Project Description
'Grandma likes my Facebook status' is a museum exhibit that gives visitors an authentic experience for empathizing with the older population.
It was a part of "Experience design" course assignment that I took in spring 2013.
The requirement for this project was to design an engaging learning experience in a museum setting in the form of an interactive installation with digital artifacts and technologies.
Concept
The core idea was to provide younger generation a firsthand experience of how activities in one's daily life can become more difficult as one ages.
The objective behind this was to help them learn and empathize with the older population and their experience technology through an interactive exhibit.
Process
Our process began when we first started brainstorming different types of experiences that we may want to explore through the project. Some of the categories we considered included the experience of changing body size, schizophrenia, and going back in time. But in the end, we chose to examine the experience of being an older person. This choice was largely prompted by our belief that participants within the exhibit would be able to experience high levels of empathy. Next, we conducted interviews and drew insights based on our personal experience of living with elderly people. We studied exemplar exhibit design and did concept sketching of the exhibit. Finally we body stormed the museum experience and presented the design through video.
Methods
Secondary research, Interviewing, Body storming, video making and editing.
Duration
Three weeks
Team mates
Tian Xia, Scott Trepper, Kevin Flick
My Contribution
I was assigned as a 'team facilitator' for this project so I took the initiative of project planning process within the team.
I arranged and communicated team meetings timely to the group and actively took part in research, brainstorming and sketching sessions. I helped my teammates in arranging 'elderly gear' used in the final video.