e-ku
contextualising document
abstract ‘Always on’ culture has produced a generation of individuals whose digital lives are interwoven tightly with their physical lives, yet their interactions with digital often result in mixed feelings, including stress, anxiety and isolation. e-ku is an online platform with associated browser extension targeting Millennials and Generation Z, that looks to address this pressing issue. e-ku allows users to translate the embodied feeling of their emotions into 3D visuals, creating a new visual language for emotion. The resulting visuals can be shared, with the goal of encouraging increased self awareness, mindfulness and empathy. Whist simultaneously allowing users to be more intentional with their use of time spent interacting with digital.
The concept will be promoted in partnership with Dazed Digital, targeting the people that it makes the most difference to. A majority of individuals within these demographics are aware of the impact that digital has on their mentality, yet often struggle to disconnect or implement methods to combat the negative feelings associated with their digital usage. Inspired by the increasingly visual language of these demographics, the visually tactile element of the project and its method of presentation are designed to communicate the concept in a way that will engage them.
Audience Target Audience
• Image-led • Heavy video users WGSN (2017a) • Increased interest in both health and interactivity when compared to older generations. • Described as a “digital-first, visual demographic” • Described as “Post Language” • Overlap with Gen Viz/ Generation D. Defined as those having grown up surrounded by digital, looking “for highly visual and gamified platforms that hold their attention and satisfy their hunger for interactive content.” • Fans of hyper-personalisation. WGSN (2016b) All above quotes, unless otherwise stated: Mickiewicz, M and Buchanan, V (2016) Also informed by: WGSN (2016a); Shin, J (2017); Radin, S (2017); Josh Walker, J and Friend, H (2018)
These demographics will likely always be ‘digital’, so e-ku uses digital as a way to make them more mindful of their time and experience.
e-ku aims to: • Make Millennials more mindful of their digital interactions. • Help Gen Z avoid falling into the same digital consumption habits as Millennials. • Help both demographics avoid the negative effects of unconsidered digital consumption.
Browser extension e-ku Browser extension
• Tactile visuals function as a visual cue, allowing users to become aware of how long they have been using a certain platform. • Much like how Fitbit prompts users to walk after extended periods of inactivity (Fitbit, no date). e-ku prompts users to take positive action to improve their mental health rather than their physical health. • Encourages a more mindful use of time within digital space. • Helps users avoid sites associated with negative emotions. • Helps users avoid excessive time spent mindless scrolling • Empowers users to take control of their digital interactions. • Cons: Browser extensions are not accessible on mobile devices
Browser extension Functionality: Users can ‘blue list’ sites, meaning collate sites which are often associated with negative emotions. Users can set parameters for how long they spend on ‘blue listed’ sites before the e-ku graphic appears on screen, these parameters can be adjusted at any time.
The browser extension can be programmed to: • Interrupt the user at various intervals, promoting them to consider how their bodies are feeling in that moment of digital interaction. • To appear only on sites that have been ‘blue listed’, meaning sites that the user has flagged as being associated with negative emotions. • To appear if the user spends more than their self allocated time on ‘blue listed’ sites within any given time period. • To appear if the if the user opens too many tabs or browser windows. • To appear if the if the user returns to ‘blue listed’ sites over a self allocated number of times within any given time period.
Visuals 3D Visuals Shape (Tadpole)
• Communicate an organic shape, like an organism. • Shape is referred to as ‘tadpole’ for this reason. • Anthropomorphic. Allowing users to feel close to the brand and facilitate increased user engagement. Scott, R. (2017) • Human physiological reactions can be mapped easily on to it. To ensure ease of understanding. • Basic form is smooth and tactile. You can imagine how it would fit into your hand. • Basic form is sleek. Translating: Modern, this is why the ‘tail’ was removed.
Final decision: Physiological responses to emotion are the inspiration for the visuals, which can be manipulated with sliders. The tadpole aesthetic is not based on any colour/texture/ shape denoting positive or negative emotions, but rather e-ku provides parameters which users can work within and manipulate to create personalised visuals that translate how an emotion feels to them. Strengths: Highly level of personalisation. Globally understood.
Inspiration: Haptic Visuality Visual Tactility ASMR
Partnership Dazed digital Dazed Digital attracts a demographic containing the individuals that e-ku is targeting. dazeddigital.com posts fashion, arts and lifestyle content and has previously posted articles around topics concerning the effect of digital on our lives, metal health, wellness, and how we communicate.
Promotion on Dazed Digital: Upon entering dazeddigital.com users will encounter a pop up, prompting them to answer a series of questions relating to their current emotion. A personalised graphic will then be created. Whilst on dazeddigital.com the graphic will remain active on the page responding to the users scrolling and cursor clicks within the site. There is the option for e-ku to be presented alongside articles relating to mindfulness, wellness and conversations with artists and individuals exploring and questioning how we currently interact with digital. By show casing the articles alongside the 3D visualisation of their emotion users are now not just reading an article but engaging with it in a different way.
Fig. 64. Final dazeddigital.com pop up in partnership with e-ku. (2018)
Website Will function as a space to save and share the created visuals. As well as provide information about e-ku and download the browser extension.
Website functionality. • Ability to create and interact with graphics to translate emotions. • To save made emotions • To save emotions made by others • To search for emotions by name • To browse by category.
Sharability • Allows user generated content to function as free advertising. • Increased awareness of the project. • Saving and sharing the visuals allow them to be used as a visual aid in the production of empathy.
Final slider design
“Tactility is one of the first kinds of communication we experience as infants. Feeling is fundamental, a brain-stem, primal type of experience that is very universally human... Jumping over logic to connect with very fundamental emotion is always a more effective and successful means of persuasion.� - Perlorian Brothers. (Szymanska, 2016c)