DataMill
Win-Win Environmentalism
I got my Interaction Design Master degree at Domus Academy Milano. DataMill was my graduation project where I explored how data can create a meaninful user experience.
Thesis Project / Domus Academy
BRIEF
The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a part of our daily lives but the challenge we face is to translate the possibilities presented by IOT and the data they generate. So, How could this information and these communication technologies be converted into real value for people?
''Data! Data! Data! I can't make bricks without clay.''
Sherlock Holmes
BACKGROUND
Data can be assumed as a piece of Information.
LOGISTICS
GOVERNMENTAL
MANUFACTURING
COMMUNICATION & MEDIA
EDUCATION
Big Data according to Industries
HEALTHCARE
ENVIRONMENT
TRANSPORTATION
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Today, collected data is huge and one of the big chunk of data is about Sustainability & Environment.
Research shows the Earth’s ability to sustain human civilization is at risk. To understand the causes, several projects now track and analyze data.
A major share comes from urban areas—currently home to 55% of the world’s population, expected to reach 70% by 2050. Transportation and residential carbon footprints are the main contributors.
Since a large share (%26) of the carbon footprint comes from residential areas, it is a strong focus point for developing solutions.
When it comes to residential CO2 footprint, there is a huge emphasis on families' behaviours.
According to everyhingconnects.org, environmental crisis is a really a crisis of human consciousness.
In line with research institutes, even being sustainable is not sufficient any more.
Regenerative is a term that proposes to give back to the Nature.
Source: Arup
''We cannot hope to create a sustainable culture with any but sustainable souls.''
Derrick Jensen - Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization
SOLUTION
From my research, the solution must first collect or access data. What sets it apart is how it communicates this data to users, encouraging them to learn from it and ultimately become more sustainable individuals.
3 Pillars of the Concept
MEET DATAMILL
I realised during Design Process that, a better experience required combining physical and digital products so I designed a physical tracker (Blob) and a mobile app. Since the target is families and their regenerative transformation through learning from data, I also proposed a TV app to encourage shared discussion and enhance the experience.
TURN THE SOUND ON! -->
Blob
Blob collects data and responds by changing its shape. While its future could be a standalone, sustainability-focused smart home assistant, in this project, it simply gathers data, reacts through shape changes, and syncs with a home assistant.
Key Features
1 - Shape & Light Notification
Blob notifies users through shape changes and lights. It displays three data points, each with a specific rotary light color, while a bottom light shows the rewards users have earned.
2 - Remote Controller
TV App is essential as it targets families to learn together from the data and act together. Blob can be used also as Remote Controller and eases the navigation with dedicated interactions.
Raise
When Blob is raised from where it is, DataMill TV app directly launches.
Navigate
Blob has Rotary encoder and user navigates in the app by rotating the rotary.
Select
User presses down the rotary to select.
3 - Customizable
Users can customize Blob according to what they prefer to be notified.
DataMill Mobile App
DataMill mobile app is the center of the experience.
Key Features
Quick Overview
On the launch, user gets a quick overview without the need to navigate too much.
Detailed Info
If pressed one of the data, it goes to related page and provides enhanced information with customizable view.
Community Info
Community is one of the main features of the product. Aiming to enable users learn from each other.
Least - Most / Month
Users can see the smallest and biggest comsumption of the month so they relate better in order to learn from it.
Compare
Users can compare two days for example the least and the most so they can see what matters in order to reduce their consumptions.
THE PROCESS
PERSONA
"Correct!, We have habits and love our hobbies but we started to worry so much about our future. We want to live in a clean environment and ready to do our bit!"
The Furbie Family
The Furbie family is a middle-class family. They have one child.
Andrea and Maria, if we may say so, are living for their only
child Marko. For this reason what ever he demands returns
into a must-accomplish duty. Also for this reason again, they
are so worrying about his future because of environmental
crisis and the latest happenings caused by global warming. They, at least, want to start to support the Environment at Home by reducing their carbon-footprint.
AWARENESS
ANXIETY LEVEL
CURIOSITY
KEY NEED:
The solution they need should inform them in an engaging way so they can keep focusing. They also need this solution to be engaging enough to attract their kid's attention so he can contribute to their efforts.
HMW create a solution which not only tracks Residential data, but also attracts peoples' attention, encourages collaborative learning to enable behavioral change towards Sustainability.
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Data Processing
- Track Consumption
- Collect & Analyze Data
Interacting
- Communicate the Analysis with the Users.
- Attract their attention while showing the data.
Behavioral Change
- Encourage every member to contribute to Environmentalist efforts.
- Support collaborative learning.
- Motivating & Rewarding
- Include Community
3 Pillars of the Concept
Secondary Research
Interacting
"A data physicalization (or simply physicalization) is a physical artifact whose geometry or material properties encode data."
Yvonne Jansen - Physical and Tangible Information Visualization
2015 – LAKE BRITE: Ecological Data
2014 – DYNAMIC PHYSICAL CHARTS
Lake Brite is a data visualization project which allows the public to learn about Lake Champlain through a display of 7,500 LED’s.
David Sweeney from Microsoft Research designed mechanically-driven physical charts to communicate data as a part of a research project.
According to a research, Physicalizations can support cognition, communication, learning, problem solving, and decision making.
Behavioral Change
"......To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.”
Richard H Thaler & Cass R Sunstein - Nudge
An experiment in Philippines provided smokers with a savings account for 6 months. At the end, they had a urine test. If they passed, they got all their money. If they failed, it was all given to a Charity.
In 2009, Amsterdam Airport had installed small fly shaped stickersin the urinals. Men now had something to aim for, even subconsciously, spillages were reduced by %80.
Nudging improves thinking and taking decisions. It isuseful for managing change and modifying unhelpful influences on people.
IDEATION
Title: DataMill
Subtitle: Win-Win Environmentalism
Inspired by WindMills. How a WindMill generates energy from wind; DataMill generates benefits from positive data.
Logo:
Win-Win Environmentalism
USER JOURNEY
TOUCHPOINTS
Smart Tracker
The Smart Tracker is called BLOB. It tracks, measures, analyzes and finally communicates the data in a physical way and so attracts the users' attention.
Mobile App
Mobile App is the center of the system. Blob is the physical representation of the data and the app is the digital one, where you can see the data and get notifications.
Smart TV App
Smart TV App is essential for Collaborative Learning. Family sits together and discusses the results. They may change together.
Smart Tracker - Blob
During Exploration of the physical design of Blob, I decided to give a very simple and intuitive shape to it. It should clearly communicate the data. I thought to group the data and separate it as Electricity, Gas and Water that is why Blob has 3 changing bumps changing with the data.
Initial design should consist of PCB, motors, gears, racks, etc..
Mobile APP
I tried to design the simplest experience on mobile as intuitiveness encourages the users to stay engaged so we can achieve behavioral change.
USER FLOWS
Setup
After explored possible user experience wireframes by sketching, I conducted a User Flow of setting up Blob and DataMill application.
Interacting
This is a User Flow of the user navigating in the app and interacting with the features. In this reference flow, user is going through Electricity.
Nudging
This flow is for Offers section of the app. A good experience of the app needs to enable the user go through all the offers existing in DataMill community, see the details and set an offer as their new challenge to achieve.
INTERACTION FLOWS & PROTOTYPES
Setup
Interacting
Nudging
TV APP INTERACTION FLOW & PROTOTYPE
TV App is crucial for DataMill Project. It enables collaborative learning for families, the core users. They, together, discuss their consumptions, benchmark with other community members. In addition to these, They work together to get offers, so they learn how to become sustainable individuals together.
As usual, users navigate through TV with Remote controller. In addition to that, Blob, our Data tracker can also be used intuitively to navigate through DataMill application. Rotating the rotary encoder, pressing, pushing-pulling the upper part o it enables the users to interact.
Stay Connected
DataMill, with both Mobile and TV UI, ensures that users get notified appropriately. While Mobile App is useful for instant checking everywhere, TV UI is considered to enhance collaborative learning.
- Check & Manage electicity, gas, water consumptions.
- Get detailed data from connected devices
- Compare your day to day data.
- Compare your data with other members' data instantly.
- Instant notification.
