3V
Northumbria University
Role:
- Interaction Design
- Physical Computing
- User Experience
- Interface Design
- Experiential Design
- Information Architecture
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TECHNOLOGICAL STIMULUS
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The brief required me to choose a particular piece of technology within the digital space and expand it further, something that could inspire a positive experience in 5 years time. The technology could also be a stimulus for different concepts, so I began to look at multitouch surfaces out of curiosity and interest. I built a custom rear diffused illumination (RDI) using a coffee table in my living room to understand this style of physical interaction further.
THE LIVING ROOM
As I considered the potential applications of this technology, I thought more about how it could influence our experiences within the home. I used four principles of experiential design during my research and found the living room to be the predominant social hub of the home, and a TV would generally occupy this space. TV is different because it can stimulate conversation and facilitate social interactions around it, but online streaming, social networks and on-demand services such as YouTube have disrupted this. The project became more about how to create a less "fragmented" viewing experience across media, which was an interesting deviation from multitouch.
PREDICTING THE FUTURE
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Finding a solution to the problem required an understanding and sensible prediction of how television would be consumed in 5 years time, so finding usage trends and patterns through primary and secondary research lead me to believe there would be a convergence of web and traditional TV. A blurring of this line was something I wanted to capitalise on so that there was less segregation of content and more emphasis on content. Now the question was if it could be made accessible, friendly, usable in a shared environment.
NAVIGATIONAL MODEL
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With traditional TV the user is always viewing one active channel at any given moment, and this was expanded on for further flexibility. TV, web, and apps are the three main functions resting on the y-axis (as well as connected external devices), while multiple views of the same function rest along the x-axis, similarly to internet browser tabs. Every view is made visible, so switching between screens is made less abstract compared to multitasking on a computer with that runs with hidden windows and applications.
ON-DEMAND CONTENT
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The concept attempts to break away from fixed broadcasting models based on 'channels', and puts more focus on relevance, quality and demand. As a result less time is spent channel-surfing and more time absorbing content you enjoy. My belief is that TV channels will still continue to exist, but more attention will be drawn towards on-demand functionality, and here it is introduced in a visual, easy to understand interface that places broadcasted material on centre-stage.
FAMILIAR VIEWING
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Having understood that TV as we know it won't be easily replaced within the next 5 years, there are still some benefits that can be brought forward and familiar functionalities that can be introduced such as recording live TV, subscribing to a particular show, marking favourite channels and browsing relevant content. Sometimes it's nice to stumble across a favourite program every now and again or watch live events with your friends.
CONTEXT SENSITIVE CONTROLS
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While researching televisions and internet streaming, I addressed how we navigate to and move through content streams. The web by nature is a very big place, and TV remotes can be intimidating to foreign users, especially with devices that can do so much. As you move through the interface, a touch-screen remote that understands what you're doing will make it easier to direct you through various situations. Most of the remote is touch-sensitive and contains a trackpad area for easy navigation, whereas the left side of the remote consists of physical buttons to support a passive experience. The device also contains an accelerometer and supports haptic-feedback to assist in searching for video, music or the internet.
