AnthropoScene
PROCESS
BRAINSTORMING
' How might we use the power of storytelling and tangible play to highlight the loss of biodiversity and prompt action while retaining it's importance? '
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.
DESK RESEARCH
I first started with understanding what are the sentiments around the topic, who are the SME's in the space and what has been done in the past (reports, advertisements, installations, academic papers, educational videos etc.) and what failed/worked. This included understanding what mediums I can use for low-fidelity prototyping to do initial testing for my primary reseach.
PRIMARY 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 exposes on poaching, a designer director that creates museum installations and the chance to visit a wildlife rescue centre (Refugio Animal Costa Rica) and interview a biology student volunteer, Paula.
"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” everyone talks about isn’t some distant horizon - it’s happening right now. While the next generation will carry change forward, it’s up to us to take the first steps today. Millennials, now between 25 and 40, have witnessed the world transform since their childhood. They understand what’s at stake, and they have the power and responsibility to act now. I also conducted a survey to gauge how much my audience already knows about the topic. The survey included 22 respondents aged 24 to 38.
PROTOTYPING TEST 1
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 activity was the one where I took on the roll of a chat bot, prompting participants to observe the wildlife around them and share their discoveries with me. In return, I encouraged them to explore further like providing fun facts etc.
Learnings: This experiment was particularly interesting because, although it was conducted in a familiar and somewhat biased environment, the results still varied. It highlighted that people do need reminders to stay engaged but not too frequently.
LENSES
PROTOTYPING TEST 2
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: The participant loved 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 - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
After being a little lost on next steps, I decided to conduct some design co-creation sessions on how people explore interactive installations and musem spaces. I also re-looked at the form factors.
Learnings: I realised my approach was well backed up but I needed to experiment with a different method of execution.
Make affordance clear (consider shape, light, sound etc). The tasks itself at the exhibition should not be overly cumbersome.
This 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 badge or piece of paper (these are often lost or forgotten), but whatever people take home - it needs to connect back to what people have seen at the exhibition.
BUILD + TEST + REPEAT
Working towards the final form - backed with insights from all the interviews. I also did more testing at this stage regarding the play mechanisms and usability.
Testing RFID tags with P5js. Verdict: pass.
Making neopixel rings.
Verdict: success apart from some burns and stabs.
Making air drying clay animals.
Verdict: pass, but takes longer than expected to mould, dry, sand and paint.
Testing Pressure sensor.
Verdict: fail. not very sensitive, hard to calibrate.
Testing transparency of tokens with RFID tags when placed on the board with light.
Verdict: fail, pivoted to using opaque acrylic,
WHAT'S NEXT?
-The installation could be made bigger, maybe in areas around the city or even in different countries.
- Could people physically step on a device to hear about the animals instead?
- Maybe the app could identify when you have visited a new city and teach about animals native to that place and guide you to the nearest installation.
- Can this be a realistic Pokemon-Go - like the Merlin bird sighting app. Would this lead to meaningful conversations or be forgotten?
- Location based suggestions for daily tasks - Eco friendly alternatives available in your city.
- Could this be made a children's toy with continuous engagement?
