Overview
My thesis explores moments of disconnection that often occur during virtual conversations with distant loved ones. Through a research-through-design approach, I delve into the unique challenges of creating a sense of belonging in digital spaces. This project is dedicated to uncovering and addressing the needs of users, transforming moments of disconnection into opportunities for deeper connection. By intimately understanding these experiences, I aim to design explorative interventions that enhance our interactions, making every digital conversation feel more personal and fulfilling.
Inspiration
Spending years away from family and friends for work and study, phone and video calls have been crucial for staying connected.
Yet, despite the convenience, these conversations often lack depth and fail to truly engage us, leaving a persistent sense of disconnection. This gap highlights the need for more meaningful communication that fosters a genuine sense of belonging
Introduction
In the realm of modern communication, while communication tools enable us to gather, they struggle to truly bring us together. The essence of our interactions and the richness of our conversations get entangled in the technical constraints of these tools, diminishing the authenticity of our connections and the true sense of togetherness we long for.
In our view of the future, it is not so much distance that will be abolished, but rather our current concept of being there
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Understanding Our Need for Connection: Recent Insights
Studies highlight our deep need and longing to keep in touch with family and friends who aren't nearby. This includes wanting to know what they're up to, where they are, and how they're feeling. Having this information helps us plan activities together or just feel a stronger bond with them.
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Unveiling Insights: Delving into User Interviews
To gain a deeper understanding of how individuals connect with their loved ones online, I engaged in a mix of in-person and remote interviews. I had conversations with over 35 people—both users and experts. In conducting these interviews, I integrated research techniques such as journey mapping and emotion mapping, along with speculative thinking about future scenarios. These approaches enabled me to empathize with and truly comprehend the hopes and needs of those I spoke with.
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Insights through observation: Social experiments
I created and led a series of social experiments, studying how people interact in different situations during video/audio calls. During the facilitated sessions, I took real-time notes, capturing observations on the topics discussed, emotions displayed, body language, the surrounding environment, and movements of the individuals on the call. For the sessions I didn't facilitate, I followed up with the participants afterward to discuss their experiences and gather their insights.
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I facilitated engaging brain-dumping and writing collaborative workshops, which proved invaluable in refining my 'How might we' questions. These workshops offered a range of viewpoints and detailed exploration of potential design paths, acting as vital building blocks in my creative journey. From these rich discussions, I was able to synthesize a unified and coherent concept. Next, I plan to develop this concept into a low-fidelity prototype. This step will enable me to collect invaluable feedback and further refine my design approach.
Introducing : Nest
Nest transforms the way you stay connected with your loved ones, no matter the distance. It's a cozy virtual community space designed to make every call you initiate feel effortless and more enjoyable.
Nest brings warmth and vibrancy to every conversation through its three unique zones: 'Pause,' 'Live,' and 'Play.' Each space is designed to enrich your connections, making every moment spent with loved ones not only enjoyable but deeply meaningful. Whether you're taking a moment to relax, sharing live experiences or working together on something exciting, Nest creates a sense of togetherness that bridges the gap between you and your loved ones.
Identified Needs & Design Interventions
01. A distraction-free and focused medium
This led me to creating a speculative tangible artifact that detaches the function of calls from our current devices to explore how this would affect their relationship with the artifact and the act of calling.
02. A desire to understand what it would be like to hang out online and to co-exist with their loved ones sharing the same environment
This led me to Develop a virtual space that simulates being in the same room with loved ones, making connecting casual and authentic
Zone A : Pause
In Nest, when you have a little time to spare and feel like catching up, just set your status to 'On a Break' and enter this zone. This signals to everyone in that zone that you're around and ready for a chat, making it easy for others to see who's available and willing to connect. It's a perfect way to announce your readiness for either a personal conversation or to jump into a lively group discussion, fostering a sense of community and openness among all users.
Zone B : Live
This zone is Ideal for quick exchanges or instant replies, it keeps you connected without pulling you away from your tasks. For those times when you're deep in work but still up for brief chats, this zone has got you covered. It’s specifically designed for real-time, instant audio conversations, so you can effortlessly juggle work and catch-ups.
Zone C : Play
If you have free time to chat or engage in shared activities you enter the play zone. This is where you can really connect with others through shared activities. Whether it's catching a movie with friends, picking up a new recipe from your mom during a relaxed weekend, or reading bedtime stories to your grandchildren—even if they're miles away.
When you enter you see some highlighted areas that indicate the varied activities and you and your loved ones can join one of those or create a personalized activity for yourself. Also, once you have chosen the activity...you can customize your view according to your convenience and based on the shared activity.
03. People felt frustrated with the planning and scheduling involved in calls
This led me to create a digital system that allows people to clearly indicate their availability and openness to an online conversation.
Joining a Group conversation
Jumping into a group conversation in the 'Pause' zone is like stepping into a warm, virtual living room filled with your friends and family. The moment you enter, the layout mirrors the feeling of sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in real life, instantly drawing everyone closer. It's a blend of the digital and the personal, making our interactions feel intimate and familiar.
04. Notifications during calls disrupt focus and switching between tools to share media is draining
Participants described an ideal scenario of ‘entering a bubble’ when having a virtual conversation with loved ones - a metaphor for an uninterrupted space enabling meaningful exchanges. However, disruptions from frequent notifications and the hassle of switching apps to share media "pops that bubble," pulling them out of the moment and diminishing the sense of presence. These insights inspired me to replicate the essence of the bubble experience within the context of digital interaction. This led me to develop the concept of a unified communication system, inspired by the idea of entering a "digital bubble" with a loved one during a virtual call, that seeks to streamline the communication experience whether it's one-on-one or in a group setting. This design intervention seeks to allow people to share media, messages and documents all within the same window.
05. The freedom to roam and share their lives fully and naturally, just like in the physical world
This led me to explore how the designed artifact could enable communication across any space enabling mobility
Choose your status - Pause, Live, Play, or Away by pressing one, and then turn the dial to pick your preferred medium: audio, video, or both. This straightforward status update lets others know when you're available and how you prefer to communicate.
By physically setting up your preferences, you'll find the system more intuitive and trustworthy.
06. A desire for playful and experiential elements that would enhance their experience and presence during calls
This led me to create several explorations, one of them was to enable engaging with asynchronous messages in a spatial environment.
Send & receive location based asynchronous messages
Transforming how we experience asynchronous messages. What if we could leave messages such as voice notes/doodles/texts for each other based on locations inside our home. When we enter that area in our physical world, Nest notifies you of the message and plays it to you. This explores blending the digital and physical worlds.
Home
In the home view, you're greeted with a display of all your contacts. When you wish to connect with someone specific but they seem to be away, you can playfully nudge their contact blob. This sends a subtle notification to let them know you're thinking of them and would love to chat whenever they're available.
Real-time Visualisations
Nest adds a dynamic touch to your video calls by syncing your background with the current weather in your area, whether it's rainy, snowy, windy, or sunny. It’s a fun way to make each call feel fresh and connected to the world around you.