HOW TO RIDE A BIKE IN DUTCH WAY
2015-16 Exploring Interaction
Unlocking People Studio In Transit Wen-wei Chang / 4513320
Contents
1
4
Design Goal and Motivation
Interaction Vision
2
5
Research Activities
Design Interventions
3
6
Data Analysis
Design Direction
1 Design Goal & Motivation
Let Foreign Cyclists Feel Embedded in the Dutch Cycling Culture.
My 4 Main Motivations within this Project Be an International Student Empower People Embodiment Dutch Cycling Culture
1: Motivations I’m always curious about how cycling become such an important part in the Dutch people’s life, so it’s really a great opportunity for me to know more about this topic. In the same time, as also a visitor here, I believe that cycling could be an important entry point for me to learn more about the local culture and lifestyle in the Netherlands. Last but the least, I really want to try to embody these unspeakable things through the interaction, form, materials within design.
2 Research Activities
2-1: Observation At the beginning of the resarch, I spent 3 days to observe the real behaviors in the city centre of Delft. While there are lots of foreigner cycling in different situations, it's hard to get deeper understanding with only observation.
From your perspective, what are the essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist? ( a true Dutch cyclist should be... / be able to .... / pefer to ... )
From your perspective, what are the essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist?
DUTCH
( a true Dutch cyclist should be... / be able to .... / pefer to ... ) DUTCH
What are the differences in the cycling culture between your home country and Dutch? What are the differences in the cycling culture between your home country and Dutch?
Do you have any problems and concerns about cycling in the Netherlands? What was the situation? Do you have any problems and concerns about cycling in the Netherlands? What was the situation?
From your perspective, what are the essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist?
For International Cyclists
( a true Dutch cyclist should be... / be able to .... / pefer to ... )
From your perspective, what are the essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist? ( a true Dutch cyclist should be... / be able to .... / pefer to ... )
DUTCH
DUTCH
Have you had some negative cycling experience about people who are not familiar with Dutch cycling culture? Have negative Whatyou washad the some situation? How cycling did youexperience react? about people who are not familiar with Dutch cycling culture? What was the situation? How did you react?
For Dutch Cyclists
2-2: Questionnaire Because of the lacking of deeper understanding on this topic, I decided to use questionnaire as a way to approach. With some interview with both Dutch cyclists and foreign cyclists, I found it's necessary to collect feedback from both side. There are 20 Dutch cyclists and 20 foreign cyclists conducted this questionnaire. The result of the questionnaire is following with next page.
2-3: Result What are essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist ?
Too Slow Ride in Middle No Signal Don't know ''Prority'' Don't Notice Traffic
What are the negative cycling experience with International beginner ?
Be Predictable Rules / Ruleless Muti-taskable Always Cycling Crappy Bike Dutch Cyclists
What are essential characteristics of being a true Dutch cyclist ?
Fast Know Rules well Bike as Body Mean Hands Free Carry a lot What are the problems and concerns about cycling in Dutch ? Don't know the rules Cyclists are mean Can't fit in the flow Don't know the Priority Expensive Be an obstacle on the road
International Cyclists
3 Data Analysis
SENSE RULES ABILITIES
Three Stages of Riding Dutchly
OTHERS
SITUATION
STRESSFUL UNCERTAIN DIFFIDENCE
CULTURE
SELF
The Current Feeling Questionnaire
The Opportunities on Current Situation
3-1: Three Findings from Research With the rich infomation that I got from the questionnaire, I tried to analysis them with three perspectives - What's the essential things in Dutch cycling culture, What is the feeling and their causes and What is the relationship between Dutch and foreign cyclists. In this way, I illustrated three drawings to anwser these three questions.
Able to mindlessly react with unknown situations. Shift between Rules / Ruleless Be able to Predict / Be Predictable Real time react
Able to react several situations. Rules & Signals Priority
Able to ride well. Fast & Stable Carry a lot
3-2: Three Stages to Ride Dutchly Several Dutch cyclists provided very inspiring feedbacks on defining ''What is a real Dutch cyclist'', like ''be able to Predict / be predictable'' and ''know when to follow the rules and when to ignore them''. However, these principles were hardy found by foreign cyclists. Most of foreigners only mentioned the rules and abilities that a real Dutch cyclists should have. In this way, I found there were different levels skills within the cycling culture. The basic condition is ability, which mostly relate to the skills of body, like riding fast or steady; Mentality are the second level that people learnd and memorized to react several situations; The sense represent the intuitive reaction skills dealing with unknown situations, just like be able to Predict / be predictable.
SENSE MENTALITY ABILITY
OTHERS
SITUATION
STRESSFUL UNCERTAIN DIFFIDENCE
CULTURE
SELF
3-3: The Feelings and the Conditions There are several negative emotions within the current cycling experience of foreign cyclists, like fear from annoying others, nervous and uncertain. With this figure, I mapped the feelings and their causes together to point out the relationship between these emotions and different conditions.
Enable people to fit in the flow.
Beginners
Dutch Cyclists
Reduce the frictions between them.
3-4: Two Opportunities in Current Situation With the questionnaire, I found that there are two criticle opportunities in the current situation. On one hand, the skills and abilities of foreign cyclists should be enhance. On the other hand, there are also lots of frictions between foreign cyclists and Dutch cyclists needed to be reduced.
Focus on the needs between Sense and Rules.
SENSE MENTALITY ABILITY
Turn Stressful into Connected, Turn Diffidence into Confident, Turn Uncertain into Embedded
OTHERS
SITUATION
CONNECTED
OTHERS
EMBEDDED
SITUATION
STRESSFUL UNCERTAIN
CONFIDENT
DIFFIDENCE
CULTURE
CULTURE
SELF
SELF
Enable people to fit in the flow.
Beginners
Dutch Cyclists
Reduce the frictions between them.
3-5: Design Statement 1. Focus on the needs between Sense and Mentality According to the result of questionnaire, most of the foreign cyclists have concerns on the levels of sense and mentality. In this way, empowered skills should also meet the same needs.
2. Turn Stressful into Connected, Diffidence into Confident, Uncertain into Embedded In the current cycling experience of foreign cyclists, there are several negative emotions stimulated by three conditions - others, self and situation. I would like to focus on these conditions and stimulate positive emotions form each of them.
3. Empower People & Reduce Frictions There are two oppotunities in the current situation for this project to explore empowering foreign cyclists and reducing the friction between foreign cyclists and Dutch cyclists.
4 Interaction Vision
Connectivity
Smoothness
4-1: Interaction Vision & Qualities Focusing on the sensabilities within the flow of cyclists, I choosed the phenomenon of the flock behavior, which shares several similar characteristics with the cycling behavior There are two main characteristics in the flock behavior - The connectivity and the smoothness. The connectivity represents the network and common understanding within the cyclists; The Smoothness represents the seamless and mindless interactions wihtin the cyclists.
5
Design Interventions
The Flock Behavior in Starlings
The Group Movement in Modern Dance
The AEI Lamp Project Philip R. Ross (2010)
5-1: Modern Dance as Interventions In order to find ways to apply flock behavior's qualities into following design, the design intervention was executed to gather more understanding on the interaction of human group behaviors. The group movement in modern dance is a unique way to perfume. There are different leader and followers in each turn. The followers have to keep imitating the movement of the leader, and the leader need to make the whole group in the same movement and flow. In the research of Philip R. Ross (2010), the researchers also invited modern dancers to act out the emotions with their skills. In this way, these skills were analysised and applied into an interaction lamp.
5-2: Group Modern Dance Workshop During the group modern dance workshop, 5 people were invited to join. At the beginning, I lead them with some warming up sections to help them get into the mood. Although most of people were not used to dance, they still very devoted and enjoyed in the group dance. In the same time, the fluency and cooperativeness also got better with the time passed by.
Leader - Be Sensed See others seeing me Use slow start or preparatory action
Followers - Sense Others Shift of attention Read intentions from behaviors
5-3: The Skills of Leading / Following With the resources gathered from personal experience, group reflection and the recoded video, several inspirations were listed down.
As leader: * See others seeing me - Notice other's attentions are following * Use slow start or preparatory action - Put some hints at the beginning of movements.
As follower: * Shift of attention - Keep awaring the shift of command * Read intentions from behaviors - Not just imitate the movements but understand the intentions of them
6 Design Direction
6-1: Short Review Design Goal
Design Statement
SENSE
OTHERS
SITUATION
STRESSFUL
RULES
UNCERTAIN DIFFIDENCE CULTURE
ABILITIES
SELF
Let Foreign Cyclists Feel Embedded in the Dutch Cycling Culture.
Between Sense and Rules Empower & Reduce Frictions Enhance Positive Feeling
Interaction Vision
Design Interventions
The flock behaviors Group modern dance
See others seeing me Use slow start or preparatory action Shift of attention Read intentions from behaviors
A Product serve as the training wheels, which -
empowers people
in diversified ways,
marks them as beginners,
helps them within progress,
and embodies the Dutch cycling cuture.
A Product serve as the training wheels which empowers people in diversified ways, marks them as beginners, helps them within progress, and embodies the Dutch cycling cuture.
Let Foreign Cyclists Feel Embedded in the Dutch Cycling Culture. 6-2: Future Direction The "training wheels" are used as a metaphor in this project. There are lots of similar and inspiring characteristics whithin the usage and roles of this product. * Empowerment - Enable foreign cyclists ride Dutchly * Diversity - Empower foreign cyclists with diversified skills and abilities * Marked as Beginner - Ruduce the frictions by showing you're beginner * In Progress - Serve as temporal and evolved products helping users in progress * Embody Dutch Cycling Culture - This product will not only serve as assistive devices, but also a stimulus to provoke the reflection on the Dutch cycling culture
6-3: Unexplored Questions for Iteration Basing on the previous research activities and design activities, I formed up four main H2 for the following iteration stage.
1. How to enhance people’s ability of sensing and being sensed? 2. How to reduce the frictions between the Dutch cyclists and the foreign cyclists? 3. How to stimulate positive feelings from themselves, the relationship with other cyclists and different situation? 4. How to apply the qualities within the flock behavior and group modern dance in to interaction? With these H2, I plan to gather deeper understanding with two different appoarches, the literature studying and prototyping. There are several useful researches focusing on the perception of humans and artifacts or the potentials of the distributed system, like the flock behavior. With these theories and models, I could have more understanding about how to enhance the sensibility and connection within group behaviors. On the other hand, I will execute several prototypes to try out the effects of different appoarches. In this way, basing on these H2, the most promised design directions will be picked out for the idea generation stage.
6-4: Reference Ross, P. R., & Wensveen, S. (2010). Designing Behavior in Interaction: Using Aesthetic Experience as a Mechanism for Design. International Journal of Design, 4(2) pp.3-13. NL Cycling - https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com Oranje Express - http://www.oranjeexpress.com Gazelle Bicycle Taiwan - http://gazellebicycles.pixnet.net/blog