Constructive Design Research - Showroom Approach

Moderating Digital Obesity through Design, preventing Digital Social Greed in a Real-Life social context.

Eleni Economidou

Sander Schutjes

Boschdijk 21B, BD7

Emmasingel 31-225

5612 HA, Eindhoven NL

5611 AZ, Eindhoven, NL

economidou.eleni@gmail.com

sander@sanderschutjes.com

Harm van Hoek

Anne Spaa

Wilgenroosstraat 46

Boutenslaan 30G

5644 CH, Eindhoven, NL

5615 CX, Eindhoven, NL

harmvanhoek@hotmail.com

anne.spaa@live.nl

Zhixiong Lu

David Verweij

Bosboomstraat 69

Hemelrijken 167

5613 KD, Eindhoven, NL

5612 LC, Eindhoven, NL

iamzerolu@gmail.com

davidverweij@gmail.com

Virginia Patricia Rispoli

Abstract We are a team of seven Master students Industrial Design from the Eindhoven University of Technology. We explored how to design for ‘digital obesity in real-life social settings’ from a Showroom approach [1]. Through a provocative intervention, we gained insights on how to elicit a discourse on and decrease in the use of social media in a student bar setting. The insights gained from two earlier inventions, focussing on an act of greed and charity, functioned as input for the setting, content and designs of the final intervention.

Authors Keywords Design Research; Social Obesity; Provocation; Showroom; Greed; Social Media; Intervention; Social Setting; Time.

Boschdijk 21 5612 HA, Eindhoven, NL virginiarispoli@gmail.com

ACM Classification Keywords A General Literature: A.m Miscellaneous.

Introduction Copyright is held by the authors. November 2, 2015, Eindhoven, Netherlands

The goal for this set of experiments was threefold: 1) to explore and experience the Showroom approach in design research, 2) to research the area of greed and charity in relation to vending, and 3) to share this experience amongst others via this pictorial.

As a basis of this exploration (1) the direction was given to research into greed, charity and vending (2). After reading into the subjects above, a collaborative statement was formed based on the visions of all 7 authors: “You can multiply your time by spending it together�. All 7 designers agreed on the feeling that modern society is drawing towards personal time, time is money and the digital age that draws our attention downwards (and into our phones).

The sketches enabled us to move from the philosophical statement towards the making process, as it forced to express the statement physically. From the large set of concepts two were chosen as they were judged capable of bringing different opinions to the surface.

The two concepts are: 1) a designated social media area for bar settings, and 2) donating time to a wealthy business man.

Pictures 1 to 6 - a small selection of sketches as exploration.

Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner

Experiment 1 a designated social media area for bar settings People use public areas for their private means. Instead of using space and time of others, one has the ability to use the space and time dedicated for this particular activity.

However, such kind of activities can be considered greedy.

A similar situation can be found during smoking in public.

Based on this, a ‘smoking booth’ was designed for social media usage. Participants could choose to not disturb the public area by not using their phone, or use the booth for your own benefit. This was intended to raise the tension of the value of time spent individually or together.

to press the red button in order to start both the video and their time donation. After they were done donating, they were asked to reflect upon their donation and the meaning of it.

Using posters, tape and acting out as ‘social media police’ the setting of the regular Thursday drinks was altered into an experimental area. The images display the result.

Experiment 2 donating time to a wealthy business man The concept of a time charity asked the public to donate some of their time for those who are less fortunate timewise. Using an existing video from a speech of a seemingly wealthy and successful businessman, removing the audio of the clip and adding subtitles made it seem like the man’s professional life took up all the time that he had. The man was portrayed as a victim of time greediness even though he seemed to be a successful businessman, which created the intended paradox.

Pictures 2 and 3 - the setup of experiment 1.

This video was displayed on a portable donation box, which was created together with posters on the Limbopad leading to the TU/e campus, passersby were asked if they could donate some of their time. Those who were interested were shown the donation box and they were asked

Pictures 4, 5 and 6 - A caption of the charity video, the portable donation box and a corresponding poster.

Process orientation (part one) a designated social media area for bar settings

Picture 7 - the setup of experiment 1.

The Social Media Zone concept felt more as an experiment instead of an intervention for the audience, because it lacked the tangible persuasiveness of a material product.

The zone was easy to find, and the visibility of it made it easier to understand the aim of the experiment, the threshold to go there was rather high. This became apparent through conversing with the users. The idea of a clear and easy-to-find zone was preserved for the next concept, as the participants would know where to go to when wanting to give their opinion.It also increased the credibility of the concept. On the other hand, the zone decreased the participation, due to the threshold explained., The next concept could provide a tangible product to participants, lowering this threshold. The interesting part in the concept was how people reacted to it, and how they related it to similar social behavior, such as smoking.

the spectator instead of the actor, taking the focus away from the intended discussion. Rather than reflecting upon the participant’s personal behavior within this context, the discussion focused on what it means to donate time. This influenced the participation of several participants (see picture 9).

Concluding experiment 1 and 2 The philosophical notion of collecting time through donations has been replaced by the more credible concept of the Social Media Zone. The tangibility of the Time Donation Box has been added to this concept, as it increased the credibility of the concept when approaching participants and lowered the threshold to participate.

Process orientation (part two) donating time to a wealthy business man The time donation box was well executed, convincing as it elicited similar reactions as a conventional donation box.

It enabled the team to take their role as charity foundation, increasing the credibility of the experiment’s setup.

Many people rejected to participate which can be seen as a failure of the experiment, though would be interesting input for a follow-up discussion. Though, the change of stumble upon the same people would be small as many people pass that footpath.

Picture 8 - the setup of experiment 1.

Moreover, the donation of time is difficult to grasp, making it difficult for several passersby to understand the value of their donation. The participant was given the role of

Picture 9 - a participant in discussion on donating time

Final Experiment One can multiply their time by spending it together Based on Bill Gaver’s tactic [2], regarding how to inspire a new design, the returns that were collected during the first two experiments were used to create something more tangible. In order to collect data of the same audience it was decided to iterate on the Social Media Zone experiment for the final experiment. An idiosyncratic detail was a quote found in the recordings made during the experiment: “so it is like a smoking zone, but for phones”.

therapy session by one of the help-group members at the special help spot within the bar. In a one on one consult special advice and tips were given on how to manage their digital obesity. The help spot was also the distribution point for packages. People could get another package if they had, for example, a friend with signs of addiction.

In order to elicit a debate, a package for phones was designed with a clear and immediate relation with cigarettes package. The main goal was to provoke a reaction through critical design, debate the topic of digital obesity and the level of greed in personal phone usage in a social setting.

The experiment The final experiment was held in the local bar of the Industrial Design study association, during a Thursday evening drink. It starred a social media help group that provided special phone packages and therapy sessions to people who showed signs of addictive phone usage.

Members of the help group approached every person who made use of their phone while being in close company of others to offer a special social living phone package.

People were told they were spending their time in a social area and asked to put their phones in the given package.

Firstly to secure their own social well-being and secondly to prevent taking quality time of their friends.

All phone packages were sealed with a sticker. To get the phone out, this seal had to be broken. The people who had a package with a broken seal were invited for a

Picture 10 - The help spot was placed within the bar and characterized by a big ‘need-help’ sign, poster and distribution box. At this place, phone packages were distributed and private consults were given.

Look her in the EYES! Flirting in modern times Picture 11 - The social media help-team provided phone packages and advice to people in need. All members were uniformly dressed in white top with a ‘need-help’ badge to be easily recognizable.

Picture 12 - A campaign was set up and carried out to promote Lucid three different Thursday Don’tand a the event. It contained teasing posters 08.10.15 Bar miss it!

Facebook ‘company’ and event page.

Pictures 13 and 14 - The Social living phone package was meant to carry a phone. The front and back of the displayed a warning message of what digital obesity could lead to and the rules of the concept. The design was inspired by cigarette packages and the general ‘flat’ social media style. It came in three different sizes to fit as many phones as possible.

Discussion In this section, we discuss the implication of provocation, in terms of how to design a provocative intervention through a tangible expression, in relation to our statement: digital obesity in real-life social settings. Upon observation of “people using and misusing [the package] for their purposes and embedded in their mundane practices“[4], we discuss the ways in which our design was successful enough or whether an alteration would elicit a focused debate on ‘digital obesity in real-life social settings’. For that, we propose the following six tactics.

Picture 15 - “I think if I have such a package with a seal that I can only break for emergencies that would help for me, I think”

Picture 16 - “Can I take my phone out now?” “No”

2) The direct environment of the target group is an active persuasive element In such a social setting, the way design takes into account people’s social reactions is critical to the success of the intervention. If design takes the participation of others into consideration, or sparks the discussion amongst people, then it can be considered successful.

1) Design that fits the user increases credibility In the experiment three different sized phone-packages were introduced. The participants were evidently more enthusiastic when they received a more suitable version of the package that matched their personal preferences/ situation.

The first return is about the design of the package sparking discussions. People started to talk about the influence of the package and how they would react if a friend broke the seal. Next to this, people began requesting packages for their friends. One can be addicted to their phone without not realizing it. The participation of friends helped a lot. Finally, the design of the package promotes itself. In our case, the group’s posters were not very visible in the bar, however, people still started to get the packages on their own, since they saw their friends using them.

Multiple participants received a package too big or small for their phone. The fact made them more critical towards the product. An individual commented: “This one (read: package) is way too big, why isn’t there one for the iPhone?” As soon as he became aware of a smaller iPhone version, his critical attitude drastically changed. “Really, haha no way, cool! I really want to have it”.

3) Design intervention requires a narrative of use.

Clear goal and rationale behind the concept (picture 16) aside, the social-media-package had no strict narrative of use. The participants came up with their own narratives in order to deal with the package (picture 17). Sometimes these were constructive (picture 15), sometimes destructive (picture 16, 17).

The users seem to have more sympathy for the product when they can have a specific version that suits their personal situation/preferences. The opportunity of personalisation enhances the attraction towards the product. By providing multiple versions, the user has the opportunity to personalize, which helps to gain the sympathy of the user and increases the credibility of the product.

This fact made it unclear whether the users were actually accepting, rejecting, or at all aware of the statement made through the design. A strict narrative of use highlights the effect of the design statement and heightens the ability to confront the user’s behaviour in comparison to the statement.

4) Hackability improves the flexibility of use, yet has to be intentional.

During the test in the bar, the participants discovered multiple ‘hacks’. These hacks were not included intentionally, but were discovered through the use of the package.

“You opened the box.” “Yes, but I didn’t break it! The sealing came loose, so that is how I could take it out!”

This quote describes how an individual changed his / her behaviour according to the ‘hack’ that appeared through using the package. Although this change in behaviour can provide new insights, the elements that make them appear should be intentionally added. If the properties of the package differ among participants, the credibility of the test decreases as participants see the irregularities as random and unintended.

Picture 17 - “Can I take my phone out now?” “No”

5) Rules of the system are either explicit or implicit through design Following close observation of the actions, reactions and remarks of the participants, the team came into the realization that a form of ruling was essential for the establishment of a successful experiment. Based on responses by users three features could be defined:

specific issue were: ‘When I can use my phone?’, ‘I have to go though’, ‘..but we are only staying for a drink’.

Lastly, a system of rewards could be introduced by the designer. The rewards will help to maintain the attention of the user while participating in the experiment especially if the experiment is conducted for a long period of time.

One of the quotes was “‘And why do we need help if we use the phone?”

Picture 19 - The participants faced difficulties “But I need it now, because I have to arrange things for tonight.”

Firstly the rules must be made explicit and be as comprehensive as possible. People will act accordingly and deal with the package within the set guidelines, otherwise, the partakers won’t know how to deal with it or won’t be willing to get involved. An example quote illustrating this remark was: “But I need it now, because I have to arrange things for tonight.”

Picture 18 - A participant opening the package without breaking the seal.

Furthermore, the researcher must define a certain timeframe for engagement. Most of the users find it hard to commit to any sort of experiment if the time they need to spend on it is not clarified. Quotes which outlined this

Picture 20 - Participants find it hard to commit without any reward in exchange.

6) Taking away the phone, takes away a part of real life social behaviour.

While designing for social obesity, the following inaccurate assumption was made: social media were the sole blame for the obtrusiveness in social settings. Albeit, smartphones proved to support more than just interaction with social media; it became apparent that smartphones are part of real life social behaviour. Questioning participants who were on their phone at the moment resulted in apologies, yet with supported by arguments stating the use of the smartphone for other purposes than social media.

Participants who faced struggles when abstaining from using their smartphone described the struggle of maintaining a conversation without the support of their smartphone, again, for other reasons besides social media.

This brought the insight that the smartphone is too integrated to be removed, in order to remove the social media attention. Design interventions should be implemented for social media as well and not on smartphone devices per se.

Conclusion

proach, society may become more critical without losing the credibility and added value of new technologies.

Acknowledgements We would like to give our thanks to a number of people.

Firstly, we would like to thank Stephan Wensveen, our lecturer, for his feedback throughout the process and giving his insights on the findings of this research. Secondly, we acknowledge the help we received from the other groups within the elective by providing their constructive feedback during the last meeting. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to all of the participants of our three tests for their participation and for their honest opinions.

References [1] Koskinen, I. (2011). Design research through practice from the lab, field, and showroom. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.

[2] Gaver, B. (2002) Presentation about Cultural Probes.

Presentation, November, 2002, UIAH, Helsinki, Available at http://smart.uiah.fi/luotain/pdf/probes-seminar/GaverPROBES.pdf

Building on the Showroom approach, we believe that the tactics gained from this exploration might be valuable guidelines or starting points when designing for new provocative interventions in real-life social settings.

[3] Wensveen, Stephan and Matthews, Ben (2014).

Prototypes and prototyping in design research. In Paul A.Rodgers and Joyce Yee (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Design Research (pp. 262-276) London: Routledge.

As new technologies develop almost by Moore’s law [5], through design interventions we might inspire others to reflect on the actual effects of new technologies in society. Considering that the audience is also part of the concept, since they build their immediate opinion, the design expresses itself through their own interactions and behaviours. We believe that by adopting a provocative ap-

[4] Grand, Simon, and Martin Wiedmer (2010). Design fiction: a method toolbox for design research in a complex world. Proceedings of the DRS 2010 conference: Design and Complexity.

[1] Moore, Gordon E. (1965-04-19). “Cramming more components onto integrated circuits� (PDF). Electronics.

Appendix - Biography Authors and their main role in the research Eleni Economidou

recording, editing and producing

Zhixiong Lu

...is currently a master student

the findings material, collecting

...is a master student in Industri-

in Industrial Design at TU/e

the data and analyzing them into

al Design at TU/e. His bachelor is

and a fully registered architect.

insights.

in Industrial Design at Zhejiang

She graduated from the master

University, China. He strongly

program (March) in architecture

Harm van Hoek

believes that design should be

from Manchester School of Archi-

...is doing his master in Industrial

systematic to do the greatest

tecture and the bachelor (BA) in

Design at the TU/e, after graduat-

good. He wants to be a designer

architecture from the University

ing from the bachelor. In design,

that is able to combine design,

of Sheffield. Her thesis objec-

he tries to find the perfect balance

technology, business, branding

tive was investigating the way

between simplicity and richness in

and art together.

design for all sensory modalities

interaction. Within his projects, he

could affect human perception of

focuses on User Experience (UX)

His main role in the research

spaces from a phenomenological

and perfecting the foundation of a

process was providing his

scope.

product or service. Next to this, he

thoughts during the discussions,

has experience working with dif-

preparing the material for the

Her main role in the research

ferent fabrication and rapid proto-

experiment, generating insights

process was to design the post-

typing methods and 3D modeling.

from the returns and participat-

ers for the first experiment and

ing in the execution process.

also create an info graphic for

His main role in the research pro-

the findings through analyz-

cess was making and giving shape

Virginia Patricia Rispoli

ing the recordings. During the

to different materials that were

...is an industrial designer; she

second experiment, she was

used in the test setups, as well as

graduated from a Bachelor in In-

responsible for designing and

communicating with the

dustrial Design in Italy and now

editing the posters, preparing

participants of the different tests.

is doing her Master in Industrial

the prototypes, organizing a

Design at the TU/e in the Nether-

campaign through social media,

lands. She focuses her research

on understanding the links that

the prototypes.

bind together the context and

focused on providing insights and developments for (second-

the user through design, in order

Anne Spaa

ary) education. He is expected to

to develop products that can

...is currently an Industrial Design

graduate in autumn 2017.

make people healthier, happier

master student at Industrial De-

and safer.

sign at the Eindhoven of University

His main role in the research

of Technology, where she graduat-

process was maintaining struc-

Her main role in the research

ed from the Bachelor too. She will

ture, meeting, appointments

process was to summarize re-

graduate at the School of Interac-

and arrangements with others

turns in posters and then set up

tive Art and Technology at Simon

throughout the process, as well

presentations, to dive into her

Fraser University, Canada. She

as partly designing and building

actor’s role for all the experi-

believes that technology greatly

prototypes for the experiments.

ments done, and she was one

influences how we as humans be-

of the executing members to

have, and is inspired by amongst

the making process for graph-

others Peter Paul Verbeek. Her

ics and prototypes during the

interest lies in developing interac-

research.

tive objects that make us aware of

our sense of feeling, giving space Sander Schutjes

to the user for reflection in order

...is a master student indus-

to understand their behavior.

trial design at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He

Her role in this research proj-

graduated from the bachelor

ect was taking care of the video

ICT Media design at the Fontys

communication, being an active

Hogescholen Eindhoven in 2012.

member in conceptualizing the

His current work and study focus

philosophical statement into the

on the creation of meaningful

experiments. She dove into her

products (UX) in a society that is

actor’s role for the final experi-

changing fast due to technologi-

ment, and has been an executing

cal developments.

member to the making process.

His main role in the research

David Verweij

process was locating the exact

...is studying the master Indus-

problem, generating ideas and

trial Design at the Eindhoven

insights for the final concept, as

University of Technology. He is a

well as designing and building

user-centered design researcher