by anine.hallen -

Final prototype – video

If I was to work further on this prototype I am now at the stage where I would get some input from possible users. Doing a few informal tests would most likely give me more information and some new perspectives to further develop my prototype. This would help me to get it to a stage where I can learn more from more “proper” testing.

After this development I would do a more extensive testing round to decide whether or not this is the right direction. I would anyways have new perspectives to bring to a different prototype, so my work would not be lost if I found that a different format would be necessary.

by andrea.hurtadotorres -

Information Design in Digital Media

In the digital age, where information overload is a common challenge, effective information design plays a crucial role in conveying messages clearly and engagingly.

Information design in digital media enhances user comprehension by presenting complex information in a visually organized and digestible format. In their research paper, Ware and Mikaelian (2015) highlight the importance of visual design principles, such as clear hierarchy, visual cues, and effective use of typography, in facilitating information understanding.

Visual design elements, including layout, color, imagery, and typography, can significantly impact user perceptions and engagement. Effective use of these design elements captures attention, conveys brand identity, and influences user emotions, resulting in a more immersive and enjoyable user experience.

A well-designed information layout, combined with visually appealing elements, creates a seamless and memorable user journey. As digital platforms continue to evolve, the importance of information design remains critical in delivering clear, engaging, and user-centric experiences that leave a lasting impact on users.

Sources:

Ware, C., & Mikaelian, H. (2015). Information Design: Research and Practice. In The Handbook of Communication Design (pp. 201-214). Wiley.

Lohse, G. L., & Spiller, P. (1999). Internet Retail Store Design: How the User Interface Influences Traffic and Sales. Journal of Retailing, 75(2), 185-203.

by andrea.hurtadotorres -

Fostering Empathy and Inclusion in Design

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, designing inclusive and accessible experiences is crucial. Microsoft, has taken a significant step towards promoting inclusivity with its Inclusive Design Toolkit.

Inclusive design aims to create products and experiences that targets a diverse range of users, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds. Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Toolkit is built on this philosophy, emphasizing the importance of empathy and understanding diverse user needs. According to Microsoft, inclusive design is a creative problem-solving approach that seeks to address the needs of as many people as possible by involving and learning from people with a wide range of abilities and perspectives.

The toolkit offers a range of inclusive design principles, techniques, and case studies to inspire and inform designers. It includes tools such as personas, scenarios, and the Inclusive Design Guide, which helps designers understand common barriers and provides strategies to overcome them. By incorporating these resources, designers can create products and experiences that resonate with diverse users and promote a sense of belonging and inclusivity.

Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Toolkit has had a profound impact on the design community. It has enabled designers to shift their mindset from focusing on a narrow user base to considering the needs of a wider audience. Through the toolkit’s principles and resources, designers can better understand the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and create solutions that accommodate their requirements.

by andrea.hurtadotorres -

Universal design vs. Inclusive Design

In the realm of design, two prominent concepts, universal design and inclusive design, aim to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities or characteristics, can fully engage with products, services, and environments. While both approaches share the objective of promoting accessibility and inclusivity, they differ in their core principles and methodologies.

Universal design focuses on creating products, services, and environments that are accessible to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities. In their paper, “Universal Design and the Challenge of Diversity,” Preiser and Ostroff (2001) emphasize the importance of equitable access and emphasize that universal design should be integrated into the design process from the outset. Which encompass elements such as equitable use, flexibility, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and appropriate size and space.

Inclusive design emphasizes the active participation and representation of diverse individuals in the design process. Heylighen and Neuckermans (2003) in their paper, “Inclusive Design: A Morphological Analysis of the Concept and Its Interpretations,” highlight that inclusive design seeks to address the needs of various users by considering factors such as abilities, cultural backgrounds, age, and more. The authors argue that inclusive design goes beyond mere accessibility and aims to eliminate barriers and biases that may exclude certain individuals.

Universal design focuses on creating products and environments that are usable by a diverse range of individuals, while inclusive design emphasizes the active involvement and representation of diverse perspectives in the design process. By combining the principles of universal design with the empathetic and inclusive approach of inclusive design, designers can bridge gaps and create experiences that empower and include everyone. Together, these design philosophies pave the way for a more inclusive and accessible future, where barriers are dismantled, and everyone can fully participate and engage in the world around them.

Sources:

Preiser, W. F. E., & Ostroff, E. (2001). Universal Design and the Challenge of Diversity. In E. Steinfeld & S. Danford (Eds.), Universal Design Handbook (pp. 3-15). McGraw-Hill.

Heylighen, A., & Neuckermans, H. (2003). Inclusive Design: A Morphological Analysis of the Concept and Its Interpretations. Design Studies, 24(5), 437-456.

Eichner, P., Meijering, L., & Steuten, C. (2016). Universal Design and Inclusive Design: Towards an Analytical Model. The Design Journal, 19(6), 905-923.

by andrea.hurtadotorres -

Dark Patterns in UX and Game Design

Welcome to the enigmatic world of dark patterns, where designers become the crafty illusionists of the digital world. Dark patterns are deliberately crafted design choices that nudge users towards specific actions that may not align with their true intentions.

These patterns exploit psychologically the users, manipulating them into making choices that benefit the designer or organization, often at the expense of the user. It highlights examples of common dark patterns, such as “misdirection,” where users are guided towards a particular option, and “roach motel,” which makes it easy to sign up for a service but challenging to cancel.

The UX Design (Game Design) source sheds light on dark patterns in the context of game design. It discusses how game designers employ manipulative techniques to keep players engaged and potentially addicted. Examples include “artificial scarcity,” where limited resources are introduced to create a sense of urgency, and “extrinsic rewards,” which exploit our desire for achievement. These dark patterns can lead to detrimental effects, such as excessive gaming, addictive behaviors, and psychological distress.

Dark patterns represent a concerning aspect of UX and game design, capable of manipulating user behavior and compromising user well-being. As designers and consumers, it is essential to recognize the existence of these deceptive practices and take steps to mitigate their negative impact.

Designers have a vital role in shaping user experiences that prioritize transparency and respect. Let’s create a world where trust and empowerment flourish! By embracing ethical design practices, we can build bridges of understanding between users and designers. Together, we can champion a user-centric approach that celebrates choice, is transparent, and leaves dark patterns in the dust.


Sources:
https://medium.muz.li/malachidigest-3cad286bba02
https://uxdesign.cc/dark-patterns-in-ux-design-7009a83b233c
https://uxdesign.cc/game-design-dark-patterns-that-keep-you-hooked-a3988395533c

by daniil.ivanov -

Task 2: Literature Research “Debris”

I decided to take the article “Debris: A playful interface for direct manipulation of audio waveforms” as my object of study.

The idea of creating such an interface seemed to me very interesting, I like experiments and different unusual approaches to seemingly familiar things. However, after reading the article and reviewing the materials, I still have some doubts about this product.

In my opinion, this prototype can hardly be called an “interface”, I would say that it is a work of art, in a way. I am not a musician, so I can only judge from my side, but in my opinion, with such an interface it would be difficult to create any particular music, because music is linear in nature, while this product is the opposite. Plus, the interface seemed to me as unintuitive as possible to call it a tool.

But all that I have said above does not mean that I did not like the project, on the contrary, I liked it very much. In my opinion, this prototype is just hard to call an “interface”, I would say that it is a work of art, in a way. I would love to try this innovation, maybe I’m wrong and it may be convenient for musicians and will soon come into use

Reference:

Robinson, F. A. (2021). Debris: A playful interface for direct manipulation of audio waveforms. https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.02005035

by anine.hallen -

Finalising the prototype

As I have continued working on the prototype I constantly find new needs and possible paths. For now I have focused on placing the prototype in a context which becomes part of the prototype. Instead of just developing the tool I have now made a webpage as an information source.

Eventually I started filling in my wireframes with content. I have chosen to not focus on writing texts and rather making titles which give an indicator of what would be there. This way I could have tested my prototype to get a “first impression” from someone without producing text that might not be needed.

I have created a structure which will work similarly to a storyteller page.

  1. Header: There is a header on top for navigation.
  2. What: first the user need to understand what this page does. Two sentences about the goal for this page is enough to communicate this fast.
  3. Why: Why should the user care? Why should they use this page? Three main goals is mentioned with subpages linked it the user wants to read more.
  4. How: How can I make a difference? This part is where I assume most user will spend the most time. It is an exploration of what I can do (as a consumer / designer) to reduce the environmental impact of fashion.
  5. Engage: Call to action to send in feedback and/or taking part in challenges/competitions to create engagement around the page. This part would need more exploration and research to see what creates the most momentum and impact.
  6. Footer: Footer where I can place the “boring” info. For those interested in going in depth, reading more complex resources, documentation etc. this is a natural place to look in combination with the header.

If I was to test this prototype I would interview 3-5 people of different age and try to explore what information they would expect, wish for and care about. In addition I would interview fashion designers to explore if they could use a page like this in their workflow.

by georg.kiraly -

Inclusion leads to participation

The inclusion of youth in the democratic system not only encourages their active participation but also enhances the overall democratic governance. It strengthens the legitimacy and effectiveness of decision-making processes, promotes social cohesion, and cultivates a new generation of informed and engaged citizens who are committed to shaping a better future. To undermine this assumption I’d like to refer to some communal examples.

  1. Der Kindergemeinderat Steiermark
    The Children’s Municipal Council in Styria enables children to actively participate in local decision-making. They express their opinions, concerns, and ideas, shaping their community. Council members, aged around 10 to 14, are democratically elected and discuss topics relevant to children. Their tasks include initiatives like designing playgrounds and organizing events. The initiative promotes political education, empowering children as future citizens. The establishment of these councils varies across municipalities in Styria, all aiming to enhance children’s participation in decision-making processes.
  2. Bürgerforum Vorarlberg
    The Citizen Forum in Vorarlberg is an initiative that enables citizens to actively participate in political decision-making and express their concerns. Selected citizens engage in multi-day events to discuss specific topics, meet experts, and develop proposals. These proposals are submitted to the government, influencing policy decisions. The forum aims to enhance citizen engagement, democratic legitimacy, and transparency in political processes. The government takes the forum’s results seriously, fostering dialogue and trust between citizens and the government. The Citizen Forum exemplifies participatory democracy, empowering citizens to have a say and promoting inclusivity in decision-making.
  3. Die partizipative Kinder- und Jugendmillion der Stadt Wien
    The participatory Children and Youth Million of the City of Vienna is a project aimed at empowering children and young people in Vienna to play an active role in shaping their city. The project provides one million euros that can be used by young people between the ages of 6 and 18 for projects and ideas that aim to improve life in their city.
    What makes the Children and Youth Million special is that the decision on how to allocate the funds is made by the young participants themselves. Children and young people can submit their project proposals and then vote on the distribution of the funds. This process involves them in the democratic decision-making process and enables them to realize their own visions of a livable city. The projects implemented within the framework of the Children and Youth Million are diverse and range from the design of playgrounds and parks to cultural and recreational offerings, as well as environmental and sustainability initiatives. The project fosters the creativity, engagement, and sense of responsibility of young people, allowing them to actively contribute to their environment.

If we now compare the reach of regional or municipal initiatives with the reach of digital platforms such as walhkabine.at, we can see a clear difference. The user figures. Its very difficult to find exact numbers but its an obvious conclusion if we compare the amount of people that are using or have used wahlkabine.at and the report of SORA from the last blog entry.

The use of wahlkabine.at among young voters is considerable. In past elections, wahlkabine.at has been used by a significant number of young voters. For example, in the 2019 National Council elections in Austria, over 300,000 people used the platform to match their political preferences with the parties’ positions. A high number of these users were young people aged 16 to 29.

Although children’s and youth parliaments or initiatives in Vienna, Graz and Linz can also look back on a considerable reach, the digital affinity of the target group plays a major role. In any case, the demand for digital information on political information, whether via social media or specific websites such as wahlkabine.at, grows with every election.

Screenshot of the latest update to the communal election of vienna in 2020 on wahlkabine.at

by georg.kiraly -

The Status quo: “Junge Menschen und Demokratie in Österreich 2022” by SORA-Institute

In 2022, the renowned SORA Institute produced an interesting report on the topic of “Young People and Democracy in Austria. It confirms the assumption I described at the outset.

The report “Young People and Democracy in Austria 2022” by the SORA Institute looks at young people’s views on the political system and their participation in democratic processes. The study was conducted between September 7 and October 21 and included 323 participants aged 16 to 26. The results show that despite an easing of the pandemic situation, the mental health of many young people remains impaired. High inflation has also led to a deterioration in their financial situation, especially among those who already had fewer resources before the pandemic. This has led to a decline in trust in the political system.

Less than half of young people are currently convinced that the political system is functioning well. A large proportion even believe that democracy in Austria is rather weak. Trust in institutions such as parliament and the federal government has also declined. The effects of the crises have a negative impact on system trust. Young people affected by the impact of the crises have less trust. Moreover, few of them feel represented in parliament, which is related to lower trust in parliament. Economic uncertainty has a long-term impact on trust in the political system. Young people in financially precarious situations are more likely to feel that the political system does not function well. More than half of them consider democracy in Austria to be rather weak. In terms of media use, social media platforms, especially Instagram, have become the most important source of information on political issues. Newspapers are also used by about half of young people, and radio has regained importance compared to previous years. The top concerns of young people are inflation, climate change and economic inequality. About half discuss politics with family, friends or colleagues at least once a week. Young people’s political participation has remained constant. They mainly participate in elections and get involved in their immediate environment. About one-fifth are active in volunteer work, especially in the social sector and in blue-light organizations. However, just under one-fifth have had no contact with parliament or political events. Young people are critical of political education in schools. They complain that they are taught too little about the political system and how to conduct political debates, which is particularly important in times of crisis.

Young people are critical of political education in schools. They complain that they are taught too little about the political system and how to conduct political debates, which is particularly important in times of crisis.

SORA Institute – “Junge Menschen und Demokratie in Österreich 2022”
by georg.kiraly -

Tools to raise the interest of participation

At the moment, there are various programs that try to make politics and democracy understandable. This works on the national level as well as on the municipal level. Here are four digital and analogue examples:

  1. Wahlkabine.at
    Since 2009 potential voters are able to use this website to gain more knowledge about potential matches with election programs of all common parties. The aim of Wahlkabine.at is to provide voters with an opportunity to compare their political positions with the positions of the various parties. The platform asks a series of questions on various political topics, and users can state their own positions on these questions. The answers of the different political parties to the same questions are then published on the platform. Voters can then compare their own answers with the parties’ positions and get an overview of which party they have the greatest agreement with in terms of content. Wahlkabine.at also enables users to obtain more information about the individual parties and their election programs.
  2. Several Boardgames
    “Democracy: Majority Rules” is a cooperative board game in which players take on the role of members of parliament and must make decisions together to find the best solution for a fictional community. In the process, they learn about different aspects of democracy, such as the importance of debate, compromise, voting, and representation of the population. Another example is the game “The Political Game – Governing and Making Laws.” It allows players to take on the role of political decision-makers and develop an understanding of the political process by making decisions and drafting laws. The game is designed to show how democracy works and how political decisions are made.
  3. “Der Kanzlersimulator”
    The Chancellor Simulator from SWR is an interactive online tool developed by the Südwestrundfunk (SWR), a public broadcasting company in Germany. The goal of the simulator is to give users the opportunity to slip into the role of a German chancellor and make political decisions. The Chancellor Simulator is based on real-life political scenarios and challenges that a government might face. Users can select different policy areas such as the economy, education, the environment or foreign policy and make decisions by, for example, passing laws or taking political action. What is special about the Chancellor’s Simulator is that it simulates the consequences of the decisions made. The effects of policy are presented to the players in the form of feedback and evaluations. This gives them an impression of how their decisions might affect different areas of society.
  4. “Wer regiert Österreich? Du wenn du es willst”
    The Migration Council’s report, published in December 2016, emphasizes the importance of public support for a successful nationwide migration policy. In response, the migration communication initiative, GEMEINSAM. VIEL BEWEGEN, was launched. It offers interactive programs for different school levels to explore the connections between migration, society, and politics. For upper secondary students, there’s the political simulation game GEMEINSAM. AUSTRIA GOVERNING. It allows players to experience democracy, responsibility, and the impact of migration on society. Interested teachers can book the simulation, GEMEINSAM.ÖSTERREICH REGIEREN, free of charge via ICMPD.