Interaction Design
|
UX Research
Designing for Distance in Long Distance Family Realtionships
Designing communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and helps enhance their emotional engagement and connectivity.
THE TEAM
Individual Capstone Project that I undertook for my Master's Degree
MY ROLE
Interviews
Diary Study
Thematic Analysis
Literature Review
Ideation
Low to Hi Fidelity Prototypes
Concept Testing
TIMELINE
January 2024 - April 2024
(4 months approximately)
DESIGN OUTCOME
Designed an emotional communication support tool built for families - a safe space to be updated about your family members' emotions and availability
The problem space
My capstone project investigates the design of digital tools to improve long-distance family relationships (LDFRs) for South Asian international students and their families. Amid the challenges imposed by global shifts, the project explores how technology can transcend the limitations of traditional communication methods, providing emotional support and facilitating bonds despite physical absence.
How might we design better communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and enhance emotional connectivity?
The Solution:
Introducing Fam-ILY, an emotional communication support tool
Emotional Postcards
Encourages spontaneous sharing of emotions and experiences through prompts to create customizable postcards, specifying response preferences like advice or support.
This enriches family communication by facilitating frequent, meaningful emotional exchanges.
Family Bulletin Board
Provides a shared space for family members to post reminders, notes, and updates, creating a communal hub that mimics the traditional family household.
It fosters a sense of shared presence, helping families stay connected across distances.
Do Not Disturb Mode
The DND mode can help families of students be more aware about the emotional status and availability of the student and help them plan their interactions at convenient times, providing prompts or notifications to reach out when others are available.
A) Emotional Postcards
Prompting and Inspiration: The platform sends regular prompts throughout the day, encouraging users to reflect on their emotions and current experiences.
Emotion Tags: Users can tag their postcards with specific emotions (e.g., happy, stressed, nostalgic) to give recipients an immediate understanding of the sender's emotional state.
B) Adding context and requests
Supporting Information: The postcard includes options to add extra information, like notes/voice notes/images that explain the context of these emotions, such as events that triggered a particular feeling or challenges the user might be facing.
Response Requests: After specifying their emotions and context, users can request a particular type of response from family members. For instance, they might want advice on a challenge or simply wish to share their feelings without any advice in return.
Preview of the postcard: The sender can preview how the card will look liek to the receivers and edit any information they would like.
Sharing mode: The sender can either choose to send the postcard to specific people from teh family or to no one.
C) The DnD mode
The Do-Not-Disturb mode: is designed to provide users with control over their availability and protect their personal time. It allows them to specify periods during which they should not receive notifications or messages from family members, ensuring communication remains respectful of individual schedules.
Family Fridge - the Bulletin Board
Centralized Space for Communication: The family bulletin board serves as a communal hub where family members can share updates, notes, reminders, and media in one central location.
Multimedia Support: Beyond just text notes, the bulletin board supports images, voice recordings, and other media, which makes the communication more engaging.
Let's set a premise
Existing Communication tools can in some sense render the distance irrelevant because they make reaching your family halfway around the world as immediate as if they were living in the same city.
Being geographically far away make tasks like calling your parents tricky when their day is your night and when you have something exciting to share with your family, there is nobody awake to hear about it.
This “time distance” seems to pose more challenges for some of us along with the challenges caused by geographical distance. This can significantly lead to disrupted communication patterns which in turn can hinder emotional engagement and reduce quality of interactions.
Who exactly am I designing for?
Indian International Students between ages 18-29*
+ their Families
(Nuclear Setup - comprising of one or both parents, may or may not include siblings)
Methods: Secondary Research, Primary Interviews, Diary Studies and Research Synthesis
So, how did I reach here?
I conducted exploratory interviews with individuals who were currently part of a Long Distance Relationship (LDR) with their family/partner/friends. The recruitment was done through convenience sampling and voluntary response sampling. In the end, I was able to collect a sample of 12 participants, who were international students from South Asian countries, typically leaning towards South Asians (Indian, Pakistani and Vietnamese).
I also conducted a diary study with 3 pairs of students and parents for the same. Some of the most crucial findings were :
1
Despite the difficulty posed by time difference, synchronous methods dominated family communication for most participants over asynchronous methods.
2
Being able to hear/see the person’s voice/face, as well as the real-time interactivity proved essential for the sense of connectedness, compared to which the actual communication content was often found secondary
3
Some participants reported that sometimes it felt as if they were only conversing to update their parents that they were doing fine, and not really having quality conversations as they used to when they were together.
4
Some participants noted that while communication with family forms a crucial part of participants' daily lives, it often takes a backseat to other routines. Many expressed guilt over reduced communication frequencies, attributing it to the complex task of balancing personal needs with family expectations.
5
Participants also often struggled to share both significant and minor life events due to the hassle and limited communication windows due to the “time distance”, which led to missed moments.
Key Findings
Empty Nest Syndrome:
1
Firstly, empty nest syndrome shows that parents often feel mixed emotions, stress, and anxiety when their children move out, a feeling common in closely-knit Indian families.
2
This leads to concerns about their children's ability to live independently and confusion about how to stay involved in their lives.
3
Parents also experience a sense of loneliness and uncertainty about their roles. Meanwhile, to maintain their connection and avoid worrying their parents, children sometimes resort to telling white lies.
Position Exchange Theory:
1
Similar to my insights from the empty nest syndrome readings, Position exchange theory also highlighted how significant the shift is in the parent child dynamic as children leave home.
2
This emphasized the challenge of maintaining closeness while respecting the child's newfound independence.
3
Position Exchange Theory underlines the significance of open dialogue and mutual understanding in maintaining relationships.
Ideation
Narrowing the Design Directions for the Problem Space
Designing for Emotional Clarity
and expression
Designing for Communication Boundaries
and Enhanced Interaction Quality
Initially I wanted to work with designing either an IOT device or a hybrid of an IOT device and digital application to address the problem statement. Following are some sketches I made:
I decided to PIVOT from this idea and instead create a digital application.
1
Lack of IoT Expertise: Limited expertise in coding and developing IoT devices restricted my ability to create a workable prototype.
2
Context-Specific and Niche Usage: IoT devices may only be useful in specific contexts, potentially being too niche for an already limited target audience.
3
Adaptability Concerns: While I wanted to explore the adaptability of IoT devices, concerns about usability and maintaining their appeal after repeated use led me to prioritize an application instead. The app would offer emotional clarity in a user-friendly, widely accessible format.
4
Limitations of Video Communication: Video and voice calls often lack non-verbal cues, physical touch, and contextual awareness. Technical issues like delays and poor audio quality can hinder conversations, while prolonged use causes fatigue and distractions, reducing engagement and emotional clarity.
Testing
Now all of this needed to be validated
Participants appreciated the innovative approach to emotional logging and communication, specifically praising the family bulletin board, akin to fridge magnets, for its ability to centralize family interactions.
They liked the idea of expanding emotional vocabulary, especially noting that it could enhance emotional awareness among
parents. However, The emotion logging feature was seen as cumbersome and possibly too complex with its current design.
Participants suggested alternatives like more spontaneous notification settings and customization options for the family space to reflect personal preferences and make it more universally appealing.
The idea of adding a text box for freer expression and tags for contextual quick updates was also favored.
Concerns about data privacy and the overemphasis on constant communication were noted, indicating a need for a more balanced approach.
Additionally, the potential to include resources for improving parental communication strategies was seen as a valuable future extension.
The Final Design
Limitations
Dependence on User Engagement: The tool's effectiveness relies heavily on consistent user input, and any disruptions could limit its utility.
Cumbersome Log Flow: The comprehensive postcard log flow may feel cumbersome to some users, affecting their experience and adoption.
Limited Integration: The limited scope of features and project time constraints prevented fully exploring integration with platforms like WhatsApp, impacting the assessment of user interactions.
Next Steps
Conduct usability testing with both students and parents over an extended period of time to gather qualitative data.
Understanding the feasibility and viability of integrating this in existing applications like WhatsApp and trying to work out an entire user flow.
Extending the availability of this tool to other modes of communication - Laptops / Tablets and maybe thinking how this could also be paired with specifically designed IOT devices, something similar to my previous design ideations.
Reflection
Looking back now I know
1
This project allowed me to identify my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement while deepening my thinking as a designer.
2
I initially assumed technological barriers were the primary concern for long-distance relationships. However, user interviews and research revealed that emotional connectivity and effective communication were crucial, leading to a strategic shift in design.
3
With the insights gained, I would streamline the research phase and focus more on features that address the emotional and logistical complexities of long-distance family relationships. Synthesizing data to uncover key themes was challenging but critical to understanding user needs.
Interaction Design
|
UX Research
Designing for Distance in Long Distance Family Realtionships
Designing communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and helps enhance their emotional engagement and connectivity.
Interaction Design
|
UX Research
Designing for Distance in Long Distance Family Realtionships
Designing communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and helps enhance their emotional engagement and connectivity.
THE TEAM
Individual Capstone Project that I undertook for my Master's Degree
MY ROLE
Interviews
Diary Study
Thematic Analysis
Literature Review
Ideation
Low to Hi Fidelity Prototypes
Concept Testing
TIMELINE
January 2024 - April 2024
(4 months approximately)
DESIGN OUTCOME
Designed an emotional communication support tool built for families - a safe space to be updated about your family members' emotions and availability
The problem space
My capstone project investigates the design of digital tools to improve long-distance family relationships (LDFRs) for South Asian international students and their families. Amid the challenges imposed by global shifts, the project explores how technology can transcend the limitations of traditional communication methods, providing emotional support and facilitating bonds despite physical absence.
How might we design better communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and enhance emotional connectivity?
The Solution:
Introducing Fam-ILY, an emotional communication support tool
Emotional Postcards
Encourages spontaneous sharing of emotions and experiences through prompts to create customizable postcards, specifying response preferences like advice or support.
This enriches family communication by facilitating frequent, meaningful emotional exchanges.
Family Bulletin Board
Provides a shared space for family members to post reminders, notes, and updates, creating a communal hub that mimics the traditional family household.
It fosters a sense of shared presence, helping families stay connected across distances.
Do Not Disturb Mode
The DND mode can help families of students be more aware about the emotional status and availability of the student and help them plan their interactions at convenient times, providing prompts or notifications to reach out when others are available.
A) Emotional Postcards
Prompting and Inspiration: The platform sends regular prompts throughout the day, encouraging users to reflect on their emotions and current experiences.
Emotion Tags: Users can tag their postcards with specific emotions (e.g., happy, stressed, nostalgic) to give recipients an immediate understanding of the sender's emotional state.
B) Adding context and requests
Supporting Information: The postcard includes options to add extra information, like notes/voice notes/images that explain the context of these emotions, such as events that triggered a particular feeling or challenges the user might be facing.
Response Requests: After specifying their emotions and context, users can request a particular type of response from family members. For instance, they might want advice on a challenge or simply wish to share their feelings without any advice in return.
Preview of the postcard: The sender can preview how the card will look liek to the receivers and edit any information they would like.
Sharing mode: The sender can either choose to send the postcard to specific people from teh family or to no one.
C) The DnD mode
The Do-Not-Disturb mode: is designed to provide users with control over their availability and protect their personal time. It allows them to specify periods during which they should not receive notifications or messages from family members, ensuring communication remains respectful of individual schedules.
Family Fridge - the Bulletin Board
Centralized Space for Communication: The family bulletin board serves as a communal hub where family members can share updates, notes, reminders, and media in one central location.
Multimedia Support: Beyond just text notes, the bulletin board supports images, voice recordings, and other media, which makes the communication more engaging.
Let's set a premise
Existing Communication tools can in some sense render the distance irrelevant because they make reaching your family halfway around the world as immediate as if they were living in the same city.
Being geographically far away make tasks like calling your parents tricky when their day is your night and when you have something exciting to share with your family, there is nobody awake to hear about it.
This “time distance” seems to pose more challenges for some of us along with the challenges caused by geographical distance. This can significantly lead to disrupted communication patterns which in turn can hinder emotional engagement and reduce quality of interactions.
Let's set a premise
Existing Communication tools can in some sense render the distance irrelevant because they make reaching your family halfway around the world as immediate as if they were living in the same city.
Being geographically far away make tasks like calling your parents tricky when their day is your night and when you have something exciting to share with your family, there is nobody awake to hear about it.
This “time distance” seems to pose more challenges for some of us along with the challenges caused by geographical distance. This can significantly lead to disrupted communication patterns which in turn can hinder emotional engagement and reduce quality of interactions.
Who exactly am I designing for?
Indian International Students between ages 18-29*
+ their Families
(Nuclear Setup - comprising of one or both parents, may or may not include siblings)
Methods: Secondary Research, Primary Interviews, Diary Studies and Research Synthesis
So, how did I reach here?
I conducted exploratory interviews with individuals who were currently part of a Long Distance Relationship (LDR) with their family/partner/friends. The recruitment was done through convenience sampling and voluntary response sampling. In the end, I was able to collect a sample of 12 participants, who were international students from South Asian countries, typically leaning towards South Asians (Indian, Pakistani and Vietnamese).
I also conducted a diary study with 3 pairs of students and parents for the same. Some of the most crucial findings were :
1
Despite the difficulty posed by time difference, synchronous methods dominated family communication for most participants over asynchronous methods.
2
Being able to hear/see the person’s voice/face, as well as the real-time interactivity proved essential for the sense of connectedness, compared to which the actual communication content was often found secondary
3
Some participants reported that sometimes it felt as if they were only conversing to update their parents that they were doing fine, and not really having quality conversations as they used to when they were together.
4
Some participants noted that while communication with family forms a crucial part of participants' daily lives, it often takes a backseat to other routines. Many expressed guilt over reduced communication frequencies, attributing it to the complex task of balancing personal needs with family expectations.
5
Participants also often struggled to share both significant and minor life events due to the hassle and limited communication windows due to the “time distance”, which led to missed moments.
I conducted exploratory interviews with individuals who were currently part of a Long Distance Relationship (LDR) with their family/partner/friends. The recruitment was done through convenience sampling and voluntary response sampling. In the end, I was able to collect a sample of 12 participants, who were international students from South Asian countries, typically leaning towards South Asians (Indian, Pakistani and Vietnamese).
I also conducted a diary study with 3 pairs of students and parents for the same. Some of the most crucial findings were :
1
Despite the difficulty posed by time difference, synchronous methods dominated family communication for most participants over asynchronous methods.
2
Being able to hear/see the person’s voice/face, as well as the real-time interactivity proved essential for the sense of connectedness, compared to which the actual communication content was often found secondary
3
Some participants reported that sometimes it felt as if they were only conversing to update their parents that they were doing fine, and not really having quality conversations as they used to when they were together.
4
Some participants noted that while communication with family forms a crucial part of participants' daily lives, it often takes a backseat to other routines. Many expressed guilt over reduced communication frequencies, attributing it to the complex task of balancing personal needs with family expectations.
5
Participants also often struggled to share both significant and minor life events due to the hassle and limited communication windows due to the “time distance”, which led to missed moments.
Secondary Research Areas
Key Findings
Empty Nest Syndrome:
1
Firstly, empty nest syndrome shows that parents often feel mixed emotions, stress, and anxiety when their children move out, a feeling common in closely-knit Indian families.
2
This leads to concerns about their children's ability to live independently and confusion about how to stay involved in their lives.
3
Parents also experience a sense of loneliness and uncertainty about their roles. Meanwhile, to maintain their connection and avoid worrying their parents, children sometimes resort to telling white lies.
Position Exchange Theory:
1
Similar to my insights from the empty nest syndrome readings, Position exchange theory also highlighted how significant the shift is in the parent child dynamic as children leave home.
2
This emphasized the challenge of maintaining closeness while respecting the child's newfound independence.
3
Position Exchange Theory underlines the significance of open dialogue and mutual understanding in maintaining relationships.
Ideation
Narrowing the Design Directions for the Problem Space
Designing for Emotional Clarity
and expression
Designing for Communication Boundaries
and Enhanced Interaction Quality
Initially I wanted to work with designing either an IOT device or a hybrid of an IOT device and digital application to address the problem statement. Following are some sketches I made:
I decided to PIVOT from this idea and instead create a digital application.
1
Lack of IoT Expertise: Limited expertise in coding and developing IoT devices restricted my ability to create a workable prototype.
2
Context-Specific and Niche Usage: IoT devices may only be useful in specific contexts, potentially being too niche for an already limited target audience.
3
Adaptability Concerns: While I wanted to explore the adaptability of IoT devices, concerns about usability and maintaining their appeal after repeated use led me to prioritize an application instead. The app would offer emotional clarity in a user-friendly, widely accessible format.
4
Limitations of Video Communication: Video and voice calls often lack non-verbal cues, physical touch, and contextual awareness. Technical issues like delays and poor audio quality can hinder conversations, while prolonged use causes fatigue and distractions, reducing engagement and emotional clarity.
Testing
Now all of this needed to be validated
Participants appreciated the innovative approach to emotional logging and communication, specifically praising the family bulletin board, akin to fridge magnets, for its ability to centralize family interactions.
They liked the idea of expanding emotional vocabulary, especially noting that it could enhance emotional awareness among
parents. However, The emotion logging feature was seen as cumbersome and possibly too complex with its current design.
Participants suggested alternatives like more spontaneous notification settings and customization options for the family space to reflect personal preferences and make it more universally appealing.
The idea of adding a text box for freer expression and tags for contextual quick updates was also favored.
Concerns about data privacy and the overemphasis on constant communication were noted, indicating a need for a more balanced approach.
Additionally, the potential to include resources for improving parental communication strategies was seen as a valuable future extension.
The Final Design
Limitations
Dependence on User Engagement: The tool's effectiveness relies heavily on consistent user input, and any disruptions could limit its utility.
Cumbersome Log Flow: The comprehensive postcard log flow may feel cumbersome to some users, affecting their experience and adoption.
Limited Integration: The limited scope of features and project time constraints prevented fully exploring integration with platforms like WhatsApp, impacting the assessment of user interactions.
Next Steps
Conduct usability testing with both students and parents over an extended period of time to gather qualitative data.
Understanding the feasibility and viability of integrating this in existing applications like WhatsApp and trying to work out an entire user flow.
Extending the availability of this tool to other modes of communication - Laptops / Tablets and maybe thinking how this could also be paired with specifically designed IOT devices, something similar to my previous design ideations.
Reflection
Looking back now I know
1
This project allowed me to identify my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement while deepening my thinking as a designer.
2
I initially assumed technological barriers were the primary concern for long-distance relationships. However, user interviews and research revealed that emotional connectivity and effective communication were crucial, leading to a strategic shift in design.
3
With the insights gained, I would streamline the research phase and focus more on features that address the emotional and logistical complexities of long-distance family relationships. Synthesizing data to uncover key themes was challenging but critical to understanding user needs.
Reflection
Looking back now I know
1
This project allowed me to identify my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement while deepening my thinking as a designer.
2
I initially assumed technological barriers were the primary concern for long-distance relationships. However, user interviews and research revealed that emotional connectivity and effective communication were crucial, leading to a strategic shift in design.
3
With the insights gained, I would streamline the research phase and focus more on features that address the emotional and logistical complexities of long-distance family relationships. Synthesizing data to uncover key themes was challenging but critical to understanding user needs.
Want to check out my other work?
Visit the Archives section!
Let's go!
Interaction Design
|
UX Research
|
UI Design
Designing for Distance in Long Distance Family Realtionships
Designing communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and helps enhance their emotional engagement and connectivity.
Interaction Design
|
UX Research
|
UI Design
Designing for Distance in Long Distance Family Realtionships
Designing communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and helps enhance their emotional engagement and connectivity.
THE TEAM
Individual Capstone Project that I undertook for my Master's Degree
MY ROLE
Interviews
Diary Study
Thematic Analysis
Literature Review
Ideation
Low to Hi Fidelity Prototypes
Concept Testing
TIMELINE
January 2024 - April 2024
(4 months approximately)
DESIGN OUTCOME
Designed an emotional communication support tool built for families - a safe space to be updated about your family members' emotions and availability.
The problem space
My capstone project investigates the design of digital tools to improve long-distance family relationships (LDFRs) for South Asian international students and their families. Amid the challenges imposed by global shifts, the project explores how technology can transcend the limitations of traditional communication methods, providing emotional support and facilitating bonds despite physical absence.
How might we design better communication tools that suit the needs of families living across time zones and enhance emotional connectivity?
The Solution:
Introducing Fam-ILY, an emotional communication support tool
Emotional Postcards
Encourages spontaneous sharing of emotions and experiences through prompts to create customizable postcards, specifying response preferences like advice or support.
This enriches family communication by facilitating frequent, meaningful emotional exchanges.
Family Bulletin Board
Provides a shared space for family members to post reminders, notes, and updates, creating a communal hub that mimics the traditional family household.
It fosters a sense of shared presence, helping families stay connected across distances.
Do Not Disturb Mode
The DND mode can help families of students be more aware about the emotional status and availability of the student and help them plan their interactions at convenient times, providing prompts or notifications to reach out when others are available.
A) Emotional Postcards
Prompting and Inspiration: The platform sends regular prompts throughout the day, encouraging users to reflect on their emotions and current experiences.
Emotion Tags: Users can tag their postcards with specific emotions (e.g., happy, stressed, nostalgic) to give recipients an immediate understanding of the sender's emotional state.
B) Adding context and requests
Supporting Information: The postcard includes options to add extra information, like notes/voice notes/images that explain the context of these emotions, such as events that triggered a particular feeling or challenges the user might be facing.
Response Requests: After specifying their emotions and context, users can request a particular type of response from family members. For instance, they might want advice on a challenge or simply wish to share their feelings without any advice in return.
Preview of the postcard: The sender can preview how the card will look liek to the receivers and edit any information they would like.
Sharing mode: The sender can either choose to send the postcard to specific people from teh family or to no one.
C) The DnD mode
The Do-Not-Disturb mode: is designed to provide users with control over their availability and protect their personal time. It allows them to specify periods during which they should not receive notifications or messages from family members, ensuring communication remains respectful of individual schedules.
Family Fridge - the Bulletin Board
Centralized Space for Communication: The family bulletin board serves as a communal hub where family members can share updates, notes, reminders, and media in one central location.
Multimedia Support: Beyond just text notes, the bulletin board supports images, voice recordings, and other media, which makes the communication more engaging.
Let's set a premise
Existing Communication tools can in some sense render the distance irrelevant because they make reaching your family halfway around the world as immediate as if they were living in the same city.
Being geographically far away make tasks like calling your parents tricky when their day is your night and when you have something exciting to share with your family, there is nobody awake to hear about it.
This “time distance” seems to pose more challenges for some of us along with the challenges caused by geographical distance. This can significantly lead to disrupted communication patterns which in turn can hinder emotional engagement and reduce quality of interactions.
Who exactly am I designing for?
Indian International Students between ages 18-29*
+ their Families
(Nuclear Setup - comprising of one or both parents, may or may not include siblings)
Methods: Secondary Research, Primary Interviews, Diary Studies and Research Synthesis
So, how did I reach here?
I conducted exploratory interviews with individuals who were currently part of a Long Distance Relationship (LDR) with their family/partner/friends. The recruitment was done through convenience sampling and voluntary response sampling. In the end, I was able to collect a sample of 12 participants, who were international students from South Asian countries, typically leaning towards South Asians (Indian, Pakistani and Vietnamese).
I also conducted a diary study with 3 pairs of students and parents for the same. Some of the most crucial findings were :
1
Despite the difficulty posed by time difference, synchronous methods dominated family communication for most participants over asynchronous methods.
3
Some participants reported that sometimes it felt as if they were only conversing to update their parents that they were doing fine, and not really having quality conversations as they used to when they were together.
5
Participants also often struggled to share both significant and minor life events due to the hassle and limited communication windows due to the “time distance”, which led to missed moments.
2
Being able to hear/see the person’s voice/face, as well as the real-time interactivity proved essential for the sense of connectedness, compared to which the actual communication content was often found secondary
4
Some participants noted that while communication with family forms a crucial part of participants' daily lives, it often takes a backseat to other routines. Many expressed guilt over reduced communication frequencies, attributing it to the complex task of balancing personal needs with family expectations.
Secondary Research Areas
Key Findings
Empty Nest Syndrome:
1
Firstly, empty nest syndrome shows that parents often feel mixed emotions, stress, and anxiety when their children move out, a feeling common in closely-knit Indian families.
2
This leads to concerns about their children's ability to live independently and confusion about how to stay involved in their lives.
3
Parents also experience a sense of loneliness and uncertainty about their roles. Meanwhile, to maintain their connection and avoid worrying their parents, children sometimes resort to telling white lies.
Position Exchange Theory:
1
Similar to my insights from the empty nest syndrome readings, Position exchange theory also highlighted how significant the shift is in the parent child dynamic as children leave home.
2
This emphasized the challenge of maintaining closeness while respecting the child's newfound independence.
3
Position Exchange Theory underlines the significance of open dialogue and mutual understanding in maintaining relationships.
Ideation
Narrowing the Design Directions for the Problem Space
Designing for Emotional Clarity
and expression
Designing for Communication Boundaries
and Enhanced Interaction Quality
Initially I wanted to work with designing either an IOT device or a hybrid of an IOT device and digital application to address the problem statement. Following are some sketches I made:
I decided to PIVOT from this idea and instead create a digital application.
1
Lack of IoT Expertise: Limited expertise in coding and developing IoT devices restricted my ability to create a workable prototype.
3
Adaptability Concerns: While I wanted to explore the adaptability of IoT devices, concerns about usability and maintaining their appeal after repeated use led me to prioritize an application instead. The app would offer emotional clarity in a user-friendly, widely accessible format.
2
Context-Specific and Niche Usage: IoT devices may only be useful in specific contexts, potentially being too niche for an already limited target audience.
4
Limitations of Video Communication: Video and voice calls often lack non-verbal cues, physical touch, and contextual awareness. Technical issues like delays and poor audio quality can hinder conversations, while prolonged use causes fatigue and distractions, reducing engagement and emotional clarity.
Testing
Now all of this needed to be validated
Participants appreciated the innovative approach to emotional logging and communication, specifically praising the family bulletin board, akin to fridge magnets, for its ability to centralize family interactions.
They liked the idea of expanding emotional vocabulary, especially noting that it could enhance emotional awareness among
parents. However, The emotion logging feature was seen as cumbersome and possibly too complex with its current design.
Participants suggested alternatives like more spontaneous notification settings and customization options for the family space to reflect personal preferences and make it more universally appealing.
The idea of adding a text box for freer expression and tags for contextual quick updates was also favored.
Concerns about data privacy and the overemphasis on constant communication were noted, indicating a need for a more balanced approach.
Additionally, the potential to include resources for improving parental communication strategies was seen as a valuable future extension.
The Final Design
Limitations
Dependence on User Engagement: The tool's effectiveness relies heavily on consistent user input, and any disruptions could limit its utility.
Cumbersome Log Flow: The comprehensive postcard log flow may feel cumbersome to some users, affecting their experience and adoption.
Limited Integration: The limited scope of features and project time constraints prevented fully exploring integration with platforms like WhatsApp, impacting the assessment of user interactions.
Next Steps
Conduct usability testing with both students and parents over an extended period of time to gather qualitative data.
Understanding the feasibility and viability of integrating this in existing applications like WhatsApp and trying to work out an entire user flow.
Extending the availability of this tool to other modes of communication - Laptops / Tablets and maybe thinking how this could also be paired with specifically designed IOT devices, something similar to my previous design ideations.
Reflection
Looking back now I know
1
This project allowed me to identify my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement while deepening my thinking as a designer.
2
I initially assumed technological barriers were the primary concern for long-distance relationships. However, user interviews and research revealed that emotional connectivity and effective communication were crucial, leading to a strategic shift in design.
3
With the insights gained, I would streamline the research phase and focus more on features that address the emotional and logistical complexities of long-distance family relationships. Synthesizing data to uncover key themes was challenging but critical to understanding user needs.
Want to check out my other work?
Visit the Archives section!
Let's go!
🍭 By Anam Nasim @ 2024
Made with love and pixels ✨
Want to check out my other work?
Visit the Archives section!
Let's go!