Group members:
Mengdie Lu, Anshu Agarwal, Yuying Wang (Abbey), Keyi Cao, Kye Li Chia, Cristele Saric, Jennoir Simpson, Manfredi Marullo, Xiaole Zang (Zoey), Changlin Hou (Charlie), Carlotta Montanari, Anushka Motiani
Brief:
Design a set of pluriversal household objects
Date:
3rd February - 10th March 2023
During the Macro UX launch, Yosuke and Michael from the Takram team showcased a few projects they worked on that are mostly focused on the environmental crisis. Examples include a plug adaptor that tracks carbon emissions and a game that illustrates how various actions affect global water levels.
After the introduction, we had a conversation about the brief, the pluriverse, the transitional design, and our future steps with Yosuke and Michael. They encouraged us to explore the topic and that the end result does not have to be a physical product, which was inaccurate as the brief required that we design tangible products.
We conducted individual web research and discussed our findings with the group. After, we did a brainstorming session to generate ideas and tallied our interests to narrow down the topics of interest. We finally decided on ecosystems, water consumption, and carbon emission as the three main themes and divided ourselves into three groups to conduct further research.
We shared our findings and made them available to everyone on the Padlet. Additionally, we searched for examples and already-available products on the market, such as hydroponics, smart metres, biomass, heating systems, etc. We chose to conduct our research as a group because doing so would enable us to obtain a variety of information quickly.
Sketches of our ideas.
Left: Toilet bowl electrictity generator
Right: Chimney ecosystem
Feedback:
After the review, we made the decision to carry out additional research using the AEIOU, artefact analysis, interaction relabelling, bodystorming, and directed storytelling. We divided ourselves into four groups to work on each research methodology. With these research techniques, we hope to discover interesting habits and information that would inspire our concepts.
Reflection:
Personally, working in a large group is challenging because there are too many different ideas and opinions. There are often many voices in the room, so occasionally a few participants might not speak up and feel excluded. We must be mindful of keeping others in mind and bringing them into the conversation. Additionally, we must develop our ability to compromise and learn to pay attention to the thoughts and suggestions of others.
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Design a macro system - e.g. install many tiny turbines all over the house to generate electricity
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Symbiotic relationships with non-humans (e.g. soil, worms, fishes)
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Things with hidden functions
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Hidden structures in the house (drainage, electric, plumbing) hidden layers of the house
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Look at household items and what is it linked to (the bigger network)
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Research methods: artefact analysis, interaction relabelling
After the review, we made the decision to carry out additional research using the AEIOU, artefact analysis, interaction relabelling, bodystorming, and directed storytelling. We divided ourselves into four groups to work on each research methodology. With these research techniques, we hope to discover interesting habits and information that would inspire our concepts.
Reflection:
Personally, working in a large group is challenging because there are too many different ideas and opinions. There are often many voices in the room, so occasionally a few participants might not speak up and feel excluded. We must be mindful of keeping others in mind and bringing them into the conversation. Additionally, we must develop our ability to compromise and learn to pay attention to the thoughts and suggestions of others.