T
he third space
he social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace.
Process Book | Ken Chen
the 3rd Space
I N S I G H T S
OBSERVATIONS
INTERVIEWS
PROTOTYPES
SOLUTIONS
T E S T I N G
I and my group started of by walking around Armory Square and capture interaction or objects that are interesting to us. I found things that were not used as the designer intended very interesting, as well as things that had great color contrast, or obvious design flaw I shared the pictures, and write down our further observation on post-it notes, then arrange them silently with my teammates. I categorize the groups and select one as a starting points of the research process with my teammates.
OBSERVATIONS • Environmental Factors • Isolated, individual space • Unconventional use of objects • Small Group, space that encourages interactions • Community space with emotion, assumption and shared space
I partner up with Laura to conduct interviews We created a list of related interview questions, and our assumptions We started booking interview with our interviewee I sometimes took notes during the interview, and sometimes led the interview We interviewed Leah, Karin, Denise, Adele, and Gianna
INTERVIEWS • The third space can be a virtual environment or a mental state. • Some feel they are too busy to have a third space. • The third space is often used to concentrate and connect.
I meet with the group to share our interview and further observation findings. We categorized our findings in hear, see, say, feel as well as pain and gain. We then created insight of the use of the third space from out research.
INSIGHTS • People use their third space because they feel disconnected and dissatisfied but they want to feel the sense of community and seek for like-minded kinds. • Some value their third space greatly since they may not be able to decide their first and second space, but they have choices over their third space.
Based on the insights, we analysis user’s character, need and the reasons
Mother in her 50s needs to fill the void because her kid has grown up and now independent, and she has time now to focus on herself yet she doesn’t know what to do because her age is staring at her.
We brainstormed about how we can possible help our user to solve her issue We came up with various ways of how she can fill her void. We then sorted them in several categories. Laura and I picked the focus of hobby category. More brainstorming of more detailed solutions.
SOLUTIONS • Self-guided, activity-finding service • Consultancy over phone, interview or the internet • Connect people with similar interest and find activities for them
We created a paper prototype to demonstrate and test out idea We draw out the wire frame, creating the scenario, as well as the front page of the service
PROTOTYPE • User engage the service by phone, internet, or in-person. • Questionnaire or interview to find out user’s interest and preference, financial and physical attributes • Recommend then activities that correspond to their profile • Connect them with others with similar profile • Follow-up to modify their recommend activities.
We tested the prototype with Dani, Sarah and Nick. We gave them the scenario and how the user knows about this service We let them try the prototype without our further explanation We received feedbacks about the future of this possible solution
TESTING • The sign up button on the front page doesn’t specify the perks of signing up. • Filter function would be helpful for users that already know their preference. • Achievement system to boost user retention rate. • A more detailed questionnaire to gauge the usability of the prototype. • Adding I am feeling lucky button for users that they don’t know their preferences. • Partnership with local gym, clubs or others to promote local business. • Options of local, within state, out of state and even international options.