by lamija.kocan -

“Intergenerational Digital Storytelling” | 02.2

Prior to our meeting and our very interesting, fun and enlightening conversation, I had made some progress on my master’s thesis prototype (the image below). For my thesis, I chose to develop a genealogy app. However, unlike traditional ‚family tree apps,‘ my focus is more on storytelling and preserving family legacy.

This *unique* approach presented some challenges, particularly in figuring out how to approach, start and develop the project. Our discussion provided me with valuable insights and new ideas on how to move forward. I am now excited to implement the strategies we discussed and explore the possibilities for my app.

by mert.altinoez -

14 | Interactive Data Visualization 🌱

I think I’ve finally come up with an idea that I genuinely want to pursue! I’ve been collecting and noting down ideas, hoping that one day, something cool and feasible would emerge. Now, I believe that moment has arrived. While I haven’t fully fleshed out the concept, here’s a rough summary of what I want to achieve.

I aim to bring digital sustainability closer to people and raise awareness about it. To do this, I want to create an interactive experience that utilizes data visualization. Users will have the opportunity to learn more about digital sustainability and reflect on their own digital activities. The core of this concept is the interactive data visualization, which allows users to see their own digital activities visually. While I want the visualizations to be abstract and visually intriguing, they should also be educational and easy to understand. Currently, my first prototype is visually interesting but not very educational.

Screenshot of the Code and the visual output.
Code and Visual Output

Since I personally find visualizations and generative art with particles extremely cool, I decided to create my first data visualization using a particle system. I leveraged my learnings from the „Coding with AI“ workshop and, with the help of ChatGPT, wrote some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. The code creates a sphere of particles (which is supposed to resemble a galaxy) that users can customize. There are three input fields where users can enter numbers that affect the number of differently colored particles. Each color represents a different aspect. For example, emissions from online gaming (purple), video streaming (pink), and internet surfing (white). The higher the number, the greater the environmental impact, but I haven’t yet found a correct mathematical formula for this. The prototype is three dimensional

I’m quite satisfied with this first prototype and I think I’ll continue in this direction. You can test the prototype at this link: Particle-World. Cheers!

by mert.altinoez -

13 | First Lo-Fi Prototypes 🌱

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I needed to develop 2-3 low-fidelity prototypes based on my Design & Research topic. Although I wasn’t completely satisfied with my initial ideas, I selected two and visualized them.

First Prototype: WebSus-Website Landing Page.
First Prototype: WebSus Landing Page.

The first one is WebSus, a website dedicated to sustainable web design and development, providing valuable information and useful tools and resources. WebSus aims to educate and empower developers, designers, and content creators to reduce the environmental impact of their websites. The homepage features key sections, such as an overview of web sustainability and practical tips and tricks. The website includes:

  1. A Learning Center with information about Web Sustainability Guidelines, Sustainable User Experience, Sustainable Web Design, Green Coding, and Planet-Centered Design.
  2. A Toolbox containing Toolkits for Sustainable User Experience (SUX) & Sustainable User Interface (SUI), a Green Coding Framework, and additional resources.
  3. A Web-Checker section with links to external services like Eco-Grader, WAVE-Checker, and ECO CI Activity Checker.
  4. Lastly, an About Us page and a Contact page.

In terms of design, I aimed for a clean, intuitive layout that guides users through the content seamlessly. The sticky menu on the left side of the screen provides easy access to different sections, while the main content area focuses on the actual content. Overall, my goal was to create an engaging and informative platform that promotes sustainable web practices.

Second Prototype: Digital Activity Tracker - Widget
Second Prototype: Digital Activity Tracker – Widget

The second prototype is a digital activity tracker, a widget designed for computers, smartphones, and tablets. This widget collects data from the user’s device, converting it into easy-to-understand units to illustrate the environmental impact of everyday digital tasks. For example, it translates data usage and screen time into tangible metrics like the equivalent distance driven by a car or the number of cups of coffee brewed in terms of energy consumption.

In terms of design, the widget is crafted to be user-friendly and visually appealing, ensuring that the information is accessible and engaging. This intuitive design helps users quickly understand the significance of their digital habits, making it easier to adopt more sustainable practices. The goal is to create an informative and interactive tool that seamlessly integrates into daily device usage, encouraging users to be more mindful of their digital footprint.

I’m not sure if I want to keep on working with these ideas and prototypes or come up with something new. Well, I guess we’ll see it in the next post. Cheers!

by mert.altinoez -

12 | Ideation 🌱

This semester, our task is to delve deeper into our topics and begin prototyping. By the end of the semester, we should have a refined prototype, which we’ll present through a short video. Although we’re expected to jump straight into prototyping, I wanted to start with some ideation first, as I wasn’t sure what I wanted to work on. Here’s a summary of my ideation phase.

Instead of using formal ideation techniques, I decided to sit down, reread my blog posts, and review my notes. From this brainstorming session, I came up with a few possible approaches:

  1. WebSus: This idea is for a website focused on sustainable web design and development. The website itself would be designed to be as efficient and accessible as possible, minimizing energy consumption. The content would cover topics like low-impact design, planet-centered design, sustainable UX (SUX), accessibility, and green coding. It would also provide toolkits, frameworks, and resources for web designers and developers interested in sustainability.
  2. DigiNap: This would be a mobile and computer application that reminds users to take breaks from their devices by turning them off. The goal is to encourage users to take breaks from the digital world, with the timing of breaks based on their screen time. For example, a 10-15 minute break every 1.5 hours.
  3. Digital Activities Tracker: This background application for smartphones and computers would track the user’s internet usage, including downloads and uploads. It would convert the data into an easy-to-understand and relatable unit to raise awareness about the environmental impact of their digital activities.
  4. Fake News Alarm: This background application would scan the content of opened webpages and highlight potential misinformation. If potential fake news is found, the application would display a trustworthy scientific source disproving the statement via a hover effect.
  5. Focused UI/UX: This would be a non-distracting user interface and experience launcher for Android-based smartphones and tablets. All the features of the smartphone would still be available, but without flashy icons, pop-ups, and other distractions.

While these ideas aren’t fully fleshed out and some may not be entirely realistic, I need to develop 2-3 low-fidelity prototypes before the next class. Therefore, I’ll work with what I have. I’ll write about and showcase my lofi prototypes in the next blog post. Cheers!

by mathilde.bogen -

12 | Cyclops: Designing an eye-controlled instrument for accessibility and flexible use

I have been reading the paper “Cyclops: Designing an eye-controlled instrument for accessibility and flexible use” which is written by William C Payne, Ann Paradiso, and Shaun Kane. In this blog post I will write about the paper and my reflections on the topic.

The Cyclops is an eye-gaze controlled instrument designed for live performances and improvisation. It is specially motivated by a need for expressive musical instruments that is accessible for people that rely on eye tracking for computer access, such as people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The instrument contains a synthesizer and sequencer, and is displayed as a 2D canvas on a screen and controlled with eye-tracking.

CHALLENGES

There are multiple challenges of varying size when it comes to eye-tracking being the only controller and interaction method.

Precision: Targets need careful placement, spread out from each other and made bigger. Because of this, the amount of input elements that can be displayed on one screen is reduced.

Timing: Getting to a target on screen means keeping your gaze fixed in one spot, and it’s difficult to difficult to control the timing or rhythm of inputs.

Midas touch: A design challenge when creating responsive gaze-only interfaces is when the user is activating controls accidentally when dwell time is reduced. The dwell time varys widely, depending on what kind of task it is, and it is therefore important that different tasks have different dwell time that is matching the task. The dwell time might also vary from person to person, and that might be more difficult to design for.

Other challenges: Varying accuracy and precision across users, trackers and lightning conditions. Usually more accurate around the center of the screen and less accurate around the edges.

From the users perspective, I think it can be challenging to get used to using such interfaces where the only interaction is eye-tracking. On the other hand, the project aims to help out people who are already used to eye-tracking for computer access, and they are probably already used to this way of interaction. I can imagine that one have to stay extremely focused while interacting, because when not focused and thinking on other things the eyes tend to move around. At the same time, it is like learning any instrument – you’ll need practice to be able to master the instrument. It is still important that the instrument ‘helps’ you along the way, by having different dwelling times depending on the interaction and what is the most natural.

THE INTERFACE

The interface is created with some of these challenges in mind. The musical control is split across three screens which reduces cognitive load and possible unintended interactions. There is a section of the screen that is non-selectable representation of the pitch sequence that can be fixated upon without affecting the output in any way. There is room to grow – there are different screens that the user can select depending on their experience

REFERENCES

  • William C Payne, Ann Paradiso, and Shaun Kane. 2020. Cyclops: Designing an eye-controlled instrument for accessibility and flexible use. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression.
by mert.altinoez -

11 | Comment on: “Reactive Video: Movement Sonification for Learning Physical Activity with Adaptive Video Playback”

The Paper was written by Doga Cavdir, Chris Clarke, Patrick Chiu, Laurent Denoue and Don Kimber and published at the NIME conference in 2021. It’s about a real-time movement sonification framework for physical activity practices and learnings with Reactive Video.

Reactive Video (RV) adjusts video playback based on user movement, offering real-time visual and summary feedback by mirroring the instructor’s movements. The newly implemented auditory feedback is designed to assist users in aligning their poses with the instructor’s movements, focusing on pose error and play speed metrics. 

Personally, I really like the idea and concept of auditory feedback in Reactive Videos for learning and practicing physical activities. The ability for users to perform movements at their own pace without the video continuing in its original tempo in the background, making it difficult for users to keep up with the trainer, is very valuable. This way, users don’t lose motivation due to failures and can focus more or less on executing the movements correctly. Thanks to Movement Sonification, they also receive real-time feedback and can adjust their movements to perform exercises better and correctly.

This framework has many potential applications. Although Tai Chi was used for development because of its slow movements, I can imagine that this could also be applied to other sports such as yoga, CrossFit, or table tennis.

While I am enthusiastic about the concept, I also have some concerns. In the example videos provided, I noticed that more atmospheric sounds were used. This isn’t necessarily a bad choice as it keeps users immersed in the video or exercise. However, I wonder if these sounds are effective or guiding enough for users. Personally, I think more distinct sounds could work better, but this would need to be tested with users. It’s also possible that I’m completely off-base and that the chosen sounds are already optimal for this use case. I can’t judge this as I’m not knowledgeable in sound design.

The Paper: https://www.nime.org/proc/nime21_14/index.html

Video excerpts:
Both audio clues: https://youtu.be/WvZAZ5vywyk
Audio clues for pose alignment: https://youtu.be/CfzI8a6bw0g
Audio clues for tempo alignment: https://www.youtu.be/Df7Q0Fqgg0

by lamija.kocan -

“Intergenerational Digital Storytelling” | Summary | 01.2

For my Master’s Thesis I’ve been conceptualising a Genealogy App with a twist. It’s not just about tracing family trees; it’s about creating a digital space where families can connect, share stories, and preserve their legacies for future generations in a way that’s meaningful and accessible to everyone, regardless of age or tech-savviness.

The idea sprang from my personal and a deep-seated belief in the power of storytelling. It’s a project close to my heart because it’s about more than just technology; it’s about capturing memories, bridging generations, and celebrating what makes each family unique. For me, this project is personal. It’s about cherishing memories of my late father and ensuring that future generations know his story. But it’s also about capturing the wisdom of our elders, like my partner’s 96-year-old grandfather, so that his legacy lives on for our future children.

At its core, the app is all about inclusivity and storytelling. It goes beyond the traditional family tree format by allowing users to upload photos, videos, and audio recordings of their relatives, ensuring that their stories are preserved in a rich and immersive way and that their legacies lives on. And it’s not just about the past; it’s about recording the present too – from milestone moments like graduations to everyday joys like family gatherings.

Privacy is a major concern, especially when it comes to sharing personal family stories. That’s why the app would incorporates robust privacy features like password protection and tiered access controls, giving users full control over who can view their content.

But creating this app isn’t without its challenges. From ensuring the app works seamlessly across different devices and operating systems to ensuring it’s easy for everyone to use, there’s a lot to consider. Plus, there are privacy concerns, security vulnerabilities, and regulatory hoops to jump through and with that, there’s a lot to consider.

However, I’m confident that with careful planning, user feedback, and interdisciplinary collaboration, I (we) can overcome these challenges and create something truly impactful.

So, while the app itself is still in the conceptual stage, I believe it has the potential to make a real difference in how families connect and preserve their legacies in the digital age. And that’s what I hope to explore and demonstrate through my Master’s Thesis.

Some specific problems I might encounter that I (yet) might not know how to solve:

  • Complex User Interface Design: Designing an intuitive and user-friendly interface for a genealogy app that caters to users of all ages and technological proficiencies can be challenging. Balancing simplicity with comprehensive features while ensuring ease of navigation for both tech-savvy and less experienced users might pose a difficulty.
  • Cross-Generational Usability: Designing for diverse age groups with varying digital literacy levels presents a significant challenge. Creating an interface that is accessible and engaging for both younger, tech-savvy users and older generations who may be less familiar with digital technologies requires careful consideration of usability principles and accessibility standards.
  • Multimedia Integration: Integrating various multimedia elements such as images, videos, text, and audio recordings seamlessly within the app could present technical and design challenges. Ensuring consistent user experience across different media formats and optimising performance while maintaining visual appeal may require innovative solutions. (but this one is also on the developers)
  • Privacy and Security Concerns: Implementing robust privacy and security measures to protect users‘ personal data and family stories is paramount. However, striking the right balance between ensuring data security and maintaining user-friendly access controls without compromising usability could be a delicate task.
  • Feedback Management: Gathering and incorporating feedback from users, advisors, and stakeholders throughout the design process can be challenging. Synthesising diverse perspectives, prioritising feedback, and iteratively refining the design based on user input while maintaining the integrity of my vision may require effective communication and negotiation skills.
  • Prototype Iteration and Testing: Iteratively prototyping and testing different design iterations with potential users to gather feedback and validate design decisions is essential. However, conducting usability testing, analyzing user feedback, and iterating on prototypes within the constraints of time and resources could be challenging.
  • Presentation and Documentation: Effectively communicating my design process, rationale, and outcomes in my master’s thesis presentation and documentation is crucial. Ensuring clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness in articulating my design decisions and the value proposition of my genealogy app concept might require strong storytelling and presentation skills.

How I think I should approach prototyping and why:

  • Paper Prototyping: I would start by sketching out rough designs of each screen (at least the fist few ones) and interaction on paper. This method allows for quick iteration and exploration of different layout ideas. I could then gather feedback from peers or potential users before moving on to digital prototyping.
  • High-Fidelity Prototyping: As I refine the design, transition to high-fidelity prototypes using tools like Figma. Add visual elements, colours, images, typography etc., to create a more polished look and feel. I think that this stage is crucial for getting a realistic representation of the final product.
  • User Testing: Throughout the prototyping process, conduct user testing sessions to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement. Observe how users interact with the prototype, listen to their feedback, and iterate based on their insights. This iterative approach ensures that the final design meets user needs and expectations.
by lamija.kocan -

“Intergenerational Digital Storytelling” | 07

New Feature: Family Health History

In addition to existing features, a new component will be added to the app – Family Health History. This private section will allow users to document and access comprehensive health information about family members, including allergies, intolerances, and more serious conditions such as strokes, cancers, or autoimmune diseases. Access to this feature will be protected by a password, providing users with the option to view this information if desired.

Potential Challenges for me as an Designer:

  1. Designing a User-Friendly Interface: Ensuring that the Family Health History feature is seamlessly integrated into the app’s existing interface without overwhelming users or compromising usability.
  2. Addressing Sensitivity: Designing the interface and user experience in a way that respects the sensitivity of health-related information, balancing transparency with privacy.
  3. User Education: Developing educational materials within the app to help users understand the importance of documenting and reviewing family health history, as well as guiding them on how to use this feature effectively.

Potential Challenges for Developers and Technical Teams:

  1. Data Security: Implementing robust encryption and access control measures to safeguard sensitive health information, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
  2. Database Management: Designing a scalable and efficient database structure to store and retrieve health-related data while maintaining performance and responsiveness.
  3. Integration with Existing Features: Ensuring seamless integration of the Family Health History feature with the app’s existing functionalities, such as user authentication and data synchronisation across devices.

Potential solutions to the mentioned problems:

  1. User-Friendly Interface: Conduct user testing and iterative design cycles to refine the interface, focusing on clarity, simplicity, and intuitive navigation. Provide tooltips, tutorials, or guided tours to help users understand and utilize the Family Health History feature.
  2. Sensitivity Considerations: Offer clear privacy settings and consent prompts, allowing users to control who can access their health information. Provide options for users to add notes or context to health entries, encouraging open communication within families.
  3. User Education: Develop informative guides or pop-up messages within the app to educate users about the importance of family health history and how it can benefit future generations. Incorporate interactive elements or quizzes to engage users and reinforce learning.
  4. Data Security: Implement robust encryption algorithms and secure storage protocols to protect health data both in transit and at rest. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks.
  5. Database Management: Design a flexible and scalable database schema capable of accommodating various types of health information while maintaining data integrity and relational structure. Implement efficient indexing and query optimization techniques to enhance performance.
  6. Integration with Existing Features: Collaborate closely with the development team to ensure seamless integration of the Family Health History feature with the app’s backend infrastructure and frontend user interface. Conduct thorough testing and debugging to identify and resolve any compatibility issues.
by mert.altinoez -

10 | Where do I want to go with my research? 🌱

In short: I’m still figuring out where my research will lead me. Digital Sustainability is an extensive topic with numerous facets to explore. On one hand, there’s the aspect of raising awareness. Only few people are familiar with Digital Sustainability and its implications, posing a significant barrier to a sustainable digital future. I’m considering focusing on this area and engaging in educational efforts.

Yet, there are other aspects that are equally intriguing, albeit possibly more complex. These include Digital Divide, Misinformation & Fake News, Accessibility, and Digital Graveyard. Accessibility may be the simplest topic here, and could be linked to sustainable UX. However, Misinformation & Fake News also deeply concern me on a personal level, as myself, my family, or friends could be affected at any time. Unfortunately, I haven’t researched this area much yet, but it’s something I plan to delve into.

Thus far, I haven’t found a focus point, so I’ll continue my broad exploration of the Digital Sustainability landscape as usual.

Cheers!

by mert.altinoez -

09 | Digital Sustainability: People, Books and Communities 🌱

In this blog post, I want to share all the people, books and communities that inspired me during my research about Digital Sustainability. Without further ado, let’s get started.

People

Thorsten Jonas
is the person that got me into Digital Sustainability one year ago. He is an Sustainable UX Advocate and Keynote Speaker based out of Hamburg, Germany. At the beginning of 2021, he started the global non-profit community „SUX – the Sustainable UX Network“ with an international group of designers, to push Sustainable UX further for and with the digital creative community.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thorstenjonas/

Don Norman
is founding Director of The Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego. He is co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group (now retired), a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and former Vice President of Apple. His latest work expands the notion of being human-centered to consider the impact upon the environment, upon all cultures, and upon quality of life: Humanity centered.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnorman/

Tim Frick
is the founder and president of Mightybytes, Inc., a Chicago-based digital agency that helps social enterprises, sustainable brands, and large nonprofits solve problems and meet business and marketing goals. He has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, speaker, educator, and environmentalist, and is passionate about using business as a force for good in the world.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timfrick/

Gerry McGovern
is the founder and CEO of Customer Carewords. He is a highly-regarded speaker, he has spoken on digital customer experience in more than 35 countries and has written eight books about digital design. The Irish Times has described Gerry as one of five visionaries who have had a major impact on the development of the Web.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerry-mcgovern-07876469/

Books

Designing for Sustainability. A guide to building greener digital products & services.
By Tim Frick

„Pixels use electricity, and a lot of it. If the Internet were a country, it would be the sixth largest in terms of electricity use. That’s because today’s average web page has surpassed two megabytes in size, leading to slow load times, frustrated users, and a lot of wasted energy. With this practical guide, your web design team will learn how to apply sustainability principles for creating speedy, user-friendly, and energy-efficient digital products and services. Author Tim Frick introduces a web design framework that focuses on four key areas where these principles can make a difference: content strategy, performance optimization, design and user experience, and green hosting. You’ll discover how to provide users with a streamlined experience, while reducing the environmental impact of your products and services.“

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/designing-for-sustainability/9781491935767/

World Wide Waste. How digital is killing our planet – And what we can do about it.
By Gerry McGovern

“Deep in the throes of the seemingly unstoppable growth of tech, a modern-day Thoreau has emerged in the guise of Gerry McGovern – decrying the massive, hidden negative impacts of tech on the environment. Every age needs contrarians who will speak about the unpopular topics that we choose to accept or simply ignore. Before it is too late – and in fact it might already be – McGovern has thoroughly documented in the World Wide Waste how tech damages the earth – and what we should be doing about it. It goes far beyond those acres of discarded computer hardware conveniently dumped in Third World countries.”

https://gerrymcgovern.com/books/world-wide-waste/

Design for a Better World. Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered.
By Don Norman

“The world is a mess. Our dire predicament, from collapsing social structures to the climate crisis, has been millennia in the making and can be tracked back to the erroneous belief that the earth’s resources are infinite. The key to change, says Don Norman, is human behavior, covered in the books three major themes: meaning, sustainability, and humanity centeredness. Emphasize quality of life, not monetary rewards; restructure how we live to better protect the environment; and focus on all of humanity. Design for a Better World presents an eye opening diagnosis of where we’ve gone wrong and a clear prescription of making things better.”

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548304/design-for-a-better-world/

The Life-Centred Design Guide. Design strategies and tools supporting a thriving planet for all.
By Damien Lutz

“Life-centric design aligns responsible businesses and designers with global goals to design physical and digital products and services that renourish the planet and foster fair and diverse ways of being. Life centered design still emerging, however, so awareness of it is low, those who practice it are few, how it is practiced varies, and hybridization of physical and digital product design strategies is nascent. The Life-Centered Design Guide introduces a collection of today’s life-centered design approaches and speculates a future snapshot of what the framework might become if the variations merged.”

https://lifecentred.design/the-life-centred-design-guide/

Communities

The Sustainable UX Network
“SUX was founded 2021 by a group of designers led by Thorsten Jonas with the idea to develop a playbook, to drive sustainability in UX and through UX, based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN and non-profit – for the community and with the community. Meanwhile SUX grew from a project to an ongoing initiative and global community of (UX-)designers from all over the world.”

Website: https://sustainableuxnetwork.com
Notion: https://suxnetwork.notion.site
Slack: https://sustainable-ux.slack.com

Sustainable Web Design Community Group
“This group is creating guidelines, tools, and resources for web and digital professionals to incorporate sustainability and related principles into their workflows and work practices. The goal is to make the process of creating and managing the entire life cycle of digital products and services more sustainable, while the use of digital products should also encourage better practices for users.”

Website: https://sustainablewebdesign.org
W3C Community Group: https://www.w3.org/community/sustyweb/
GitHub: https://github.com/w3c/sustyweb

This is it (for now). I hope you check out some of the people, books and/or communities.
Cheers!