Design concepts
From ThesisWiki
These design concepts were created based on my research and evaluated to make sure they embody the notion of slowness. Illustrated scenarios can be seen at my concept feedback website.
Contents |
Final Concepts
Hello There
Location-based Voice Messages
Couples in long-distance relationships spend a lot of time talking to each other on the phone and sending text-based messages. When these are synchronous activities both parties must be available at the same time; when they are asynchronous the sending party has no knowledge of where, when, or even if their partner got the communication.
Hello There is a system to allow couples to send more emotionally rich voice-based messages and associate them with space and time. Once a message is recorded and sent their partner only receives it when they are physically in a particular geographic spot on or after a particular time. This allows couples to create time and site specific messages to each other. These messages come as surprises, and are playful in the sense that the receiver has to "find" all the messages left for him or her.
- Messages are recorded on a computer via a web-based interface.
- The sender of the message uses a map interface to select a geographical region to associate with the audio message.
- When the receiver is physically located within those geo-coordinates they are notified that they have a message.
- They are able to listen to the message and record a response.
Using a website the sender can check to see which messages have been received and listen to responses.
Traveling Book
A traveling scrapbook for both physical and digital ephemera
Couples in long-distance relationships use physical letters, gifts, artifacts, mementos, and other objects as milestones and important representations of their time apart. The Traveling Book is a specialized notebook that allows for the collection and containment of these items along with digital content such as voice messages, photos, and video. The book is added to or modified by each person and passed back and forth either through the mail or when the couple meets in person. In this way it becomes a shared collection and creation that represents their time apart.
The book will be structured to facilitate particular kinds of content but open ended enough to allow for extensive adaptation by the couple. The book will be able to connect to a computer for viewing of digital contents and contain special applications for the viewing and creation of digital content.
Our Day
A digital object representing separate lives and share communication
Couples in long-distance relationships struggle to find common time to communicate, particularly when they living in different time zones. Special times are set aside for talking on the phone but many couples are comforted by knowing their partner's schedule and being able to picture them throughout the day.
Our Day is a touch screen device that acts as a shared representation of each partner's day, showing their schedules and highlighting overlapping time. Various visualizations are available to show time until their next face to face meeting or phone call. Partners can also communicate with one another through the calendar, associating photos and audio day or time of day, which is made visible to the other person when that time arrives. Our Day reinforces the differences in activity, space, and time that the couple is experiencing while brining them together through a shared and representational object.
Input could be highly integrated with third party services where Our Day acts only as an output device.
Discarded concepts
I Miss You Here
Voice messages that remember where they were sent
Messages are constantly being sent between couples in long-distance relationships throughout the day. Usually these are phatic communications expressing emotions or messages of goodwill, and while they contain a timestamp they give little additional context about the where or when they were sent. I Miss You Here allows couples to send each other voice messages that are associated with a particular geo-coordinate -- they remember where they were sent from. The receiving partner can view messages on a web-based map interface where they remain for archival replaying and reflection. In this way the messages become associated not only with time, but place as well. These contexts synergistically create additional associations known only to the partners.
Slow Camera
Audio + photo with a focus on the sharing of place
Couples in long-distance relationships seek to share with each other the new places they are experiencing, and do so with photos and verbal descriptions. Because of the advent of digital cameras couples send each other 100s of photos and talk to each other every day, but does this quantity increase the meaningfulness of the communication?
The Slow Camera captures audio along with a photograph and sends this package as a message to a partner. When viewing the photo, it comes into focus slowly, timing its display to the length of the audio message. In this way the viewer concentrates more intently on the description of the singular photograph. The sender must choose their photos wisely and put more time and effort into that selection and description process.
Augmented Postcard
Any old postcard with embedded links to richer content
Any postcard, letter, or package could have a tag on it so that placing it near a specific reader would connect the receiver to richer related content on the internet. In this way couples can exchange audio, video, photos, or URLs in the context of a physical artifact.
This is for you
Non-professionals deliver surprise packages or messages
This is for you is a delivery that uses the six degrees of separation principle to deliver a package or message to someone in a surprising way. Imagine receiving a letter from the guy behind the counter at subway, or being stopped on the street by a bicycle messenger with a package from a loved one.
Message Tree
Physical accumulation of digital communication
Digital communications of some sort are stored on USB devices that are sent to the receiving partner. These devices attach to each other and form a growing sculpture-like accumulation that physically represented the time apart.
