Design and Research Exploration Report Cycle 1 Exploring Interactions Project Mobility By Emilie van Spronsen 1366068 25 oktober

ber 2012

With this report I want to take you through my project from the very first day that I formulated my design goal. Based on this design goal I did explorations. In this report you can read in chronological order about the explorations I did, and how they have contributed to my project. 3

The design goal I formulated on the first day was To inspire people on their daily way to work. It was driven by the personal interest, that I love how something unexpected in your city can make you feel special. That you, for a single moment, forget that you are on your way to something. That you feel alive.. For the context it had to be a place where people pass by every day to go to their work. I wanted to focus on either the subway out of personal interest.

I took the subway to Amsterdam CS during rush hour in the morning. I observed the stations, the people and their behavior. To acquire more understanding of the context and the current interactions. I took the subway and opened all my senses to experience the subway consciously. I took pictures and made notes. Afterwards I wrote a personal travelling story. You can read it in my workbook The underground is visually speaking not connected to the city (this is not necessarily negative). However I did not felt challenged in any way by the environment, instead I felt blunted. The environment offered me very little stimuli from the entrance hall to the platforms; it is gloomy, grey, and lifeless. The sense of speed in a closed vehicle made me relaxed; I was getting closer to my work. People that took the subway to work during rush hour in the morning were reserved. The subway is part of their weekday routine. They looked blunted as well, like they were concerned with their thoughts and to-do lists. I tend to focus on the subway stations; so the part from ascending the stairs to entering the vehicle, because I experienced this as the most blunting part. I think this is due to the lack of speed and physical progression. Now I have more acquaintance with the context I have made a research plan. For my next explorations Im curious about peoples subway experience on their way to work.

Talking to the stakeholder has refined my design goal. From the previous exploration I have learned that people traveling with the subway tend to be in some sort of zombie mode. They are traveling from A to B without paying much attention to the environment, almost unconsciously. I stated that they were blunted by the environment, and they were concerned with thoughts and to-do lists. My attitude towards their experience was negative so to speak. However the stakeholder explained this aloofness is protecting them to overcome unpleasant surprises (delays), and preparing them for the day to come. The aloofness is not necessarily negative. I think the circumstances in the subway are not optimal for this aloofness. There are very few positive stimuli (You cannot look outside when driving, and the environments are blunting). I recalled moments when my zombie mode had been disturbed by something that gave me new energy psychologically. Those were moments that I saw something unexpected. I tried to find words for this emotional state (or change) that I also want to achieve with my design. I came up with mentally refreshed. The term holds that the person did not feel fresh before (blunted zombie mode). Mentally holds that the change is personal.

I formulated my interaction vision: unexpected excitement. I tried to capture a personal experience. For instance, when Im cycling and thinking, and suddenly see something nice that disturbs my thinking (a nice composition, a tramp who shouts funny non sense, a rainbow, someone who is dressed nicely, or weird). These situations can give me new energy. It is something that I want to take along through this project.

I have done literature research to explore and learn more about the emotion that I formulated as mental refreshment. How is this described in literature? I recalled an interesting chapter in the PUUE reader, in which Berlyne describes the potential of a visual stimulus to increase a persons arousal level (Berlyne, 1971). Arousal is closely related with what I had in mind with mental refreshment. So my literature research started at this article of Berlyne. I continued to read more of Berlynes literature, and cited articles and referenced material in Science Direct. Berlynes findings suggest there is an optimal level of arousal for an individual at a given time. The potential to introduce a rise in this arousal level, is contingent on stimulus properties such as perceived novelty, 1 surprisingness, and complexity, properties Berlyne refers to as collative. He stresses that people may prefer different levels of arousal, and dependent on the context in which the stimulus is perceived its arousal 2 potential will vary. Since surprisingness is closely related to my interaction vision I have read more about this emotion in relation to arousal. Reisenzein determined the3quality of emotions by the proportion of experienced pleasure or displeasure and activation or deactivation. In his study participants judged surprise as either a pure arousal state (i.e., as hedonically neutral at all intensities) or as a displeasure-activation emotion. He concludes that pleasure or displeasure may not be an essential component of surprise. He treats surprise, amongst some other emotions as limiting forms of emotions whose affective core consists of pure arousal states. He explains that affects were nevertheless judged as pleasant or unpleasant because the ratings reflected the hedonic components of other co-occurring emotions. Other results in his study show that surprise tends to decrease in pleasure with 3 increasing intensity. So the level of surprise caused by a stimulus can vary amongst people who perceive it. It can cause arousal, but if the surprise is too intense it can cause displeasure. It also does not necessarily lead to pleasure (a positive experience), but pleasure can be a result of other co-occurring emotions. I decided to refine my interaction vision, which now is formulated as subtle surprise. I want to learn more about this thin line between the pleasantness and unpleasantness of surprise, because I want to focus on a pleasant surprise.

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I took the subway from Amsterdam CS to Weesperplein. For further exploration, to try to envision the character that the product needs to have, and to clear my mind. It made me realize that I want the product to be something to experience on your own. You feel blunted on you way to work, and al of a sudden you experience the product, and you feel alive for a moment. It revived you. You can return to a zombie-mode afterwards, but now to one with a positive character. There will be others to experience the product at the same time. But interaction with others is not necessary. The product is located in the subway, which is of course public space. This is important, because people will not have a choice to not notice it. I think it is important that the product is effective in its means (able to refresh people) but undemanding. Physical action will not or hardly be required. I will aim at people who are willing to experience mental refreshment. Others can pass by and pay no further attention to it.

I provoked people to experience a subtle surprise by means of a design intervention, to get insight in my intended interaction. I gave three fellow students the same newspaper, and asked them to read a certain article because we would discuss it later. I placed them in a row that they were standing behind each other, so interaction would be limited like in the subway. I sneaked one level up, and sprinkled confetti over their heads. You can watch the movie that shows my design intervention on Shareworks. The experience of the surprise was pleasant for two and disturbing (unpleasant) for one of the students. The confetti was too invading for the student who experienced the surprise as unpleasant. As I concluded from my literature search, surprise is ambiguous. The design intervention underlined the importance of the subtle and undemanding character of the surprise. With additional research (in next cycle) I will deepen my explorations in the field of surprise.

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I tried to gain more knowledge on how environments and spaces can be of influence on peoples emotions. If I want to assess someones experience in the subway, I expect the environment to be of influence. I dont know to what degree however, because I expect personality and personal circumstances also affect the experience. I searched (with varying search terms) on Science Direct and Google Scholar for articles on environments in public spaces in relation to emotions. I started with buildings in general, and later I searched for subway environments. J.D. Sime argues that architects, who concentrate on the properties of geometric space, may pay insufficient attention to the activities and experiences. He thinks that 'Creating places' is what architecture should aspire to. So not only consider the semiotic meaning of the external facade of buildings, but the meaning of the spaces behind the walls. The term 'place', as opposed to space, implies a strong emotional tie, temporary or 4 more longlasting, between a person and a particular physical location. (J.D. Sime, 1986) I think this sure is the case for the subway environment. Taking experiences into account in the design of the subway can improve the experience of this environment. Degen and Rose argue that remembering mediates the experiencing of urban built environments. In their case studies, regular users of the city centers were both highly engaged in and articulate about the sensory qualities of the built environment; yet they were also "over it" to such a degree that they did not notice their 5 surroundings. Frequent subway commuters might not be highly engaged with the subway environment, but I suppose that their memory of the environment is mediating the experiencing of it. Durmisevic and Sariyildiz did research in the quality of Dutch undergrounds spaces. They underline Sime by arguing that one of the most important aspects has been neglected in building 6the underground, namely the human factor aspect. According to Korz et al., 1998, there are three main factors that can have an influence on the behavior and experience of underground spaces and 7 these are shown in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 1 - factors affecting the experience of space

Individual characteristics include age, gender and personal experiences. Context includes peoples expectations of the space by the provided context, such as for example whether the station is in a large or small city. Environmental psychology includes how the characteristics of the surrounding are experienced. Im interested which spatial characteristics are closely related to psychological aspects, and therefore can influence the experience of the space. Based on interviews with different specialists, Durmisevic and Sariyildiz identified key aspects that could have an influence on the design of underground space. In Fig. 2 the form and function aspects are listed. Sandwiched between these two aspects are the important psychological aspects, which can be strongly influenced by the other two.

I realize that I will not redesign a subway station, but it is important to have insight in what has influence on the experience of the subway stations to influence the experience with my design.

Fig. 2 - conceptual framework

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I shadowed a person travelling with the subway from Weesperplein to Amsterdam CS during morning rush hour, to get more insight in someones subway experience on her way to work. I followed my sister on her way to work with the subway. I explained what I was going to do 20 meters from the subway entrance. I was going to travel with her on a certain distance, and we would meet again in central station. I emphasized that she could ignore me as well as my small camera. Since I followed someone I know, I was able to interview her afterwards (and not freak her out as I were a stalker). I had prepared a protocol what to say beforehand, and point for myself what to pay attention for, so I could ask relevant questions afterwards. I recorded the interview I held in the Starbucks on Central Station. I prepared general questions, and took the questions that had risen out of the shadowing. For my sister the subway is part of her weekday routine. She feels secure in the subway; she is used to it and there are lots of people who make her feel safe. She thought the environment was boring, but the fact that it was underground made it special (the concept of underground is powerful). She experiences it like another world, as I did too during my first exploration. She appreciated color on the platforms and in the entrance hall in the subway of Central Station because it makes it more humane she strikes. However color is personal (she disliked red for the subway environment). She did not really like the furniture in relation to the environment. It looks like they dumped some benched in that big space, like here you have got some benches! Instead of please, take a seat. She argues that it looks the design is not thought of well enough to make a nice place of the subway. You can watch a movie of the shadowing exploration on Shareworks. The fact that I was filming in the subway was a surprise for some people (despite it was a modest sized camera). I noticed how some people ignored me by averting their heads, maybe to protect their selves, and how other people facially expressed their aversion (why is she filming? I dont want to be recorded!). And some people seemed to not see me at all; I did not surprise them. So my camera and me elicited different emotions; timid, surprised, or no emotion at all (see next page).

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I handed out questionnaires to people who took the subway to go to work during rush hour in the morning. To acquire a more general insight in how people like and dislike the subway. I based my previous conclusions on myself and observing and interviewing my sister, and we both dont travel with the subway everyday to work. With my questions I focused primarily on the platforms, and the entrances. I approached people who looked like they were going to work, and asked them if they would fill in my questionnaire. I made my questionnaire based on the knowledge I have gained with my literature search. It contained some basic questions to start with (individual characteristics), and they became more specific towards the end (how they experienced the stations). You can find the questionnaires in my workbook. Most of the terms of question 6 stem from the article of Durmisevic and Sariyildiz, as well as the terms in question 9. 11 out of 12 respondents travelled everyday with the subway. I have to spend more time on making conclusions, to see relations per respondent. But the average respondent thinks the platforms are boring, and rather colorless. I have to note that some terms in Fig. 3 are neutral (not negative or positive). Maybe respondent like that the platforms are colorless? Answers to another question showed however that the average respondent does see this as something negative. The average person thinks the experience would be more positive if the subway stations would be lighter, more colorful, cozier, and more artistic. (Fig 4.) This result confirms my former explorations.

Fig. 3 - average rating platforms on a Likert scale

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It was surprising to notice how all the people I asked to fill in my questionnaire reacted differently. It was a small intervention on itself. Some people were enthusiastic, which resulted in nice conversations, others did not liked to be approached in this way, or felt obliged to participate. I think I can conclude that someones character and the personal circumstance the person is in are of great influence how a surprise is experienced.

Fig. 4 - # respondents wished the platforms to be...

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My explorations showed me that commuters who take the subway to work are in zombie-mode because they see the same grey subway station everyday. The environment is experienced like it misses a human touch. As Degen and Rose argued, I think commuters who travel every weekday with the subway remember the environment, and do not notice the surrounding actively any more. With my design, that will be located in a subway station in Amsterdam, I want to refresh people for a moment. Im aware of the risk that the product I want to design might make them feel alive for the first couple of times they experience it, but that it becomes part of the environment after a while. So it is important that the product has to surprise sustainably. It can have a changing character, or the ability to keep refreshing and surprising people. Also the character has to be subtle, otherwise the surprise can be experienced as disturbing.

I will continue with creating concepts! I already sketched some ideas,that I want to elaborate next cycle. Also I want to deepen my insights in the field of surprise. Experimenting with different interventions could be a great start. SOURCES 1 Schifferstein, H.N.J. and Hekkert, J.P. (2007) Product Experience. P. 339 2 Berlyne, D.E. (1971) Aesthetics and psychobiology. New York: McGraw-Hill. 3 Reisenzein , R. (1994) Pleasure-Arousal Theory and the Intensity of Emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 67, No. 3, 525-539 4 Sime, J.D. (1986) Creating Places Or Designing Spaces? Journal of Environmental Psychology 6, p. 49-63 5 Degen, M. and Rose, G. (2012). The sensory experiencing of urban design: the role of walking and perceptual memory. Urban Studies (In press). 6 Durmisevic, S. and Sariyildiz, S. (2001) A systematic quality assessment of underground spaces public transport stations. Cities, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1323 7 Korz, S, Aarts, H, Luten, I and Lugtmeijer, E (1998) Hoe Dieper hoe Gevoeliger. Collaboration of TU Eindhoven, TU Delft and Eysink Smeets and Etman, The Netherlands.

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