CONIFERSATION: A SUSTAINABILITY CONVERSATION STARTER
Result of the project ‘Exploring Interactions’. The project focuses on developing skills to design interactions and rapidly validate assumptions and designs.
In this project the goal was to explore interactions and very precisely design an interaction in order to trigger an effect with users. Very broad, very fun.
The design is a conversation starter that aims to let students talk about sustainability casually, by providing interaction in the coffeehouse.
JANUARY 2018
Design research, concept design, rapid prototyping, interaction design
Design
How I worked
In this project I worked quickly and iteratively. As an architecture student I had learned this, but not how to include users in the process or how to rapidly validate. Whenever possible, I took a prototype into a public setting and asked users about it. Unstructured and chaotic at first, but by the end structured and less chaotic.
Using my love for strong concepts and metafors I made sense of the assignment by coming up with different conversation starters. The key to the final design was using my own experiences as inspiration for validating the design.
What I learned
- Interaction-centred design
- Interaction visions
- User research & testing
- Rapid prototyping and validation
- Personal design preference
- Poster design & delivery
Process
In this project, rapid design iterations take central stage. The context and design question was up to the designer. The only requirements where a clearly defined design goal (what interactions should take place?) and an ‘interaction vision’ (how should these interactions take place?).
Design Goal:
To trigger a conversation about sustainable food consumption patterns (SFC) between students in a coffeehouse
Interaction Vision:
A group of friends stopping to watch a street performer
Considerations
So-called “vegans” and “carnivores” have little conversation. There is no talk between these groups about sustainability, while in my experience that is the most important way to exchange information on sustainability. How to get them to talk without all the prejudices and clichés?
By transforming something in the context into something interesting for people to do, you can lay the groundwork for a conversation starter. The coasters were made into puzzle pieces, and when connected together a statement about sustainability is readable.
After these explorations I developed more puzzles and more elaborate interactions. These explorations proved less fruitful, as users would soon disengage when too much effort was involved. Then the focus shifted towards more casual engagement.
