Umeå Institute of Design Umeå University Interaction Design (IxD2) 5ID082 Project 3: Interaction Concept Weeks 41-50, 2015

Course focus

The aim of this project is for the students to gain experience of the process of designing a product or system where playfulness and ubiquitous computing are 1

involved. Emphasis is this project is give to experience prototyping and systemic thinking as methods for exploring user experience on a conceptual level. !The third major project in the Master Programme in Interaction Design at Umeå Institute of Design (UID) focuses on Interaction Concepts where interaction design is explored in three levels simultaneously: firstly, “human-artifact-interaction level” with the actual user interface in focus, secondly, “socio-cultural level” with focus on how and why people communicate through

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!Dwelling with Faceless Interaction

Prototyping digitalized domestic experiences of the future

Ubiquitous = present, appearing, or found everywhere.1

technology and services, and finally “systemic level” where an holistic view is focusing on the bigger picture and emergence of digital eco systems. !In this third semester project the concept of Ubiquitous Computing, coined by Mark Wiser at Xerox PARC (1999), is very prominent. This project is carried out in collaboration with academic partners (departments of Informatics and Computer Science) and emphasizes integration of hardware and software solutions in the final design of the product.

!Project theme: Vision of a home in 2035

Imagine the domestic life in your home country in a future 20 years from now. Probably, a lot of things will be very similar to how it is today - but some things will most likely be (very) different. !If we look back 20 years in time from now to 1995, the Internet and World Wide Web were novelties that (most) people knew very little about and almost nobody had any first-hand experience from. In Sweden, for example, it took more than 10 years until the implications of the Internet in domestic life became somewhat visible, and many decision-makers were skeptical to the new infrastructure . Another famous paradigm shift in (domestic) social life was the introduction 2

of the iPhone in 2007 (8 years ago), a product which multi-touch screen interface and novel services unleashed the full potential of the smartphone technology. !The purpose of this project is to give you a playground to speculate freely and critically around how the ongoing and escalating digitalization of our society will affect the everyday life in your

One historical note was the Swedish minister of Transport Ines Uusmann who 1996 coined the infamous comment in an 2

interview that “Everyone talks about the internet but maybe it’s just a temporary thing…”

home country in year 2035. In order for you to speculate, you are encourage to use Design Fictions as a vehicle for your concept development. !For this project, we ask you to keep these four dimensions in mind: !

IMPORTANT 1: Since this project is focusing on faceless interaction, screen-based designs such as phone applications, interactive surfaces or web services are not acceptable outcomes. !IMPORTANT 2: We encourage you strongly to critically challenge the traditional notion of a ‘home’. In this project you have the freedom to push the boundaries and use your design skills to highlight how our social life might take shape in the future - and thus help people to reflect over what that could mean to them. !! !!!

THE AESTHETICS DIMENSION: Usefulness vs. Uselessness

What kind of user experience do you envision: !- What will be useful products, services or

environments in your future home?

- Who will determine what is useless or not?

- Will ‘uselessness’ of today be something

valuable in the future?

- Will the values and norms about ‘beauty’ and

‘pleasure’ be different than what they are

today?

THE SOCIAL DIMENSION: The role of the home of tomorrow !- What will a home be like in 2035?

- Who will live in the home you are designing

for, and what activities will take place in that

environment?

- How much time will the inhabitant(s) spend at

home?

- Is the ‘home’ a fixed location or something that

follows you wherever you go?

- Will the future home be an investment for

commercial transactions? (like the AirBnB

example)

THE TECHNOLOGICAL DIMENSION: Faceless, ubiquitous and connected

Imagine an everyday technology of 2035 which: !- Caters for Faceless Interaction that transcends

traditional reliance on surfaces as user

interfaces (Janlert & Stolterman, 2015),

- Is built within the framework of Ubiquitous

Computing (Weiser et al, 1999),

- Is supported by a world-wide and

standardized infrastructure of Internet of

Things (Ashton, 1999).

THE SYSTEMIC-SOCIETAL DIMENSION: The character of the future

Do you envision the future in 2035 as: !- An utopia (an imagined place or state of things

in which everything is perfect)?

- A dystopia (an imagined place or state in

which everything is unpleasant or bad,

typically a totalitarian or environmentally

degraded one)?

- A neutropia (a neutral utopia, a form of

speculative fiction not bounded by up nor

down values)?

- Something else…?

Academic Aims (expected learning outcome)

After completion of the course, the students should be able to:

- Build an experimental interactive prototype linked

to a practical design projects.

- Use different approaches and methods in project

comprehensive problem identification, interviews,

idea generation, creation of experience prototypes

and concept development.

- Apply the design process of a project, from

problem identification to the presentation of the

final design proposal and reflect on the experiences

of using experience prototypes in the design

process.

- Use experience prototypes, video as a document

and analysis tools, as well as oral and visual

presentation techniques in a project.

- Write an academic text.

Project structure

1. Join a team (up to 3 people) or work individually.

2. Reflect on your personal statement on ‘Aesthetics of Interaction’ (from the first week of the Experience Prototyping course) - update it, if necessary, and share with your team.

3. Write a project brief (2 pages) based on the framework proposed by this document. If you work in a team, you are expected to cover a more complex topic. The brief should have the following structure (deadline October 15):

3.1. Project title

3.2. Participant(s)

3.3. Project goal

3.4. Project timetable

3.5. Project deliverables

4. Write a design fiction storyline (2 pages) that will guide your design process. The storyline should include (deadline October 15):

4.1. Main characters

4.2. Environment description (i.e. the ‘home’)

4.3. A description of the life situations of your characters

5. Create an initial design concept (deadline November 9) - to be presented in free format.

6. Create the final design concept (deadline December 9) containing:

6.1. Final concept video (2-3 minutes)

6.2. Report (5-6 pages/group or 3-4 pages/individual)

6.3. Design fictions text (4-5 pages/group or 2-3 pages/individual)

Project work in teams OR individually

In this project you have the opportunity to work in teams (up to 3 people in each team) or individually if that is preferred. Team constellations will be based on mutual areas of interest and the final formation of teams have to be completed by Wednesday October 14 @ 16:00. NOTE: For teams, a higher level of concept complexity is expected.

Expense budget (Dolf)

Each student will have a budget of 300 SEK to spend on prototyping material, printouts etc.

Project Structure & Time Plan Project Deliverables

!Week 41 (October 5-9): - Project kick-off (with Niklas Andersson, Søren Rosenbak

& Moritz Greiner-Petter) - Guido Herman’s PhD defense (Oct 6). - PHD Festival (Oct 7) - ‘Design Fictions’ workshop (Søren & Moritz) ! Week 42 (October 12-16): - Teams/individuals formulate the design brief/fiction - Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) - ‘Faceless Interaction’ Lecture (Oct 15) ! Weeks 43 (October 19-23): - ‘Future Home in Design History’ Lecture (Oct 19) - Brief/fiction seminar/presentation (Oct 21) - Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) ! Week 44 (October 26-30): - Project work (according to own brief) - Tutoring (Moritz & Søren*)! Weeks 45 (November 02-06): - Continue working on the design concept

- Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) ! Week 46 (November 09-13): -Early Concept Presentation (Nov 9) - Project work on final concept - Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) !Week 47 (November 16-20): - Project work on final concept - Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) !Week 48 (November 23-27): - Refining the final design concept - Tutoring (Niklas, Moritz & Søren*) - Video storytelling tutoring & support (Lampray, tent.) !Week 49 (November 30-December 04): - Refining the final design concept - Final presentation preparations - Tutoring - (Niklas & Søren) - Video storytelling tutoring & support (Lampray, tent.) ! Week 50 (December 07-11): - Exhibition - Project video, report & fiction text (deadline Dec 9) - Final project presentation with guests (Dec 10) - Project evaluation & reflection (Dec 11) !* = Might be tutoring over Skype

!October 21: Students present their design briefs after initial research and context creation at a seminar where fellow students review and discuss storyline and project plan. A 4 page document with project brief (2 pages) and design fiction storyline (2 pages) are established and handed in at the seminar/presentation. !!November 09: Early concept presentation (10 minutes presentation+ 10 minutes discussion) !!December 09: - Final concept video (2-3 minutes)!- Report (5-6 pages/group or 3-4 pages/individual)!- Design fictions text (4-5 pages/group or 2-3 pages/

individual) !!December 10: Project presentation (verbal & visual presentation) !!December 11: Personal reflection text (1-2 pages) !!!!!!!NOTE: All deliverables is to be emailed (as files or

links) to Niklas at niklas.andersson@umu.se

!

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!Good luck - and have fun!

Internal tutors External tutors

Niklas Andersson (course responsible)IxD Programme Director at UID!

Skype: niklas.uidPhone: +46 72 208 11 39Email: niklas.andersson@umu.se

!Søren RosenbakPhD Design Resarcher at UID!

Skype: soeren.rosenbakPhone: +35 8 465 526 664Email: soren.rosenbak@umu.se

Moritz Greiner-Petter

PhD Design Researcher at Institute of Experimental

Design and Media Cultures (IXDM) at University of

Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

FHNW, Basel, Switzerland!Skype: moritz.greiner-petter

Phone: +41 76 76 58 195

Email: moritz.greinerpetter@fhnw.ch

Webpage: www.jammersplit.de ! (+ other guest lecturers)

References: !Bosch, T. (2012). Sci-Fi Writer Bruce Sterling Explains the

Intriguing New Concept of Design Fiction.

Future_Tense. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/

blogs/future_tense/2012/03/02/

bruce_sterling_on_design_fictions_.html !Janlert, L., & Stolterman, E. (2014). Faceless Interaction—A

Conceptual Examination of the Notion of Interface:

Past, Present, and Future. Human–Computer

Interaction, 30(6), 507-539. http://dx.doi.org/

10.1080/07370024.2014.944313 !Maney, K. (2015). Meet Kevin Ashton, Father of the

Internet of Things. Newsweek, Tech & Science.

Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/

2015/03/06/meet-kevin-ashton-father-internet-

things-308763.html !Weiser, M., Gold, R., & Brown, J. (1999). The origins of

ubiquitous computing research at PARC in the late

1980s. IBM Syst. J., 38(4), 693-696. http://dx.doi.org/

10.1147/sj.384.0693