family home communication
In a team of three, analyzed collaboration and social interactions elements in the home with the intent to design an object based on the research and exploration of how teenagers behave, learn, play, and communicate. The result is the fruition of a thirteen week study with a final form product that addresses specific issues we discovered during our process and asserts our intervention as designers into the sensitive family home environment.
Studying collaboration and social interactions in the home
A thirteen week study exploring the way teenagers behave, learn, play and communicate
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The following is the fruition of a thirteen week study of collaboration and social interactions in the home through the way teenagers behave, learn, play, and communicate.
The result of this study is a final form product that addresses specific issues we discovered during our process and asserts our intervention as designers into the sensitive family home environment.
The final form is a family of magnets to be used on the refrigerator that emits light upon user activation. The magnets are designed to promote family interaction through the use of the widely used refrigerator surface. Through a variety of different colors and sizes, the magnets can be associated by household member, importance, as well as organization of the refrigerator surface. Each magnet can be illuminated by tapping lightly on the outer surface of the magnet, drawing attention to the magnet and emphasizing the corresponding message the magnet is holding on the refrigerator. The purpose of these magnets is for communication on the fridge to be organized by colors and size.
Magnets come in a variety of different colors to promote identity, the purpose being each member of the family assigned to a color so that messages to individual members of the family are easily identifiable. The basis of how the magnets have been designed to communicate in the home is to be similar to receiving an “e-mail” because that is what our persona prefers; non face-to-face methods of communication.
The refrigerator surface was chosen because many families already use it for the reason we are designing. Our intervention is to assist in further promoting the usage of the refrigerator surface as a means of family organization, communication, and showcase of sentimental items. Magnets were chosen because they do not force any specific use on the user, they are very flexible to anthropological factors. Because of this they allow for practical, sentimental, and also playful use which we had identified as valuable to family communication.
Rationale, including issues addressed, benefits and implications
Our process throughout the semester eventually led us to the refrigerator light magnets. Through our cultural probes, scenarios, and workshops, we identified the need to make note exchange more of an experience that includes “game” and “play” as well as enhance the quality of interaction within family and home settings. All members of our persona’s family are very busy and often do not have time to have meaningful conversations to discuss their day. Our goal was exploring how as designers, we could intervene and assist in enhancing the quality of interaction within families in the home setting.
By studying the emergent behaviors that young people exhibit inside their homes, the rationale to incorporate note exchange was because teenagers already performed note exchanges on their computers through a variety of means (E-mail, MSN, Internet blogging). By taking something already familiar to our persona, we hoped to build a means of meaningful family communication in the home environment.
The kitchen was identified as we narrowed down the scope of our project and focus to a location where regular family interactions already take place. We had originally recognized the kitchen table as a place where regular family interactions took place and that the kitchen table actually serves multiple purposes in the home so there was opportunity to intervene there. Through further observation it was noticed that the refrigerator surface is already used for note exchange for some families and that there were already meaningful interactions that took place there. The size and location of the fridge surface make it immediately distinguishable from other surfaces in the home, making it available for multi-purpose and shared use.
On the refrigerator surface, functionality mixes with sentimentality with no apparent contradiction; for example, appliance manuals would not be put in a photo album or party invitations in a toolbox, but on the fridge surface the display of things is versatile. Due to the use of magnets, there is simplicity to the organization of items on the fridge. Magnets allow anyone to add, change, and re-configure the order of the display on the fridge intuitively and that is why the surface of a fridge often has a collection of materials that offer practicality, sentimentality, functionality, and playfulness.
Our design intervention is series of magnets where we hope will further promote family communication on the refrigerator surface. Magnets were chosen because they do not force any specific use on the user; they are flexible and allow for practical, sentimental, and also playful use, which is valuable to family interaction. In our set of magnets, a variety of colors would be included with each color containing a multitude of sizes, ranging from small, medium, and large. The reason why there are different color sets is so that each member of a family (or household) would have their own set of magnets with their own color. Different members in a household can leave messages for other members by using the magnet of the family member they wish to communicate to on the fridge surface. The significance of the message could dictate the size of the magnet that is used as well. The individual magnets can then be illuminated by the user tapping lightly on the outer surface of the magnet, drawing attention to the magnet and correspondingly the message the magnet is holding. This is similar to having an email or MSN message “blink” at the user on a computer screen.
By keeping the form similar to what families already use, but rather making incremental changes on the form to improve communication in a household, we feel that the open ended design of the magnet affords not only easy adaptability in the home fridge surface, but also may serve for other purposes as well such as use in different surfaces around the home.
Implications that we are aware of and would improve upon in the next iteration and further process include questions such as how would we communicate the essential characteristics for the usage of the magnets. Would it be better to communicate the idea with instructions, or keep it open-ended for families to adapt and alter? How do we overcome the well known problem that exists between a technical device and their resonance with the everyday setting in which hey are deployed? Is our solution adaptable and how can our design evolve over time? And most importantly, how can people express their own identity, more so then different colors identifying who they are in a household.
Prototype of design intervention and refinements made
Our design intervention was developed by means of concept development and rapid prototyping the structure, form and behaviour. The process was both iterative and exploratory, where we moved between concepts and expressing our ideas in a physical storyboard. In the construction of the following prototype design solutions we took our scenarios as a starting point and began to answer some of the questions that had arisen from the deconstruction our scenarios. The following six prototypes were created before arriving at our final concept:
1 - Virtual sticky notes
Our first prototype was reflected in our video scenario. Our process began by exploring methods of note exchange that would create more of an experience for the user. The resulting exploration looked at using technology that allowed users to create "virtual sticky notes". The user would be able to create a sticky note out of thin air, regardless of location in the home, and leave a message behind for another family member or for herself.
Designer’s notes: This prototype and scenario were idealistic, impractical and ungrounded. The technology was not defined and the solution needed to be refined if it was going to be useful for our user. This prototype provided inspiration for further design concepts.
2 - Transparent table
The group of designers explored ways in which the table could be used as the "hub" of the kitchen - acting a message and communication centre. Family members could leave notes behind by lifting up a quadrant of the table surface and leaving a note underneath. The use of the table would also encourage family members to display artifacts of personal and family importance, such as old family photos and memories that are otherwise underutilized in other areas of the home.
Designer’s notes: There were a number of problems with this prototype. Some of the issues including the lack of consideration for what the kitchen table is typically used for (ie: place to leave daily newspapers, eat, a place for casual conversation). This solution was not flexible enough and did not afford a multiplicity of ways in which people could accomplish their goals.
3 - Digital note exchange table
The design group considered technological advancements that would allow our persona to exchange notes across the dinner table during a meal, or leave messages behind for family members. The group explored the use of colour as a way to identify and create a digital identity for each family member.
Designer’s notes: We tried to address some of the concerns of our first two prototypes. We wanted to make the experience fun, enjoyable and more game-like. We felt this solution did not interrupt the primary function of the table which was a place that our participants ate meals. It did not however meet our goal of creating a more meaningful interaction between family members through note exchange. We also believe that because the computer interface would be built into the table and very noticeable to the user, the level of engagement and immersion would be compromised.
4 – Digital note exchange table cloth
The fourth prototype solution included an interactive cloth-like material that allows users to exchange messages and interact with each other and the system. This would encourage cooperation and dynamic interaction around the traditional table. The computer will be almost entirely hidden from view but support the human to human interactions. Potential uses might include but are not limited to an interactive table cloth, interactive window coverings, note pad, team brainstorming tool, others?
5 - Mailbox table
The design group explored the ways in which the table could be used as a message centre for the family, using physical mailboxes that borrowed familiar concepts from the use of an "inbox" in email exchange. The mailbox would be physically attached to the table and transparent (borrowing the concept of "checking for new messages" via email).
Designer’s notes: We wanted to continue to focus on the kitchen table as a central meeting place but in this design we moved away from the table itself and looked at other means of participant interaction.
6 – Mailboxes
The group questioned the necessity of the table and the practicality of designing the mailbox into a table's physical form. Thus, the group considered the use of a mailbox that attached to a kitchen table but was adaptable to many situations all over the home.
Designer’s notes: This prototype was a very small step in the right direction. We finally began to move away from the kitchen table and look for a place where note exchange might already take place.
7 – Light emitting magnets (final prototype)
The purpose of these magnets is for communication on the fridge to be organized by color and size. Magnets can be lit up by tapping on them and thus, important messages on the fridge can be emphasized by an illuminated magnet. The magnets come in a variety of different colors so that messages to individual members of the family are easily identifiable.
Designer’s notes: After going back to our participant’s home and observing their behavior we came to the conclusion that our participants already display items on their refrigerator. The surface is very versatile and things can stay put on the surface for years or mere hours. Due to the use of magnets, there is simplicity to the organization. Magnets allow someone to highlight something, and then easily change and re-configure the order of the display. Most importantly, our participants already used the fridge for exchanging messages.
Results of Evaluation
Due to the fact that we spent a great deal of time rapid prototyping in order to arrive at a solution that made sense for our personas and that could be supported by our research, we did not have a functional prototype to take to our users for evaluation. Alternatively we conducted a semi-structured interview which included walking through our process with our participants and showing them our latest scenarios in order to give them a rough idea what the new technology might include in the way of functionality, form, aesthetics, social value and possible situations of use. We projected our ideas on a screen and discussed the match between our design and our persona’s routines, lifestyle, values and communication style.
The purpose of the interview was to ‘walk through’ the scenario with our participants and probe for comments, problems, possible alternatives and suggestions in general. The outcome of the scenario walkthrough proved to be somewhat useful but not as fruitful as we had hoped. Our participants generally liked the idea of our magnets and said they already used the fridge for a similar purpose and it would not be hard to adopt the idea of using our magnets as part of their regular routine. Our participants often used the counter to display messages but realized that the fridge would be a more logical choice given that their messages often become lost on the counter. Other suggestions by our participants included incorporating the ability to record voice, allowing for messages to become private. Also, the participants suggested ways of emphasizing the message (pulsating light could mean different things). Some concerns included not having enough room on the fridge for all the magnets, forgetting to look at the fridge, and the possibility of other people reading your message.
Unfortunately, because we did not have a usable prototype we could not evaluate the level of engagement our users had with our product. This was a definite weakness of our final form. We did not have a chance to complete further iterations of our final prototype in time for the final presentation and submission. We felt that it would be premature to incorporate any of the suggestions given by our participants until we could develop a prototype and deploy it in their homes over a period of time and study their interactions and level of engagement with the magnet.
Final scenario of design intervention **click on video scenarios to the right
We have done three video scenarios in order to show our design intervention.
1 - Ashley finds a recipe online that she wants to try with her mom. As her mom is not at home at the time, Ashley writes the recipe down along and then proceeds to head to the refrigerator and post the recipe on the fridge surface using her mom’s fridge magnet. Ashley also lights up the magnet so that it will catch her mom’s attention when she comes home. When Ashley’s mom comes home she notices the note left for her on the fridge and then decides to talk to Ashley about doing the recipe together.
2 - Ashley wants to tell her dad something personal but he is watching the hockey game and does not pay attention to her. Instead Ashley writes what she wants to tell her dad down and then sticks it on their fridge surface using her dad’s magnet and lights it up. After the hockey game Ashley’s dad notices the note and then feels bad that he ignored his daughter for a hockey game. Ashley’s dad then goes to talk to Ashley.
3 – Ashley’s dad knows that Ashley loves the Sunday comics so every week he will put them on the fridge with Ashley’s magnet reminding her to look at them. When Ashley walks into the kitchen every Sunday morning and notices her dad leaving the comic for her Ashley and her Dad build a closer relationship.
Description of design process including previous scenarios, PD workshops, and description of process
Cultural Probe / Personas
The team began its process by designing a cultural probe based around our selected user group. The user group that was targeted were teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, due to the design team having relatively easy access to the age group. Feeling that the team had a decent understanding of who they were and what their ideals were like, given that the team was recently part of that age division, it seemed like a good choice.
Our cultural probe was designed to make use of our initial assumptions about teenagers aged 13-17 and their grasp of recent technologies. Given that the group felt that it had a strong understanding of teenagers, and knew teenagers that were very knowledgeable with recent technologies, the team made a lot of assumptions and created a cultural probe that revolved largely around the interaction on an online weblog. The user participation resulted in the group gaining more of an understanding about the true use of technologies with teenagers, and were enlightened about the dangers of making assumptions in design decisions. Nonetheless, the team was given a lot of raw information about the studied age group, and was able to create two different personas as we moved forward with our process.
Our selected personas were a 17 year old male, and a 15 year old female. While the 17 year old male presented the group with a very interesting and unique personality, we felt that the 15 year old female provided more potential design solutions. Consequently, the 15 year old female, given the persona name of "Ashley", became the focus of the group for the remainder of the term. "Ashley" was a 15 year old high school student who clearly identified an importance in family relationships, including a particularly strong bond with her mother, which often included cooking meals or snacks in the kitchen. Ashley was envious of those who had a cell phone, feeling left out of her circle of friends at times because she could only communicate with them face-to-face or over the internet. Ashley used MSN Messenger and email to talk to her friends, and that would become more relevant to the group as time went on. Ashley also spoke about her hobbies, which included watching television, sports, cooking, arts and crafts, and playing board games. Although the group didn't realize it at the time, these recognitions of Ashley's behaviour and her relationships to her family would end up being extremely influential on our design process, most of our decisions along the way coming back to these basic discoveries. Further, her identification of the kitchen as being a place of bonding between herself and her mother would later end up being important.
Scenarios
After selecting our persona to be Ashley, we had no choice but to move forward on the information that we had gathered, and trust the direction that she was pointing us in. Early results revealed three basic categories for us to analyze: family, friends, and school. Family, because Ashley focused her cultural probe discussion on her family relationships, particularly with her mother. Friends, because Ashley identified a few things about her social relationships, including the technological inadequacies that she felt she had due to the lack of a cell phone, and not yet being old enough to drive a car to travel as she pleased. School, because given that Ashley was 15 years old, school was very relevant to her and created a lot of the structure that existed in her life, including structuring the friendships that she had and the times that she could interact with her family.
In the creation of our scenarios, the pieces of key information from the cultural probe would guide our lines of thinking and cause us to make certain decisions about the focus. Given Ashley's identification of cooking, the kitchen, and family relationships as being important, the group felt that it was a natural decision to try and gain insight on the family dinner, and the type of interactions that would occur during a meal. The group explored the meaningful relationship between Ashley and her mother, and looked to gain insight into what would occur when the two related over a common activity, in this case, cooking. Another situation the group continued to explore was teenagers and their relationships to technology, although by this point, there was a growing disinterest as it appeared that the team was coming up to a dead end that would force us to explore some sort of technological device that aided Ashley in her social communications.
Participatory Design Workshop
By this point in the process, the group was starting to get a defined idea of where the process was taking us. The group had narrowed our focus down to two areas: working at home and the way teenagers work with family members, and understanding communication in the home, particularly in the kitchen. The team was weary to narrow our focus in danger of causing us to hit a dead-end too soon in our process, and thus, have nothing as a final product. As a result, the team identified a common thread between family interaction and interaction in a home working environment - understanding communications and interaction in the home - and moved forward with the intention of shaping our Participatory Design Workshop around those ideas. The group wanted to explore methods of non-verbal communication, and how teenagers would interact with their friends and family if unable to use speech. The group was very interested in the daughter-parent relationship, and wanted to explore how the Ashley persona would speak to her parents if she had to communicate something "awkward" or "difficult". Just how strong was the relationship? Could she say anything to her parents? Further, in either case, how would Ashley go about communicating the meanings to her family? If she couldn't speak, what would she choose as her method? The tasks and activities that we wanted our four Ashley personas to participate in forced them to create arts and crafts that could be used as non-verbal methods of communication. Further, the group had the personas act out a skit of their creation that simulated the communication of something that was very uncomfortable for her to talk about.
Following the workshop, the group was left with a lot of raw information to dissect and find the patterns in. The personas talked a lot with their families in the kitchen, and in the car. Also, for some of them, dinner time was no longer family time. Instead, several of them were left to cook for themselves, or eat on their own, due to the busy schedules of each member of the family. Some of the Ashley personas remarked that they found it hard to remember things at home due to all of the distractions, which included the television. The personas universally agreed in the interest in note exchange as a form of non-verbal communication, as well as a way to organize their schedules and lives. All of the Ashley personas used email to communicate, albeit much more frequently in the summer when they didn't see all of their friends. All of them found communicating difficult things to their parents to be very awkward, and preferred non-face-to-face methods in such situations. The quality of communication with their fathers was quite poor, and often very strained. The personas engaged themselves in a conversation about using coloured flags to communicate simple messages, and all seemed intrigued by the idea. All of the Ashley personas identified privacy as being important to them, noting that their parents didn't come into their rooms and "knew better" than to do that.
The design group transcribed anything of interest from the two hour workshop, and put every piece of information up on whiteboards for pattern analysis. Once that was done, the team found pieces of information that immediately stood out. The information that stood out would go on to shape our thinking for the remainder of the term and up until the completion of the final project.
Those pieces of information were:
Note exchange could be used as a method of communication with family and within the home. Other notes, such as sticky notes, could be used as a means of organization for personal schedules.
Family communication at home was a central idea. Families were very busy with their individual lives, and didn't always have the time that they needed for one another, or to create meaningful interactions. The families did not have family dinners. The communication with fathers was not very good, and whenever it came down to choosing either mother or father as the person to talk to, the persona would always choose the mother. The persona prefers non-face-to-face methods of communication when having to tell their mother or father something of "difficulty."
Discussion of what we learned
The group learned a series of things as designers that I'm sure will have a long and lasting impact on how we shape our processes in the future. Perhaps the biggest and most meaningful thing we learned, or had re-enforced, was the pure value of research and being to understand a user in a very complete and thorough way. Although this seems like an obvious result to have, it was a valuable contributor to the process to continually have a clear image of who and what the group was designing for. Having a clear persona gave our group a constant grounding for basing decisions on, and any time the group questioned a decision, it was a quick and easy solution to ask ourselves whether or not it fit the persona that we had created. Taking that even further and applying it to an even broader scope, we learned about how it is important to understand the context that you are designing for. Although it may not seem like there is a rich and complex context at first glance, detailed research will reveal that it is there, and that every situation has a context that needs to be deeply understood before attempting to intervene.
The cultural probe was a good learning experience for the team for we gained a lot of insight into alternative methods to interview techniques. The message that there is a lot of value in understanding the users in a deep and legitimate way as opposed to mere surface understanding was well received, and helped bring home the idea that it can prove useful over the entire life of a design process. The participatory design workshop was a lesson that enforced similar ideas for the group: that potential users are real people, not a collection of robots that can be predicted in every scenario. One of the strengths of the course was going beyond basic usability testing, extending into exploring human beings and demonstrating that there is a huge human element involved in every design intervention.
The group came to some painful realizations about the importance of prototypes, and also not underestimating how difficult it would be to create a prototype that could emulate the experience that we were trying to design. We had a lot of trouble determining how we would build something that would portray and communicate all of the most important elements that we were designing. In the end, our "prototype" wasn't a prototype at all, and left us without the benefit of results that were true to our design.
The following is the fruition of a thirteen week study of collaboration and social interactions in the home through the way teenagers behave, learn, play, and communicate.
The result of this study is a final form product that addresses specific issues we discovered during our process and asserts our intervention as designers into the sensitive family home environment.
The final form is a family of magnets to be used on the refrigerator that emits light upon user activation. The magnets are designed to promote family interaction through the use of the widely used refrigerator surface. Through a variety of different colors and sizes, the magnets can be associated by household member, importance, as well as organization of the refrigerator surface. Each magnet can be illuminated by tapping lightly on the outer surface of the magnet, drawing attention to the magnet and emphasizing the corresponding message the magnet is holding on the refrigerator. The purpose of these magnets is for communication on the fridge to be organized by colors and size.
Magnets come in a variety of different colors to promote identity, the purpose being each member of the family assigned to a color so that messages to individual members of the family are easily identifiable. The basis of how the magnets have been designed to communicate in the home is to be similar to receiving an “e-mail” because that is what our persona prefers; non face-to-face methods of communication.
The refrigerator surface was chosen because many families already use it for the reason we are designing. Our intervention is to assist in further promoting the usage of the refrigerator surface as a means of family organization, communication, and showcase of sentimental items. Magnets were chosen because they do not force any specific use on the user, they are very flexible to anthropological factors. Because of this they allow for practical, sentimental, and also playful use which we had identified as valuable to family communication.
Rationale, including issues addressed, benefits and implications
Our process throughout the semester eventually led us to the refrigerator light magnets. Through our cultural probes, scenarios, and workshops, we identified the need to make note exchange more of an experience that includes “game” and “play” as well as enhance the quality of interaction within family and home settings. All members of our persona’s family are very busy and often do not have time to have meaningful conversations to discuss their day. Our goal was exploring how as designers, we could intervene and assist in enhancing the quality of interaction within families in the home setting.
By studying the emergent behaviors that young people exhibit inside their homes, the rationale to incorporate note exchange was because teenagers already performed note exchanges on their computers through a variety of means (E-mail, MSN, Internet blogging). By taking something already familiar to our persona, we hoped to build a means of meaningful family communication in the home environment.
The kitchen was identified as we narrowed down the scope of our project and focus to a location where regular family interactions already take place. We had originally recognized the kitchen table as a place where regular family interactions took place and that the kitchen table actually serves multiple purposes in the home so there was opportunity to intervene there. Through further observation it was noticed that the refrigerator surface is already used for note exchange for some families and that there were already meaningful interactions that took place there. The size and location of the fridge surface make it immediately distinguishable from other surfaces in the home, making it available for multi-purpose and shared use.
On the refrigerator surface, functionality mixes with sentimentality with no apparent contradiction; for example, appliance manuals would not be put in a photo album or party invitations in a toolbox, but on the fridge surface the display of things is versatile. Due to the use of magnets, there is simplicity to the organization of items on the fridge. Magnets allow anyone to add, change, and re-configure the order of the display on the fridge intuitively and that is why the surface of a fridge often has a collection of materials that offer practicality, sentimentality, functionality, and playfulness.
Our design intervention is series of magnets where we hope will further promote family communication on the refrigerator surface. Magnets were chosen because they do not force any specific use on the user; they are flexible and allow for practical, sentimental, and also playful use, which is valuable to family interaction. In our set of magnets, a variety of colors would be included with each color containing a multitude of sizes, ranging from small, medium, and large. The reason why there are different color sets is so that each member of a family (or household) would have their own set of magnets with their own color. Different members in a household can leave messages for other members by using the magnet of the family member they wish to communicate to on the fridge surface. The significance of the message could dictate the size of the magnet that is used as well. The individual magnets can then be illuminated by the user tapping lightly on the outer surface of the magnet, drawing attention to the magnet and correspondingly the message the magnet is holding. This is similar to having an email or MSN message “blink” at the user on a computer screen.
By keeping the form similar to what families already use, but rather making incremental changes on the form to improve communication in a household, we feel that the open ended design of the magnet affords not only easy adaptability in the home fridge surface, but also may serve for other purposes as well such as use in different surfaces around the home.
Implications that we are aware of and would improve upon in the next iteration and further process include questions such as how would we communicate the essential characteristics for the usage of the magnets. Would it be better to communicate the idea with instructions, or keep it open-ended for families to adapt and alter? How do we overcome the well known problem that exists between a technical device and their resonance with the everyday setting in which hey are deployed? Is our solution adaptable and how can our design evolve over time? And most importantly, how can people express their own identity, more so then different colors identifying who they are in a household.
Prototype of design intervention and refinements made
Our design intervention was developed by means of concept development and rapid prototyping the structure, form and behaviour. The process was both iterative and exploratory, where we moved between concepts and expressing our ideas in a physical storyboard. In the construction of the following prototype design solutions we took our scenarios as a starting point and began to answer some of the questions that had arisen from the deconstruction our scenarios. The following six prototypes were created before arriving at our final concept:
1 - Virtual sticky notes
Our first prototype was reflected in our video scenario. Our process began by exploring methods of note exchange that would create more of an experience for the user. The resulting exploration looked at using technology that allowed users to create "virtual sticky notes". The user would be able to create a sticky note out of thin air, regardless of location in the home, and leave a message behind for another family member or for herself.
Designer’s notes: This prototype and scenario were idealistic, impractical and ungrounded. The technology was not defined and the solution needed to be refined if it was going to be useful for our user. This prototype provided inspiration for further design concepts.
2 - Transparent table
The group of designers explored ways in which the table could be used as the "hub" of the kitchen - acting a message and communication centre. Family members could leave notes behind by lifting up a quadrant of the table surface and leaving a note underneath. The use of the table would also encourage family members to display artifacts of personal and family importance, such as old family photos and memories that are otherwise underutilized in other areas of the home.
Designer’s notes: There were a number of problems with this prototype. Some of the issues including the lack of consideration for what the kitchen table is typically used for (ie: place to leave daily newspapers, eat, a place for casual conversation). This solution was not flexible enough and did not afford a multiplicity of ways in which people could accomplish their goals.
3 - Digital note exchange table
The design group considered technological advancements that would allow our persona to exchange notes across the dinner table during a meal, or leave messages behind for family members. The group explored the use of colour as a way to identify and create a digital identity for each family member.
Designer’s notes: We tried to address some of the concerns of our first two prototypes. We wanted to make the experience fun, enjoyable and more game-like. We felt this solution did not interrupt the primary function of the table which was a place that our participants ate meals. It did not however meet our goal of creating a more meaningful interaction between family members through note exchange. We also believe that because the computer interface would be built into the table and very noticeable to the user, the level of engagement and immersion would be compromised.
4 – Digital note exchange table cloth
The fourth prototype solution included an interactive cloth-like material that allows users to exchange messages and interact with each other and the system. This would encourage cooperation and dynamic interaction around the traditional table. The computer will be almost entirely hidden from view but support the human to human interactions. Potential uses might include but are not limited to an interactive table cloth, interactive window coverings, note pad, team brainstorming tool, others?
5 - Mailbox table
The design group explored the ways in which the table could be used as a message centre for the family, using physical mailboxes that borrowed familiar concepts from the use of an "inbox" in email exchange. The mailbox would be physically attached to the table and transparent (borrowing the concept of "checking for new messages" via email).
Designer’s notes: We wanted to continue to focus on the kitchen table as a central meeting place but in this design we moved away from the table itself and looked at other means of participant interaction.
6 – Mailboxes
The group questioned the necessity of the table and the practicality of designing the mailbox into a table's physical form. Thus, the group considered the use of a mailbox that attached to a kitchen table but was adaptable to many situations all over the home.
Designer’s notes: This prototype was a very small step in the right direction. We finally began to move away from the kitchen table and look for a place where note exchange might already take place.
7 – Light emitting magnets (final prototype)
The purpose of these magnets is for communication on the fridge to be organized by color and size. Magnets can be lit up by tapping on them and thus, important messages on the fridge can be emphasized by an illuminated magnet. The magnets come in a variety of different colors so that messages to individual members of the family are easily identifiable.
Designer’s notes: After going back to our participant’s home and observing their behavior we came to the conclusion that our participants already display items on their refrigerator. The surface is very versatile and things can stay put on the surface for years or mere hours. Due to the use of magnets, there is simplicity to the organization. Magnets allow someone to highlight something, and then easily change and re-configure the order of the display. Most importantly, our participants already used the fridge for exchanging messages.
Results of Evaluation
Due to the fact that we spent a great deal of time rapid prototyping in order to arrive at a solution that made sense for our personas and that could be supported by our research, we did not have a functional prototype to take to our users for evaluation. Alternatively we conducted a semi-structured interview which included walking through our process with our participants and showing them our latest scenarios in order to give them a rough idea what the new technology might include in the way of functionality, form, aesthetics, social value and possible situations of use. We projected our ideas on a screen and discussed the match between our design and our persona’s routines, lifestyle, values and communication style.
The purpose of the interview was to ‘walk through’ the scenario with our participants and probe for comments, problems, possible alternatives and suggestions in general. The outcome of the scenario walkthrough proved to be somewhat useful but not as fruitful as we had hoped. Our participants generally liked the idea of our magnets and said they already used the fridge for a similar purpose and it would not be hard to adopt the idea of using our magnets as part of their regular routine. Our participants often used the counter to display messages but realized that the fridge would be a more logical choice given that their messages often become lost on the counter. Other suggestions by our participants included incorporating the ability to record voice, allowing for messages to become private. Also, the participants suggested ways of emphasizing the message (pulsating light could mean different things). Some concerns included not having enough room on the fridge for all the magnets, forgetting to look at the fridge, and the possibility of other people reading your message.
Unfortunately, because we did not have a usable prototype we could not evaluate the level of engagement our users had with our product. This was a definite weakness of our final form. We did not have a chance to complete further iterations of our final prototype in time for the final presentation and submission. We felt that it would be premature to incorporate any of the suggestions given by our participants until we could develop a prototype and deploy it in their homes over a period of time and study their interactions and level of engagement with the magnet.
Final scenario of design intervention **click on video scenarios to the right
We have done three video scenarios in order to show our design intervention.
1 - Ashley finds a recipe online that she wants to try with her mom. As her mom is not at home at the time, Ashley writes the recipe down along and then proceeds to head to the refrigerator and post the recipe on the fridge surface using her mom’s fridge magnet. Ashley also lights up the magnet so that it will catch her mom’s attention when she comes home. When Ashley’s mom comes home she notices the note left for her on the fridge and then decides to talk to Ashley about doing the recipe together.
2 - Ashley wants to tell her dad something personal but he is watching the hockey game and does not pay attention to her. Instead Ashley writes what she wants to tell her dad down and then sticks it on their fridge surface using her dad’s magnet and lights it up. After the hockey game Ashley’s dad notices the note and then feels bad that he ignored his daughter for a hockey game. Ashley’s dad then goes to talk to Ashley.
3 – Ashley’s dad knows that Ashley loves the Sunday comics so every week he will put them on the fridge with Ashley’s magnet reminding her to look at them. When Ashley walks into the kitchen every Sunday morning and notices her dad leaving the comic for her Ashley and her Dad build a closer relationship.
Description of design process including previous scenarios, PD workshops, and description of process
Cultural Probe / Personas
The team began its process by designing a cultural probe based around our selected user group. The user group that was targeted were teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, due to the design team having relatively easy access to the age group. Feeling that the team had a decent understanding of who they were and what their ideals were like, given that the team was recently part of that age division, it seemed like a good choice.
Our cultural probe was designed to make use of our initial assumptions about teenagers aged 13-17 and their grasp of recent technologies. Given that the group felt that it had a strong understanding of teenagers, and knew teenagers that were very knowledgeable with recent technologies, the team made a lot of assumptions and created a cultural probe that revolved largely around the interaction on an online weblog. The user participation resulted in the group gaining more of an understanding about the true use of technologies with teenagers, and were enlightened about the dangers of making assumptions in design decisions. Nonetheless, the team was given a lot of raw information about the studied age group, and was able to create two different personas as we moved forward with our process.
Our selected personas were a 17 year old male, and a 15 year old female. While the 17 year old male presented the group with a very interesting and unique personality, we felt that the 15 year old female provided more potential design solutions. Consequently, the 15 year old female, given the persona name of "Ashley", became the focus of the group for the remainder of the term. "Ashley" was a 15 year old high school student who clearly identified an importance in family relationships, including a particularly strong bond with her mother, which often included cooking meals or snacks in the kitchen. Ashley was envious of those who had a cell phone, feeling left out of her circle of friends at times because she could only communicate with them face-to-face or over the internet. Ashley used MSN Messenger and email to talk to her friends, and that would become more relevant to the group as time went on. Ashley also spoke about her hobbies, which included watching television, sports, cooking, arts and crafts, and playing board games. Although the group didn't realize it at the time, these recognitions of Ashley's behaviour and her relationships to her family would end up being extremely influential on our design process, most of our decisions along the way coming back to these basic discoveries. Further, her identification of the kitchen as being a place of bonding between herself and her mother would later end up being important.
Scenarios
After selecting our persona to be Ashley, we had no choice but to move forward on the information that we had gathered, and trust the direction that she was pointing us in. Early results revealed three basic categories for us to analyze: family, friends, and school. Family, because Ashley focused her cultural probe discussion on her family relationships, particularly with her mother. Friends, because Ashley identified a few things about her social relationships, including the technological inadequacies that she felt she had due to the lack of a cell phone, and not yet being old enough to drive a car to travel as she pleased. School, because given that Ashley was 15 years old, school was very relevant to her and created a lot of the structure that existed in her life, including structuring the friendships that she had and the times that she could interact with her family.
In the creation of our scenarios, the pieces of key information from the cultural probe would guide our lines of thinking and cause us to make certain decisions about the focus. Given Ashley's identification of cooking, the kitchen, and family relationships as being important, the group felt that it was a natural decision to try and gain insight on the family dinner, and the type of interactions that would occur during a meal. The group explored the meaningful relationship between Ashley and her mother, and looked to gain insight into what would occur when the two related over a common activity, in this case, cooking. Another situation the group continued to explore was teenagers and their relationships to technology, although by this point, there was a growing disinterest as it appeared that the team was coming up to a dead end that would force us to explore some sort of technological device that aided Ashley in her social communications.
Participatory Design Workshop
By this point in the process, the group was starting to get a defined idea of where the process was taking us. The group had narrowed our focus down to two areas: working at home and the way teenagers work with family members, and understanding communication in the home, particularly in the kitchen. The team was weary to narrow our focus in danger of causing us to hit a dead-end too soon in our process, and thus, have nothing as a final product. As a result, the team identified a common thread between family interaction and interaction in a home working environment - understanding communications and interaction in the home - and moved forward with the intention of shaping our Participatory Design Workshop around those ideas. The group wanted to explore methods of non-verbal communication, and how teenagers would interact with their friends and family if unable to use speech. The group was very interested in the daughter-parent relationship, and wanted to explore how the Ashley persona would speak to her parents if she had to communicate something "awkward" or "difficult". Just how strong was the relationship? Could she say anything to her parents? Further, in either case, how would Ashley go about communicating the meanings to her family? If she couldn't speak, what would she choose as her method? The tasks and activities that we wanted our four Ashley personas to participate in forced them to create arts and crafts that could be used as non-verbal methods of communication. Further, the group had the personas act out a skit of their creation that simulated the communication of something that was very uncomfortable for her to talk about.
Following the workshop, the group was left with a lot of raw information to dissect and find the patterns in. The personas talked a lot with their families in the kitchen, and in the car. Also, for some of them, dinner time was no longer family time. Instead, several of them were left to cook for themselves, or eat on their own, due to the busy schedules of each member of the family. Some of the Ashley personas remarked that they found it hard to remember things at home due to all of the distractions, which included the television. The personas universally agreed in the interest in note exchange as a form of non-verbal communication, as well as a way to organize their schedules and lives. All of the Ashley personas used email to communicate, albeit much more frequently in the summer when they didn't see all of their friends. All of them found communicating difficult things to their parents to be very awkward, and preferred non-face-to-face methods in such situations. The quality of communication with their fathers was quite poor, and often very strained. The personas engaged themselves in a conversation about using coloured flags to communicate simple messages, and all seemed intrigued by the idea. All of the Ashley personas identified privacy as being important to them, noting that their parents didn't come into their rooms and "knew better" than to do that.
The design group transcribed anything of interest from the two hour workshop, and put every piece of information up on whiteboards for pattern analysis. Once that was done, the team found pieces of information that immediately stood out. The information that stood out would go on to shape our thinking for the remainder of the term and up until the completion of the final project.
Those pieces of information were:
Note exchange could be used as a method of communication with family and within the home. Other notes, such as sticky notes, could be used as a means of organization for personal schedules.
Family communication at home was a central idea. Families were very busy with their individual lives, and didn't always have the time that they needed for one another, or to create meaningful interactions. The families did not have family dinners. The communication with fathers was not very good, and whenever it came down to choosing either mother or father as the person to talk to, the persona would always choose the mother. The persona prefers non-face-to-face methods of communication when having to tell their mother or father something of "difficulty."
Discussion of what we learned
The group learned a series of things as designers that I'm sure will have a long and lasting impact on how we shape our processes in the future. Perhaps the biggest and most meaningful thing we learned, or had re-enforced, was the pure value of research and being to understand a user in a very complete and thorough way. Although this seems like an obvious result to have, it was a valuable contributor to the process to continually have a clear image of who and what the group was designing for. Having a clear persona gave our group a constant grounding for basing decisions on, and any time the group questioned a decision, it was a quick and easy solution to ask ourselves whether or not it fit the persona that we had created. Taking that even further and applying it to an even broader scope, we learned about how it is important to understand the context that you are designing for. Although it may not seem like there is a rich and complex context at first glance, detailed research will reveal that it is there, and that every situation has a context that needs to be deeply understood before attempting to intervene.
The cultural probe was a good learning experience for the team for we gained a lot of insight into alternative methods to interview techniques. The message that there is a lot of value in understanding the users in a deep and legitimate way as opposed to mere surface understanding was well received, and helped bring home the idea that it can prove useful over the entire life of a design process. The participatory design workshop was a lesson that enforced similar ideas for the group: that potential users are real people, not a collection of robots that can be predicted in every scenario. One of the strengths of the course was going beyond basic usability testing, extending into exploring human beings and demonstrating that there is a huge human element involved in every design intervention.
The group came to some painful realizations about the importance of prototypes, and also not underestimating how difficult it would be to create a prototype that could emulate the experience that we were trying to design. We had a lot of trouble determining how we would build something that would portray and communicate all of the most important elements that we were designing. In the end, our "prototype" wasn't a prototype at all, and left us without the benefit of results that were true to our design.