Pulse
Despite the myriad of communication pathways available to them, long-distance couples express discontent with the state of their relationships: while they adopt technology in novel ways, such as using Skype ambiently, couples miss nonverbal forms of communication. For Basic Interaction Design, my team developed Pulse, a nonverbal communication device that takes the form of a cellphone case, pairing tangible communication with a mobile phone.
Contributions
User Research
Speed Dating
Concept Development
Video Sketch
Collaborators
Timeline
5 weeksBrief
For this assignment, students were tasked to explore opportunities and design challenges around the idea of an intelligent service. However, my group was interested in pursuing something more exploratory, so we decided to research long-distance couples and develop a smart device that could enhance the experience of a long-distance relationship.
Process
We began our project by interviewing people currently in long-distance relationships. Our participants ranged in age, occupation, distance separated, relationship length, and sexual orientation. Through directed storytelling and user interviews, we examined their feelings about long-distance relationships and strategies used to maintain their relationship.
We identified three focus areas: (1) supporting understanding, (2) supporting emotion, and (3) supporting action. While we initially decided to focus on supporting understanding, our focus changed based on the research outlined below.
Using rapid ideation, unrestrained by feasibility and social boundaries, we generated over fifty concepts for smart devices. Then, we arranged our concepts into an affinity diagram clustered around various themes. From these themes we developed perceived user needs, which formed the basis for our next step, speed dating.
For speed dating, we presented potential users with storyboards depicting scenarios illustrating perceived needs supported by a vague design concept. Users were asked to respond to these scenarios and discus how they feel about the use of technology in that scenario. In particular, we were interested in people’s boundaries regarding the use of technology in their romantic relationships. Many of our storyboards purposely push at these boundaries through eccentric concepts.
From this process we learned that while people are concerned with their partner’s understanding of the other’s daily life, people responded much more strongly to questions and ideas concerned with supporting nonverbal communication and its emotional component.
Based on our research, we developed the concept of a portable, tangible communication device. We began sculpting foam forms, creating separate profiles for each partner. However, we kept facing the issue of portability. Do people really want to carry around another device? After brainstorming various wearable concepts, we settled on the cellphone case as a means to closely pair nonverbal with verbal communication.
Solution
Pulse is a nonverbal communication device that allows couples to send tactile messages to each other. These messages can be felt through texture and warmth, and seen through light. Messages can be sent immediately or based on the context of their receiver. Couples can also give and receive tactile feedback as they talk on the phone to each other, allowing them to “feel” the other’s presence.
