Introduction
In Milestone 1, we determined that theme of our project would be to foster a sense of human attachment to place by enhancing the qualities of a place that make it special or unique ("Sense of Place", Wikipedia, 2015). We defined our target audience as city residents who interact with the urban built environment on an everyday basis and who are interested in “seeing” the invisible aspects that contribute to creating a "sense of place", such as history, memory, and culture. We explored three initial concepts in Milestone 1: being able to see a place’s transformation over time, being able to experience location based memories in situ, and being able to view a layer of digital art over the city. For Milestone 2, we decided to re-scope our project to focus on enhancing a "sense of place" through the experience of location based memories, a concept we are calling: Nostalgia.
Study Design
Research questions
We designed our study to explore the following research questions:
- What makes people feel “connected” or “attached” to a place?
- What types of places and memories are important to people?
- What stimuli triggers the activity of remembering?
- When and in what context would people be in a reflective mood?
- What behaviors and attitudes result from the act of remembering?
Diary Study
We designed a diary study to better understand the activity of remembering including the trigger, the context, the memory, and the response (research questions 3-5). We recruited participants through friends and family networks. We had a total of 5 participants contribute 11 entries to our diary study over a two day period. One of the major flaws of our study was that despite our best efforts, our participants were all female and the majority of them were in their 20s (besides one participant in her 60s). Another limitation to our study was the duration of 2 days was too short to gather definitive results.
We asked study participants to take a photo with their cell phone of their location every time they became aware of a memory (without actively trying to remember) over a two-day period. We then asked participants to send us an instant message of the photo with a note answering the following questions: What is the memory about? What caused you to remember? What were you doing when you remembered? And what did you feel and/or do as a result of the memory. We decided on using an instant messaging platform because we wanted our participants to record their memory experience as it was happening to prevent them from forgetting to log it later on. We also thought that having a participant message us on their cell phone as opposed to logging the thought in a notebook minimized the effort required to participate.
We asked study participants to take a photo with their cell phone of their location every time they became aware of a memory (without actively trying to remember) over a two-day period. We then asked participants to send us an instant message of the photo with a note answering the following questions: What is the memory about? What caused you to remember? What were you doing when you remembered? And what did you feel and/or do as a result of the memory. We decided on using an instant messaging platform because we wanted our participants to record their memory experience as it was happening to prevent them from forgetting to log it later on. We also thought that having a participant message us on their cell phone as opposed to logging the thought in a notebook minimized the effort required to participate.
Map Probe
We designed a two part map cultural probe to better understand the relationship between memory and place, what makes people feel “connected” or “attached” to a place, and what types of places are important to people (research questions 1-2). Again, we recruited participants from family and friend networks with the caveat that they had lived in Ann Arbor for at least one year. We had 6 people participate in our map study for a 1 hour individual session. Our participation was gender balanced with 3 male and 3 female participants and the ages ranged from participants in their mid-20s to mid-30s. All of the participants had lived in Ann Arbor for 1.5 to 5 years.
We created two parts of the study to gather different types of information. We designed Part 1 to gather information on childhood and adolescent memories and Part 2 to see the differences and commonalities that participants have when experiencing the same bounded geographical area of Ann Arbor. In addition, we wanted to see if there was a difference in the types of memories we gathered based on whether the participant had an outside stimulus prompting them, such as the map of downtown Ann Arbor in Part 2, and when they were asked to draw a memory map without a prompt in Part 1.
Part I
First, we asked participants to think of a city or a neighborhood that they know well outside of Ann Arbor where they have had many meaningful memories. We suggested that participants use their own hometown, but were open to them choosing other locations as well. Then we gave the participant a blank sheet of paper, pens, and sharpies and asked them to draw a map of the places where their memories occurred in their hometown. We asked them to draw the place and either draw a picture of the memory or annotate their map with a note describing the memory. We instructed participants not to worry about the geographic accuracy or visual appeal of the map, but to focus on the experience of the memory and the place itself. We encouraged the participants to talk out loud while they were drawing the map and to explain to us what they were drawing and why. Depending on the participant’s description, we asked the participants questions to elicit richer insights such as: Why is that memory important to you? How old were you when this happened? Who were you with? How does thinking about this memory make you feel now? And do you think of that memory when you go back to that place?
Part II
Next, we used hard copies of “Downtown Ann Arbor Visitor Map” (see photos in the section below of our map analysis) developed by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and retrieved from the Michigan Union information desk. We asked participants to mark locations on the map of Ann Arbor that were important, meaningful, or significant to them with a small post-it note and to write down the memory and feeling associated with the place on the same note. If the place they were thinking of was not pictured on the map, such as the Big House, we instructed them to put a note in the general direction of the location. Similarly to the map drawing exercise, we encouraged participants to verbally describe the memory while they were marking the map and asked questions to elicit more detail.
We created two parts of the study to gather different types of information. We designed Part 1 to gather information on childhood and adolescent memories and Part 2 to see the differences and commonalities that participants have when experiencing the same bounded geographical area of Ann Arbor. In addition, we wanted to see if there was a difference in the types of memories we gathered based on whether the participant had an outside stimulus prompting them, such as the map of downtown Ann Arbor in Part 2, and when they were asked to draw a memory map without a prompt in Part 1.
Part I
First, we asked participants to think of a city or a neighborhood that they know well outside of Ann Arbor where they have had many meaningful memories. We suggested that participants use their own hometown, but were open to them choosing other locations as well. Then we gave the participant a blank sheet of paper, pens, and sharpies and asked them to draw a map of the places where their memories occurred in their hometown. We asked them to draw the place and either draw a picture of the memory or annotate their map with a note describing the memory. We instructed participants not to worry about the geographic accuracy or visual appeal of the map, but to focus on the experience of the memory and the place itself. We encouraged the participants to talk out loud while they were drawing the map and to explain to us what they were drawing and why. Depending on the participant’s description, we asked the participants questions to elicit richer insights such as: Why is that memory important to you? How old were you when this happened? Who were you with? How does thinking about this memory make you feel now? And do you think of that memory when you go back to that place?
Part II
Next, we used hard copies of “Downtown Ann Arbor Visitor Map” (see photos in the section below of our map analysis) developed by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and retrieved from the Michigan Union information desk. We asked participants to mark locations on the map of Ann Arbor that were important, meaningful, or significant to them with a small post-it note and to write down the memory and feeling associated with the place on the same note. If the place they were thinking of was not pictured on the map, such as the Big House, we instructed them to put a note in the general direction of the location. Similarly to the map drawing exercise, we encouraged participants to verbally describe the memory while they were marking the map and asked questions to elicit more detail.
Collage Cultural Probe
For the collage probe, we wanted to understand what a "sense of place" meant to our participants on a more abstract emotional level and if they value it or not. We had a total of 3 participants all in their 20s. 2 participants were female and 1 participant was male. We gave participants magazines and instructed them to cut out images that best represented what a "sense of place" (after we gave them the definition) meant to them and glue them to a piece of paper to complete the collage on their own time. We then followed up with an interview debriefing session and asked participants to explain why they chose each image they selected and how it relates to their understanding of a "sense of place".
Study results
Analysis
We analyzed the diary studies by printing out all of the entries (photo and notes) and writing the each entry’s trigger, memory type, context, and response on sticky notes. We then created an affinity diagram with the notes to analyze the common themes. We analyzed the map probe by putting all of the maps we collected on a wall and marking the types of places and feelings associated with each mark or drawing on a sticky note to and organizing them into common themes. We analyzed the collage study in the same way as the map study.
Findings
Diary Study
The reported memory triggers in our diary study included: auditory triggers (music, conversation, birds singing, footsteps), visual triggers (reading a word, seeing an object), being in a place where the memory happened, engaging in an activity related to the memory (studying), taste triggers, and seasonal triggers (fall). Some memories reported were triggered from a combination of multiple triggers and one memory reported had no recognized trigger at all. Finally, several participants found that the activity of remembering itself and being in a reflective mood triggered other linked memories. Although none of our diary entries reported smell as a trigger, we feel confident that given more time and a wider range of participants, smell would have appeared as a common trigger.
The reported contextual activities included: walking, sitting, studying, eating, being alone, phone conversations, waiting, and riding a bus. Our participants were mostly alone when they remembered and were engaged in activities that did not require a large amount of attentional resources or time pressures (such as sitting outside enjoying the day or walking home after class).
The types of memories reported included social memories with important people (family, friends, romantic interests), traumatic memories (such as remembering a flood), work memories (studying, group projects), and leisure activities (eating socially, weightlifting).
The types of responses reported were emotional (feelings of happiness, sadness, anxiety, nostalgia), social (sharing or wanting to share the memories with others), reflective (analyzing the memory and it’s meaning i.e. “don’t take things for granted”), and avoidant (distracting oneself in the case of unpleasant memories).
The reported memory triggers in our diary study included: auditory triggers (music, conversation, birds singing, footsteps), visual triggers (reading a word, seeing an object), being in a place where the memory happened, engaging in an activity related to the memory (studying), taste triggers, and seasonal triggers (fall). Some memories reported were triggered from a combination of multiple triggers and one memory reported had no recognized trigger at all. Finally, several participants found that the activity of remembering itself and being in a reflective mood triggered other linked memories. Although none of our diary entries reported smell as a trigger, we feel confident that given more time and a wider range of participants, smell would have appeared as a common trigger.
The reported contextual activities included: walking, sitting, studying, eating, being alone, phone conversations, waiting, and riding a bus. Our participants were mostly alone when they remembered and were engaged in activities that did not require a large amount of attentional resources or time pressures (such as sitting outside enjoying the day or walking home after class).
The types of memories reported included social memories with important people (family, friends, romantic interests), traumatic memories (such as remembering a flood), work memories (studying, group projects), and leisure activities (eating socially, weightlifting).
The types of responses reported were emotional (feelings of happiness, sadness, anxiety, nostalgia), social (sharing or wanting to share the memories with others), reflective (analyzing the memory and it’s meaning i.e. “don’t take things for granted”), and avoidant (distracting oneself in the case of unpleasant memories).
Map Cultural Probe
Despite the differences in the map methods, there were common themes that emerged from these two exercises. Participants marked places as important that were associated with six themes: first experiences, achievement, leisure activities, important people, trauma/loss, and aesthetic importance. First experiences included examples such as the location of a participant’s first job or the first time meeting a close friend. One example of a place related to professional or academic achievement included the building in North Quad where a PhD student passed her prelim exam. Favorite leisure activities marked as important included playing in a tree as a child or watching a movie at the Michigan Theater as an adult. Places were also marked as important if they were associated with important people such as family, friends, community, or romantic partners. Traumatic memories, such as the death in the family, living through a natural disaster, getting a horrible haircut, or being socially rejected also made a place significant to our participants. Respondents often marked places where memories of aesthetic importance occurred such as being in nature, hearing beautiful music, or eating a delicious meal. Often important places and memories combined multiple themes. For example, one participant drew the street in Chicago where his father taught him to ride a bike for the first time as significant; a memory that combined the theme of a first experience with that of being with an important person.
Collage Cultural Probe:
Reoccurring themes across the collages including places where the participants: felt they belonged, felt safe, felt calm, felt happy, felt reflective, could eat good food, were with family and friends, could experience culture or tradition, and could engage in their favorite activities.
Key insights
- People feel "connected" or "attached" to place if they felt they belonged, felt safe, felt calm, felt happy, and felt reflective. Our design solution should try to encourage these positive emotional responses in people.
- Some themes that made places and memories important to people are first experiences, achievement, favorite leisure activities, important people, trauma/loss, and aesthetic importance. Our design solution should focus on these themes when designing meaningful location based memory experiences. A connecting thread throughout these themes is that they all play a role in personal and social identity formation: how people view themselves and how they view themselves in connection to others.
- Some stimuli that trigger the activity of remembering we identified are the senses (taste, sight, sound), location, activity, seasonal triggers (i.e. fall), and a combination of multiple triggers. Our design solution should focus on incorporating some of these triggers into a single product design to initiate a location based memory experience.
- People tend to remember the past when they are engaged in activities that require low cognitive effort and when they are alone, although sometimes conversations can trigger memories. Our design solution should incorporate elements, such as an accelerometer, that can assess when people would be open to a location based memory experience and when it would be a nuisance.
- The most common response to a memory was a feeling or reflection stemming from the content of the memory. The only immediate behaviors associated with remembering that we identified was either sharing the memory with someone or trying to distract oneself from an unpleasant memory. Since we want to avoid stimulating a negative emotional experience, a behavior we could focus on is how to share memory experiences with others.
Ideation and Selection
Our ideation process was divided into two parts. First, as individuals we brainstormed and sketched as many ideas as we could think of inspired by our research findings. Next, we brought our sketches to a group meeting and further brainstormed together to generate more ideas and to expand upon and reiterate on our sketches. We came up with a total of 20 different ideas.
To evaluate and select our ideas we came up with a set of criteria based on our research findings:
To evaluate and select our ideas we came up with a set of criteria based on our research findings:
- Meaningful: How does our design fit in with our user’s conception of what is meaningful to them in terms of places and memories? Are the thematic values we discovered in our study (i.e. important people and achievement) being reflected in the design?
- Appropriate: How does our design fit in with our user’s current process of remembering (triggers, context, response, etc.)? Does it follow the norms of how they naturally experience a memory as discovered by our research or is it discordant with that experience?
- Nonintrusive: What is the potential that our design could distract or annoy users at inappropriate times and in inappropriate contexts?
- Reinforcing connection: To what extent does our design reinforce a connection between people’s personal identity, social identities, and place? To what extent does a design enhance a sense of attachment and belonging to a place?
- Doesn’t induce distress: Does our design have the potential to cause people to re-experience unpleasant events that they rather would forget and elicit a negative emotional response?
Refined Scope and Concepts
Refined Scope
The original scope of our project was to enhance a “sense of place” in the everyday environment of urban residents. Our refined scope has emerged as enhancing a person’s connection with their personal identity, social identity, and the physical place through the nonintrusive, meaningful augmentation of location-based remembering. Our target audience is still urban residents, perhaps of a more sentimental and reflective nature, who see the value in re-experiencing memories linked to the places they regularly come into contact with (as opposed to tourists visiting a location). The activities we are concerned with are activities that require low attentional resources such as strolling, sitting, or waiting and the activity of remembering itself.
Design Concept 1: Nostalgia Headphones
In this concept, Jon is a graduate student living in the city of Ann Arbor. He is walking home from class on a Thursday evening, wearing his Nostalgia Headphones. Since he doesn't have class on Fridays, he is not in a rush to get back home and is walking slowly to enjoy the evening before the weather gets too cold to be outside. Jon, who loves architecture, looks at the Hill Auditorium building as he walks passed it. His prolonged gaze on the building combined with his slow gait provides contextual information to his Nostalgia Headphones that he is receptive to an augmented memory experience. His headphones start playing a symphony that Jon heard two years ago when he listened to a famous orchestra play at Hill Auditorium. Jon closes his eyes and reconnects with the experience of being inside the building listening to the music. He felt surrounded by the beautiful music and was exhilarated by the experience. Since Jon has been so busy with school, he hasn’t gone to a music performance in a long time and has felt like something is missing in his life. After listening to the symphony excerpt on his Nostalgia headphones, Jon feels more connected to himself, his love of musical performance, and to the place of Hill Auditorium where he can experience such memories. Jon vows to make time in his schedule to see another music performance there soon.
This design concept meets our criteria of in the following ways:
Meaningful: Jon highly values music and beautiful aesthetic experiences. His Nostalgia Headphones allow him to re-experience a notable memory by replaying an excerpt from the symphony.
Appropriate: The Nostalgia Headphones design is consistent with how triggers and contextual cues work in the process of remembering as discovered in our research. The Nostalgia headphones only start playing the song when prompted by Jon’s visual trigger of looking at the building.
Nonintrusive: The Nostalgia headphones design take into account the contextual information. that Jon is walking slowly and thus experiencing a memory would not distract him. His prolonged gaze at Hill Auditorium indicates that is interested in the place and a memory at this time would not annoy him.
Reinforcing connection: This design example reinforces a connection between Jon and his sense of self, by reminding him how much he loves music, and his sense of place, reminding him how Hill Auditorium enriches his life by holding wonderful musical events. This design scenario doesn’t reinforce Jon’s or the place's connection to others in Jon's social life.
Doesn’t induce distress: Finally, this design initiates a pleasurable experience for Jon.
Problems/Opportunities: How did Nostalgia Headphones access Jon’s memory data? How can we design a device that has an always on capture of experiences? Furthermore, how would the device gather additional data to ensure that the memory will be pleasurable for Jon. For example, what if Jon hated this particular symphony that was played, how would our system differentiate the memories based on their pleasurability to the user? Another problem would be that this design would only be limited to sound memories and doesn’t really explain how the device can tell that Jon’s eyes are looking at the building. How can we incorporate a similar experience into a product design that utilizes vision sensing components as well?
design Concept 2: Nostalgia Watch
Jane is a student who lives in Ann Arbor and loves to go running. One Saturday morning, she is running in the Arboretum while wearing her Nostalgia Watch. She had a rough Friday night and is starting to get tired, so she stops her run and takes a break. While she is stretching, her Nostalgia Watch senses that she has stopped her running activity and that Jane is more likely to be receptive to a memory experience. Her watch vibrates to indicate to Jane that there is a memory to experience. The watch then projects a video of her grandfather running in the Arboretum 50 years before while he was also a student at the University of Michigan. Jane is very close to her grandfather, but never knew that he used to be a runner like her! After the watch finishes its projection, Jane starts running with a new enthusiasm. She feels more connected to her family identify, that she is truly her grandfather’s granddaughter, and feels affirmed that the activity of running is part of who she is on a core level. She also feels a stronger connection to the Arboretum, since it is a place that not only she enjoys running in, but that it was a special place for grandfather before her too. Finally, when she runs she feels almost as if a younger version of grandfather is running beside her.
This design concept meets our criteria of in the following ways:
Meaningful: Jane loves to run and loves her grandfather. This memory experience connects her with two values that were themes in our research, important people and leisure activities.
Appropriate: The Nostalgia watch design fits in with the the trigger and contextual cues surrounding the process of memory as discovered in our research. Nostalgia headphones induce the memory in connection with Jane’s current activity of running and the place of being in the Arboretum.
Nonintrusive: The Nostalgia watch takes into account the contextual information that Jane has stopped running and thus experiencing a memory would not distract her from focusing on her running.
Reinforcing connection: This design example reinforces a connection between Jane and her sense of self (by reminding her that running is a key part of who she is), her social identity (that she is connected to her family), and her sense of place (that the Arboretum is a place that her family has enjoyed over generations).
Doesn’t induce distress: This design causes a pleasurable experience for Jane. But what if her grandfather had died the week before? How would the system know?
Problems/Opportunities: The problems that emerge from this concept are similar to Concept 1: How did Nostalgia Watch access the video of Jane’s grandfather running? How can we design a device that has the ability to share other people’s memory data? Furthermore, how would the device know that Jane loves her grandfather as opposed to hates him? Another problem would be if Jane was in a context where she wasn’t alone; could everyone see the memory experiences projected by her watch if she was in a public space? Would that be desirable feature or not? How could our product design allow for private experiences and/or facilitate shared experiences?
dEsign concept 3: nostalgia cardboard/glass App
In Design Concept 3, Jason is showing his girlfriend Mary around the neighborhood where he grew up. As they go to different places that he shows her, Jason can share his memories with Mary through the Nostalgia app on Google Glass or Cardboard. As he remembers playing with his dog Spot as a small child in this location, he can use voice recognition to say to “Show Mary Spot” and a his recorded memory of playing with his dog will be augmented over Mary’s view of the location. When he goes to another place, he can show Mary a memory of being carried by his Grandpa as a toddler by saying, “Show Mary me and Grandpa”. At the end of the day, Mary feels like she knows Jason better and loves him more because she has a better understanding of who he is though experiencing his memories in the place where they happened. Next time Mary is in Jason’s neighborhood when she is visiting his family for Christmas, she will feel more connected to the places she is in.
This design concept meets our criteria of in the following ways:
Meaningful: This design is meaningful because it allows Jason to share his location-based memories with someone he cares about and who cares about him (the important people theme in our research).
Appropriate: The Nostalgia Cardboard/Glass design fits in with the the process of remembering as discovered in our research. We discovered that a common response to remembering was to want to share it with others. This design allows Jason to easily share the memory experience with Mary.
Nonintrusive: Jason is already giving Mary a tour of the neighborhood so they already have the intention of exploring memories. Jason only shares his experiences when he gives the app a voice command to “Show Mary” a specific memory.
Reinforcing connection: This design example reinforces a connection between Jason and his sense of self (by remembering himself as a child ) and his social identity (by sharing a part of himself with the girl he loves). Jason’s sense of place in relation to his neighborhood also transfers to Mary as she views the places and experiences that made him who he is.
Doesn’t induce distress: This design causes a pleasurable experience for Jason and Mary.
Problems/Opportunities: Similar problems emerge from this concept: How did the Nostalgia Cardboard/Glass app access Jason’s memories? How can we design a device that has the ability to share other people’s memory data with one another instantly? Furthermore, would it be desirable to have a feature like voice control that allows more user control over the experience or should it stay an automatic and spontaneous experience?
Conclusion
At the end of Milestone 2, we have narrowed down the scope of our project to augmenting location-based memories in the urban environment that enhance a connection between the user's personal identity, social identity, and the physical place. We have have also started to raise questions about what the potential social and technical constraints of our designs could be. In our next steps, we need to solidify our core design concept and prepare for user enactments. In addition, since our study was heavily influenced by female participants in the same age group, we should take measures to vet our design concepts with a male audiences and diverse age ranges.