Co-designing the Sharing Cube a novel experience driven data collection method for exploring transformative experiences in participatory culture communities
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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2021
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Mcode
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cid
Language
en
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93+22
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Abstract
The rapid growth of participatory culture communities, where members don't act as one-way consumers but as co-creators, has resulted in a lack of understanding of the impact of the participatory culture events on their participants, communities, and society. Burning Man as such a participatory culture, however not the only one, is a celebration of art and a temporary desert city in the US. Experiencing co-created events when belonging to a participatory culture community, where people experience low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, often brings about life-changing experiences and stories, in other words, transformational experiences. These transformational stories are important. Not only for personal or community development but also for science and our understanding of the change in societies. Burning Stories science-art platform, the client of this thesis project, studies these communities with an experimental novel method. The case Sharing Cube is plotted at Burning Man event: an independent art-based research tool that collects qualitative stories without a need for human intervention. Sharing Cube devices record anticipated transformational stories, individual experiences that somehow change the participants' perception of themselves, or life, or the community. This thesis describes the product development of the first already existing prototype: the Cube. The aim of the redesign is to create a more experience-driven data-collection. The thesis documents the design process of the redesign of the Sharing Cube device, following Vision in Product (ViP), a framework in product experience that is context-driven and interaction-centered. The role of the designer is to develop the product's appearance and feel. The novel method records qualitative narrative datasets in situ: the Sharing Cubes are standalone data collection devices that participants can autonomously operate without the researcher's presence. Because data is being captured independently, the success of the recorded data sets depends largely on Sharing Cube’s design. This thesis explores the design of the Sharing Cube method in 1) attracting participants, 2) engaging the participant, and 3) onboard the participant to the question probe to open up about transformation. This report illustrates a visual design journey of the product development of the Sharing Cube method with applied research in the form of design experiments. The product is first deconstructed on three levels: product, interaction, and context. Then, the product is designed with a vision statement and a human-product interaction. The report develops design principles and concepts. The result is a design statement, interaction proposal, and a final design proposal: the Pyramid. The Pyramid proposal invites the intended rich experience in the Burning Man context: it helps to reflect on the topic transformation by having an intimate moment with the Sharing Pyramid where a user can ‘drop their story in a hidden flower’. The thesis aims to document the design process. Lastly, the thesis suggests the ViP framework, because it is experience-driven, may be interesting to be multiplied for future Sharing Cubes to study human experiences in other transformational events.Description
Supervisor
Salovaara, AnttiThesis advisor
Salovaara, AnttiKeywords
research through design, participatory culture, experience-driven design, product development, applied research, narrative data