Whisper Pillow DPPI Slides

DPPI 2013 ÂťThe Whisper Pillow. A Study of Technology-Mediated Emotional Expression in Close RelationshipsÂŤ Folkwang University of Arts // User Experience and Ergonomics Wei-Chi Chien // Sarah Diefenbach // Marc Hassenzahl //

emotional expression »a typical Sunday morning scene...« It‘s a beautiful morning...

... „Good morning, my dear...“

emotional expression »an experience of relatedness« Emotional expression is crucial to feeling of relatedness.

„Good morning,“ „I love you,“ ... ... common activity in close relationships ... emotional expression beyond declaring factual information It‘s all about the feeling of being related.

emotional expression »an experience of relatedness« Emotional expression is crucial to feeling of relatedness.

emotional expression… … one of the basic human psychological needs: Relatedness (Love, intimacy, closeness, belonging, togetherness) barriers to the frequent experience of relatedness in our daily life ... … different daily routines … overtime working … long distance relationships … technology for emotional communication

technology-mediated relatedness »existing concepts« Technology and many design concepts provides rich possibilities of emotional communication, h6wever …

… focus on the functionality and informational richness rather than a clear experiential concept … lacks concern for the aesthetics of interaction … remain on a conceptual level, effect on the life world is rare researched

Hugvie (Minato, T., Nishio, S., Ishiguro, H. 2013)

Frame (Tollmar, K., Junestrand, S., and Torgny, O. 2000)

SyncTrash, SyncLamp (Tsujita, H., Siio, I., and Tsukada, K. 2007)

GustBowl (van der Hoog,W., Keller, I., and Stappers, P. J. 2004)

LoveEgg (Kaye, J. ‘Jofish’ and Goulding, L. 2004)

our approach »outlook«

Extension of previous work on technology-mediated relatedness by … … a more conscious reflection about how form of and interaction with an artifact creates and shapes desired experiences

… a deep exploration of the practices and experiences emerging in couples' daily life through usage

our approach »outlook« design case: the Whisper Pillow

I. inscribe experiential notions … experience concept & design rationales of the Whisper Pillow II. use practices in the real world … researching concept in the wild … implications of design for the experience of relatedness

design case Âťthe Whisper PillowÂŤ The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness.

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. form of pillow … … leave a message on the sofa or on the bed, where the couple usually share time together

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. message pocket … … open the pocket and whisper a secret message to someone special

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. volume of message pocket… … …pocket inflates when speaking a message into it; pocket deflates when a message is played and removed

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. length of a message … … express a nature and simple emotional words but not to speak about a serious topic or make a to-do list

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. set the pillow on the sofa… … message in the pocket waits to be discovered

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness. only one message is saved in the pocket … … simplifies the operational complexity, encourages users to use the pillow for emotional expression in their daily life

design case »the Whisper Pillow« The Whisper Pillow allows couples to leave messages for each other. Through emotional expression, the Whisper Pillow intended to bring users the feeling of relatedness.

Colors of the message pocket … … put a specific side forwards to indicate the receiver

design case Âťthe Whisper PillowÂŤ The Whisper Pillow emphasizes the uniqueness and ephemerality of intimate messages.

message pocket leaving message volume of pocket discovering voice message emotional expression indicative color simple interaction message length nature simple words message memory comfort interaction pillow form joint location

Whisper Pillow in the wild »prototype« to explore experiential notions embedded into the Whisper Pillow in couples’ life world… … a two-week study with a functional prototype and six couples … functional prototype with the same functionality like the design concept … well adjust interaction details like expanding time of the pocket or the volume of playing the message to ensure comfort of use.

Whisper Pillow in the wild »participants and procedure« Six couples from different backgrounds are invited to the test. The variety of sampling helps exploring the possible practices of use.

Nr.

living situation

daily routine

C1

married

together

different

C2

not married

separately

similar

C3

not married

separately

similar

C4

married

together

different

C5

not married

together

similar

C6

not married

separately

different

procedure …

… introduction session: survey interview, testing the prototype … testing the Whisper Pillow in daily life: 14 days test … end session: retrospective interview

Whisper Pillow in the wild »result« qualitative analysis with Grounded Theory Method… from six couples three use practices were identified… … (1) emotional expression … (2) joint action … (3) alternative communication channel underlying categories in use practices… … motivations … emotional aspects … situation conditions …

result – three practices »1. emotional expression (C1, C3, C6)« Couples used the Whisper Pillow for emotional expression, like daily greeting, sharing emotions or expressing love.

greeting in the morning, use "I had to go to work [early] and of course it was a nice way in daily routine … of saying goodbye […,] to make a wish for a nice day" (C1.m)

left emotional messages in the pillow and handed it over …

“She gave me the pillow when we had breakfast together before she went to work. I listened to her message and left one for her later at home. When she got off work, we meet somewhere and I gave her the pillow again.” (C6.m)

result – three practices »1. emotional expression (C1, C3, C6)« Although the living situation of C3 and C6 didn’t match the original setting in design concept and the form as a pillow was not ideal in use, messages for emotional expression resulted similar emotional aspects in the use of C1, C3 and C6. anticipation, expecting…

"The good thing was that I always felt excited before listening to his message. I was very curious" (C3.f) "It's good to get one [a message], but if not, I felt a little disappointed. This pillow clearly creates expectations" (C1.f)

emotional, romantic…

"It was quite romantic. His messages made me happy."

(C6.f) "The messages were very emotional. I was really touched."

(C1.f)

consolation…

"It was a hard day and it was very heartwarming to hear his voice even though he was not with me" (C6.f)

result – three practices »1. emotional expression (C1, C3, C6)« Speaking with a soft and tender voice is an important feature in emotional expression...

tender voice, whispering ...

“It’s like whispering. I spoke quietly. Her messages sound very soft too.” “(C6.f) Of course, the message is for you. It should be sweet, like from your little child.” (C6.m) “[…] I want to use it as my bed pillow. It can be very sweet to have his voice when sleeping.” (C1.f)

result – three practices »2. joint action (C2, C4)« C2 and C4 used the Whisper Pillow for stimulating interaction, more like a game.

stimulating interaction…

"Somehow it's like a game, we play together. It's not bad to have a bit of a game in daily life" (C4.f) "We took it and said something funny even though the other one was there. The other one answered it directly after." (C2.f)

play it together…

"Sometimes I left a message when he was next to me. He laughed and said ‘I hear everything, my dear.' […] I did that on purpose. It was fun, like a game" (C4.f)

result – three practices »2. joint action (C2, C4)« In this playful experience, leaving creative message and the alternative tone of voice create motivation of use.

leaving creative messages …

"I think he said something strange and funny in the pillow […] once he sang a song… This was just priceless" (C2.f) "The last few times, I had no idea what to say into the pillow […] I think, I need to say something different, so that the message can be interesting, and therefore I always need some new ideas" (C4.f)

altered sound of voice …

"I didn't expect that my husband can speak with such a soft and sweet voice […] In general, we do not talk like this […] I didn't expect that" (C4.f) "His voice was distorted. That really made me laugh" (C2.f)

result – three practices »3. alternative communication channel (C1)« C1 revealed a third, unintended usage practice in addition to emotional expression. They used the Whisper Pillow as an alternative channel for communication in a quarrel situation.

quarrel situation…

"We had a quarrel on the 9th and then I left a message for him. […] It was about the difficulties in our relationship.

Saying such things directly into the others face would be hurting. But when you are listening to a pillow, you are not in a confrontational situation, and you don't show such strong and personal reactions. You have time to think about what the other said and reflect on whether it's true. [He] also left messages like that. […] For me, the pillow is very good. I am pretty stubborn. When he says something critical, I do the same. Using the pillow instead works better for me" (C1.f)

result – three practices »3. alternative communication channel (C1)« An indirect communication channel helped making a rational conversation. This channel was unique and hidden in their common life.

rational conversation…

"Those words, if you said them into the other's face, may be hurting. […] so I used this pillow for these words and said them indirectly." (C1.f) "The pillow was very useful for our communication. We took our time to think about the other's messages. This wouldn't have worked, when talking face to face" (C1.f)

additional, isolated to routine communication …

"We actually never talked about the messages we left in the pillow. That's very special. […] But we just felt that we had understood each other" (C1.f)

result – failure »no meaningful practice (C5)« During the test C5.m found emotional expression through an object no right way for creating the feeling of related, and reported a fast decline in emotionality. C5.f used the pillow for emotional disclosure. However, without the emotional context the intercourse of messages lead only to disappointment. no right way for emotional expression …

"[…] for me, the problem is about the object. I was thinking about whether I really want to use this medium for expressing my feelings. The pillow is one way, but for me, expressing emotions without words can be even more emotional" (C5.m)

decline of emotionality …

"The first message was very interesting. But over the time, it didn't affect me anymore" (C5.m)

disappointment …

"My emotional problem was […] his disappointing reaction to my emotional messages. He actually asked me why my messages were all the same. […] I just feel that some words need to be repeated" (C5.f)

result »three use practices…« emotional expression

alternative communication channel

joint action

(C1, C3, C6)

(C1)

(C2, C4)

anticipation, expectation,

quarrel situation, indirect,

game-like, for fun,

consolation, tender voice,

alternative channel, rational

stimulation, surprise,

emotional, romantic,

communication

alternative vice, creative

expression of valuing, emotional expression

no meaningful practice (C5)

message, joint action

conclusion inscribe experience concept‌ inscribe experience concept design details...

related intensions in user experience ...

... pillow form

... joint location (sofa)

... message pocket

... leaving message

... opening of pocket

... tender voice, whispering

... volume of pocket

... discovering

... message length

... nature and simple emtional expression

... message memory

... operational simplisity

... colors of pocket

... indicate receiver

conclusion »unfold in real world…« emotional expression

alternative communication channel

joint action

(C1, C3, C6)

(C1)

(C2, C4)

anticipation, expectation,

quarrel situation, indirect,

game-like, for fun,

consolation, tender voice,

alternative channel, rational

stimulation, surprise,

emotional, romantic,

communication

alternative vice, creative

expression of valuing,

message, joint action

emotional expression

... close to the original

... additional use

… other meaningful

concept, experience

practice resulted by

appropriation, beyond

concept unfold in real

situational condition

the original intension

world no meaningful practice (C5)

... limit of the experience concept

conclusion »We suggest…«

… defining clear experience concept in setting up design goals … inscribe “healthy” experience and interaction in materials and unfold it in the real world … get aware of further appropriations and resulting experiences through empirical studies

Thank you very much!

Folkwang University of Arts // User Experience and Ergonomics Wei-Chi Chien // Sarah Diefenbach // Marc Hassenzahl //

wei-chi.chien@folkwang-uni.de hassenzahl.wordpress.com