AnthropoScene
PROCESS
The element of play was crucial because it can make 'wicked problems' like climate change less daunting. People need to feel hopeful and excited in order to feel like they can make a difference.
How might we
use the power of storytelling and tangible play to highlight the loss of wildlife and prompt action while retaining its importance?
RESEARCH
The aim of the primary research was to get as many different perspectives from subject matter experts from different fields related to my topic. This included talking to a wildlife biologist, biomimicry expert/lecturer, editor of a conservation magazine, an illustrator who focuses on nature centric educational games, a wildlife photographer who has done exposés on poaching, a designer director that creates museum installations and the chance to visit a wildlife rescue centre and interview a biology student/volunteer there.
Interview with Paula at Refugio Animal Costa Rica
"They (Costa Rican locals) are more aware of the situation and try to preserve wildlife. They take more action as well"
WHO & WHEN?
The ‘future’ that everyone is talking about is now. The next generation will make changes, but in order for us to even reach that stage, steps need to be taken immediately. The current millennial (25-40) generation has already been seeing the world around them change since their childhood, and they have the power to act now.
I simultaneously conducted a survey with the intention to find out how much does my audience already know. (22 respondents, 24-38)
LENSES
PROTOTYPING
The Weekly Challenge experiment set up in the CIID studio. The challenge was to tear off a goal for the week and engage with me over WhatsApp. The tasks ranged from simple to slightly more challenging things people can do to be more mindful of the environment/ wildlife around them.
What is the minimum effort people would take? What if I gave them an incentive to do harder tasks?
The most popular one was the task where I acted like a bot and asked people to observe wildlife around them and engage with me about what they discovered and I would give them fun facts and try to encourage them into finding out more.
Learnings: This experiment was interesting because even though it was biased/ in a familiar environment, the results were varied. People need to be reminded of tasks but not so often.
The Ecological balance. This prototype was based off one of my initial design directions. Here I asked participants to place an endangered animal on the scale and physically balance the the steps people have to take in order to conserve it.
What level of interaction is engaging but not tedious? What form invites someone to play?
Learnings: Loves the tangibility and the looking through different tokens bit but it does not need to have positive and negative impact tokens.
The tokens should be made more challenging. “how do I know how it specifically impacts the animal?” Nice metaphor but maybe something less literal.
The mechanics were complicated for me to create in a short amount of time.
REFOCUSING
After being a little lost on next steps, I conducted some design co-creation sessions, there I realised my approach was well backed up but I needed to experiment with a different method of execution.
Learnings: Make affordance clear (consider shape, light, sound etc). The tasks itself at the exhibition should not be overly cumbersome. Needs to be small intervention, not an invasive app that tracks electricity consumption, Uber etc. Something that does not ‘shame’ you, but attempt to change your behaviour into a habit. No small tokens or pieces of paper with things people can do (these are often lost or forgotten) but whatever people take back, it needs to connect back to what people have seen at the exhibition.
BUILDING
After being a little lost on next steps, I decided to do some design co-creation sessions, there I realised my approach was well backed up but I needed to experiment with a different methods of execution.
Making neopixel rings
Verdict: success apart from some burns and stabs
Testing RFID tags with P5js
Verdict: pass
Making air drying clay animals
Verdict: looks nice, takes too much time to mould, dry, sand, paint
Testing Pressure sensor
Verdict: fail, not very sensitive, hard to calibrate
WHATS NEXT?
The installation could be made bigger, maybe in areas around the city. Could people physically step on a device to hear about the animals instead?
Would this app lead to meaningful conversations?
Maybe the app could identify when you have visited a new city installation and learned about different animals. This could be made into a fun game?
Could this be an interactive exhibit at all wildlife refuge centres?
Location based suggestions- Eco friendly alternatives available in your city.
Could this be made a children’s toy with continuous engagement?
Measuring success/ impact though the number of times people visited the installations or used the widget to see how they can change their habits.