Tim Harris Momentous App Process Book

Timothy Harris DSID 125

Timothy HarrisAdv. Industrial Design

Share a Moment with Someone

DSID 125

M

Timothy Harris DSID 125Timothy Harris DSID 125

Shaping The Future Problem Statement

It is within the scope of expected skills than an industrial designer be able to predict future trends. Clearly prescience dwells within the realm of science fiction, but with various research tools a designer may get a better picture of what people want. And by creating what people want, the designer is able to shape the future.

Digital devices have become so thoroughly ingrained in our everyday lives that separation is often more detrimental than their inclusion. Despite supposed and proven asocial aspects of personal and portable technology, humans will continue to use them for productivity, communication, and entertainment.

For our third year of Industrial Design we are expected to predict a future trend in personal entertainment and curate a product for a future audience in the not-so-distant-future.


Persona

Leigh (43) and Stephen (45) have been married for 15 years. Leigh works part-time as a retail store manager while Stephen (who goes by Steve) is a product manager at Intel. Audits can keep Steve away from the home for weeks at a time while his job needs him to travel. Fortunately, Leigh’s part-time job gives her the flexibility to be home to be with their two kids. The time apart, while manageable, is difficult for both Leigh and Steve.

Both of them wish there was a way for them to communicate and stay connected with each other more intimately while they are apart.

Market Research

Squeeze Jacket:Inflatable pouches simulate pressure and hugs

Vibease:Wearable Smart vibrator controlled by smartphone

Pillow Talk:Transmits Partners Heartbeat

Glows when partner is also near pillow to simulate presence


Market Research Research Demographics

Taion Heart:Squeezing the heart transmits pressure and pulse to partner

TapTap:Able to send vibrations to another wearer quickly though simple tap patterns

Love Palz:Wifi connected devices with a his and hers component

- 32.5% of all long distance relationships are attributed to college.- 40% of all long distance relationships end up failing in some way, including relationships where the partners are married. - 70% of these failures happen because of unplanned circumstances that happen to one of the participants in a relationship.- If a relationship is going to break down, in generally happens within the first 5 months of the time that there is distance separating the two parties. - Most long distance relationships have two in-person visits per month or less. - Most long distance couples only speak on the phone once every three days. - For most couples, the biggest obstacle to overcome in a long distance relationship is sexual intimacy.- 125 miles – the average distance in a long distance relationships- 1.5 times – the average number of times couples visited each other (per month)- 3 letters – the average number of letters couples write each other (per month)- 2.7 days – the average number of days between couples calling each other- 14 month – the average number of months before couples expect to move back together


Initial Concepts

Personally, I was disinterested in making a sex toy as it seemed too obvious but consideration was made due to the lack of intimate contact within long distance relationships. What piqued my interest were app solutions that connected couples with novel or obscure technologies.


Three Directions

Momentous:I would get my final direction’s name from this. A wearable device would stream images to a partner and increase ubiquity for one partner. This was a bit creepy but the idea of excessive sharing fostered a feeling of vulnerability.

Get Us There:Inspired by a non-competetive board game called And Then We Held Hands, users must cooperate to reach the center of the board. Movements can negatively or positively effect the others “mood” preventing or allowing you yourself to move.

Couples Meditation:This was the most “Whoa, man” hippy idea, but it seemed very intimate. Using binaural audio beats (which have significant research to their credit) couples would be able to enter similar states of mindfulness before or while they communicate.


Further Research

The Five Love Languages by Gary D. Chapman gives insight into how people express feelings of love and gratitude towards each other. A brief list of what each could mean and what may happen during the activity was made and I specifically looked for what would be missing for LDR couples.

Endorphins: There are a variety of these, but their name means “Endogenous Morphine,” or literally “Internal Morphine.” Release of these causes euphoria and inhibit pain signals. Physical exercise and adrenaline can signal its release.

Serotonin: This chemical is used for many things, including mood regulation, temperature, appetite, memory and sleep. In fact, the illicit drug MDMA releases this chemical in such massive quantities that the users are literally “love drunk.” This chemical, along with others, also signals for the release of dopamine a well known reward chemical. Physical touch such as massage, exercise, and even Vitamin-D synthesis via sunlight can release this chemical.

Oxytocin: Oxytocin is a potent neurotransmitter that heavily influences human behavior. Generosity, social recognition and bonding, sexual arousal, and trust are reinforced with this chemical. It has been dubbed the “cuddle chemical” because it is released during orgasm and in the mother during childbirth; both being moments of strong emotional bonding.

Even with these short lists, it is easy to see that Physical Touch and Quality time are most neglected. The notion of self-revelation seemed most provocative from the quality time column. It is only through continued exposure that we really get to know a person. And much of the magic of physical touch comes down to a physiological and chemical response.

My hypotheses:A platform to encourage couples to engage in activities that release these chemicals while providing a linking experience will allow for stronger bonding to be made despite the drawbacks of physical distance.

-The little things matter

-Actions speak louder than words

-Chemical Response

-Heat

-Difference between private and public touch

-Cultural Interpretations of touch (PDA)

-Self-revelation

-Undivided attention

-The need to “Be there”

-Multitasking typically verboten

-Eye Contact

-Encouragement

-Words speak louder than actions

-Confidence Building

-The easiest language to learn.

-The thought counts

-$ is typically inconsequential

-Shows Thoughtfulness

Acts of Service Physical Touch Quality Time Words of Affirmation Gift Giving

Science!Specifically Brain Chemistry

Can we use other activities to exploit the release of the chemicals?


Meetings with the UI professor gave me insight into what is truly involved in developing an app. Dozens of story boards were run through to determine methods of communication, how and what technologies would be used, and appropriate modes of interaction. Because this course did not require a full app, some constraints were put on how in-depth the model would go.

Story BoardingFinal Direction

Using burgeoning technologies, some currently available, Momentous will connect couples with a shared experience by suggesting options to them. It will also provide a platform for communication with novel advancements. Users will create virtual dates, or “Moments” to share.


Innovations and Technologies

Innovations and Technologies

Momentous Calendar:Momentous will constantly monitor willing couples whereabouts to create an internal calendar of their availabilities. This will be used to assist in easy communication and coordination of activities called “Moments” that the couples can set up or have suggested to them by the app.

Graava-Style Video Editing:AI trained to edit your video for you. Not quite here yet, but it’s around the corner. Using a constantly-on camera, software from Graava can edit out the boring parts and send the meaningful parts to the users partner. That selfie you just sent got a reaction, and you get to see it.

Front-Back Image Capture:Not only is sharing a visual important of your current activity, but so is how you respond to it. Integrating Front-Back’s dual imaging system, couples will be able to share their reactions to various events.

Expression Monitoring:Using the aforementioned technologies, the app can monitor the users expressions in order to determine when the best time to auto-send an expression may be. For example, the moment he laughs at a corny pun an image is sent and the memory is recorded.

Auto Pan+Tilt Camera:We are already seeing micro engineering improve cellular cameras with image stabilization integrated. Future integration of pan+tilt will allow greater user experience by guaranteeing the user is in the shot no matter how off angle the phone may be.

Text Messaging Enhancements:Apart from ambiguous emoji or YELLING IN CAPITALS, text still remains relatively expressionless. One way that video games have jumped this hurdle is by delivering the text at different speeds. For example, fast for an excited moment, or slowly for sarcasm. Using a tapping gesture, users can determine the speed that text will be rolled out upon viewing.


Initial Mockups Initial Mockups

Moment s

Welcome Screen Moment Activity Memories New Moment

Creat e

New MomentInbound!

OpportuinityKnocks!

Its time tokick it!

Suggested Event

Locatio n

Both parties recievenotification of a paired

suggestion

Momentousis opened

User likes variousFacebook posts

Momentous keepstrack of likes

Database attempts

to match “Moments”

like-for-like

“New Moment”is selected

Broad categoriesare shown

Local optionsto partner is chosen overview

Notified! Messageand Memories

are stored

Time

Date

{

Moments Create

Create

OMENTOUS

Initial mockups provided a groundwork for in-app functionality. Couples communication will be in-app to maintain a history of the couples interactions.

Flow models were useful to determine whether or not interaction paths were awkward or intuitive.


Refined Mockups

MoMentsPartner naMe Create MoMent

Active Momentaug 12 5:15P

Past Momentaug 3 12:00P

Past MomentFeb 16 9:00P

Choose An Activity

Edge swipe to navigateSimilar to Thinglist

Gill Sans Location

Location Location

Location

LocationLocation

Location Location

Aug 3 12:00p

In 30 mInutesactive MoMent

Past MoMent

Aug 1 3:00pPast MoMent

MoMents

Aug 3 12:00p

In 30 mInutesactive MoMent

Past MoMent

Aug 1 3:00pPast MoMentEdge swipe to invoke menu

Similar to Yummly

MMoMentsPartner naMe create MoMent

Lato

Various type faces, navigation alternatives, and interaction events were experimented with. Because of the nature of the app, information volumes were also considered. Would more or less information be available at a glance, and how much was appropriate?

MoMentousM


Mockups

moments

Helvetica neue (stock

ios font)

partner name create a moment

choose an activity

active moment

past moment

past moment

in 30 min

8 days ago

15 days ago

Considerations were also made for various platforms. Sticking to Helvetica would reduce the deployment size of the app by eliminating bundled fonts.

Final Interface Model

Aug 3 12:00p

In 30 minutesHillstone Restaurant

Rooftop Terrace

Aug 1 3:00pModern Art Museum

Moments

Aug 3 12:00p

In 30 minutesHillstone Restaurant

Rooftop Terrace

Aug 1 3:00pModern Art Museum

Momentous

Splash / Loading Screen Swipe from left edge to invoke navigation menu

Active and past memories

Moments

M

M


Restaurants Coffee House

MuseumsBar / Lounge

Cinema

Shopping

Fitness

LiteratureCreate moment page shows various activity choices

Included messaging eliminates app disparity

LeighCreate Moment

Final Interface Model

Documents

Tim Harris Momentous App Process Book