Support Reconnecting — W2
Designers | Damul Yang • David Han • Maria C • Rikkie • Sue Heeyeon An
External Partner | R/GA
Brief | Design a way to mitigate the effects of loneliness
Research
After the feedback session our group decided to do more research or ideation individually or in pairs. I went through our Directed Storytelling again and continued with secondary research about loneliness. From these I thought loneliness is such a complex emotion which cannot be defined in a single definition and the effects of loneliness are diverse since people are complicated too. Everyone feels it differently, some people even relate to jealousy, depression or lack of confidence. Moreover, there are interrelated factors that are related to time, distance and even personalities. Loneliness can live inside someone forever but it can also come and go frequently, making the one switch from lonely to non-lonely person continuously (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008).
Fig 1. Literature Review. Image by Sue
Fig 2. Campaign to end Loneliness. Image by Sue
I discovered the lonely ones are trying to reconnect to the group of people that they want to be with but it’s difficult for them to do this since they have a negative filter and a protective shield on them from the fear of rejection. Cacioppo and Patrick (2008) states lonely people do not lack social skills but they are less likely to employ the skills they already have. From this, I thought instead of looking directly at the lonely person, we can find a design opportunity for the people who may not be lonely. Stepping back from the lonely people and twisting the thought to think about a way to design something for the prior step. One of the approaches, raising awareness of people who might be going through loneliness and to be supportive to them. Yet, I found it hard to give an answer to ‘who exactly the design is for’, as I saw loneliness as such a subjective emotion due to interrelated factors from individual experiences of loneliness.
Fig 3 and 4. The effect of Loneliness. Image(s) by Sue
During the tutorial with John, he gave a suggestion to first think about the people around us such as friends and families but to consider the depth inside the relationship.
Ideation
After sharing our research within the group, we started creating a moodboard and brainstorm together for ideation. Our group came up with an idea to redesign a communication method for people in distance using gestural languages instead of phone calls and messaging. One of the approaches I suggested was to create an indirect interaction between the lonely one and their loved ones, families and friends since it would be challenging to directly bring up the fact that they are lonely. Later, Rikkie and Damul came up with an idea of using animal communication. The aim was to enable tangible communication which lacks in this pandemic situation.
Fig 5. Ideation and References. Image by group
Fig 6 and 7. Two approaches of rebuilding connection. Image(s) by Sue and Damul
Fig 8. Prototyping. Image by Damul and David
Reflection
The feedback our group received from the peer was - ideas were too techno-centric. Also we were not clear who our target audience is, people in distance were still very broad. Similar feedbacks from a quick catch up with Matthew from R/GA, pointing out that there were lack of analysis of target audiences which may have directed us not answering the key questions.
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Bibliography
Cacioppo, J and Patrick, W. (2008) Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. New York: W.W.Norton.
Winch, G. (2013) Emotional First Aid. Penguin Publishing Group.