
- Dance
- Words/languages
- Music
- Signs
- Art
- Symbols
- General knowledge
- Trivia
- Social skills
- Games
- Logic
- Theories
- Philosophy/science/geography etc..


-> Use interactive sounds in design. E.g. motivating/encouraging sounds - Push me!
-> Lights, patterns, shapes, changes in general...
-> Don't use icons in design!

Emotional design:
- Validation
- Communicate
- Feel connected
- Presence of loved ones
- Eliminate/dampen loneliness
- Emotion + response to emotion


Activity!
Encourage active engagement and interaction through tangible product design
-> Can't be imposed action, must be related to what you're doing or wishing to, so it does not become a chore or dreaded task.
-> Must be acceptable for society and for personal use.


Behaviour
consider all users, contexts, needs, changes, internal influences, external resources and influences culture and personalities.


Here are a few images of public art/installations and tangible art: