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WEEK 7-301&302
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Blog 7
Welcome to Week 7!
After a week of traveling and recuperating in Queenstown, the beauty of Queenstown relieved my stress and pleased me. I couldn't help but relate this trip to my project.
The towering snow-capped mountains and calm lakes became a source of inspiration and could feed into my emotional modeling and mood cards.
Figure 1.
The four F's of active reviewing
Note. The four F's of active reviewing, From Reflecting on Experience: The Four Fs by The University of Edinburgh, 2023, (https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/four-f). Copyright 2023 by The University of Edinburgh.
Figure 2.
The scenery of Queenstown
Note. Zihan's photo depicting the scenery of Queenstown.
Facts
NFC
While having dinner in Queenstown, I stumbled upon an application scenario for NFC technology, which greatly inspired my project. I realised it was possible to use my mobile phone to scan the NFC chip embedded in the mood card and jump directly to the APP interface, presenting mood-specific AR cards and characters. This seamless connection saves the user time when opening their mobile phone and accessing the app, enhancing the user experience. However, I’m also aware of the challenges of implementing this technology.
On the one hand, ensuring that NFC and APP work seamlessly and avoid technical glitches will be critical. On the other hand, the design of emotion cards needs to accurately convey emotions and consider the user's sense of experience. Therefore, I will consider whether the logical flow of using NFC to open the APP is feasible.
Figure 3.
NFC example in Queenstown
Note. Zihan's photo depicting the NFC example.
Mairi’s Feedback - Thinking Challenge
Based on Mairi's feedback on my previous assignment, she raised a key question: "Why can mood detection help forgetful people? How do you connect mood detection to forgetful people?"
This is undoubtedly a fundamental logic question and a thinking challenge, which prompts me to deeply explore the connection between the two.
After the investigation, I realised that the core connection between mood detection and forgetfulness lies in the profound relationship between emotions and memory. Research shows that emotions are critical in forming, storing, and retrieving memories (Swaim, 2022). For forgetful individuals, emotional fluctuations or imbalances can exacerbate memory issues, affecting daily life. According to research, stress can also affect people's memory (Swaim, 2022). Emotions such as anxiety and depression can lead to episodes of forgetfulness, and these negative emotions can further affect their cognitive functioning. In this project, mood detection technology can identify emotional fluctuations in forgetful individuals and trigger appropriate interventions. The APP's psychological support and counselling section can help them reduce the impact of negative emotions on their memory.
Each scanned emotion is recorded in a specific app section in this project. Through mood detection, the system can analyse the patient's emotional state. In cases where the user's mood fluctuates, personalised interventions and suggestions will be provided to help them relieve anxiety and improve their memory skills. This personalised emotional intervention is the link to help improve cognitive health.
Mood Card
The creation of all emotional images abides by one meaning:
"All emotions are allowed to occur but in moderation."
Also, an important value of this project is cultural diversity, so I chose the kiwi bird to represent fear emotion and the Chinese dragon to represent anger emotion,
Figure 4.
A mood board that describes mood cards
Note. Screenshot of Zihan's Miro Board depicting the mood board of mood card
Here is my explanation of each emotion avatar:
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Joy: Bright, vibrant, sun-facing sunflowers symbolise positivity, warmth, and happiness. Always facing the light and radiating positive energy, they symbolise the pursuit of a better future and optimism.
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Anger: The Chinese dragon is often seen as a symbol of auspiciousness and protection and represents strength and energy. As the embodiment of power, it embodies controlled chaos, intense emotions and great power, which reflects that people can be angry. However, they also need to learn to control anger and stop when appropriate.
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Sadness: Fish are aquatic animals often associated with deep emotions, fluidity and a sense of calm. Water is often associated with tears and sadness, and the graceful movements of these animals reflect the gentleness of grief, with their soft bodies symbolising people gently propelled by waves of melancholic emotion, making it difficult to control their direction. The combination of fish and water reflects the helplessness of grief and conveys a deep and calming emotional power.
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Fear: The Kiwi bird is not only a biological symbol of New Zealand, but it is also deeply embedded in the culture and lives of New Zealanders. Although they are small in stature and unable to fly, they have their feet on the ground and are slowly discovering the ability to defend themselves in the ecology. This is a reminder that when we face fearful emotions in our lives, we don't need to overcome our inner fears completely but rather learn to live with them, self-regulate, and find the strength to feel safe inside and move forward slowly.
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Anxiety: Beautiful and distant, the stars also symbolise the feeling of being lost in the vastness of space. Stars will eventually disappear but shine needlessly, bringing light and hope to the night sky. When we feel lost and anxious, please look at the starry sky. The dim light of the stars reminds us that even in darkness, there is still hope. Please believe that although the light of the stars is weak, it will always guide us in a direction, which is the answer in your heart.
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Ennui: Jellyfish swim slowly and aimlessly, often following the current. It reflects feelings of boredom or weariness. However, jellyfish swim leisurely inside the seawater; they are free-floating and love life, which reminds us to do anything that lifts your spirits when we are bored; painting, listening to songs, travelling, and flower arranging are all delicate, and remember to stop and feel the freedom and care-free nature of life and living when we are tired.
Based on the mood card, I drew the concept of the mood avatar:
Figure 5.
Concept of Mood Avatar
Note. Screenshot of Zihan's Miro Board depicting the concept of mood Avatar.
Feeling
While defining each emotion character this week, I explored their deeper meanings. I carefully considered how to visually present each emotion and how these characters could resonate with users on an emotional level. Additionally, I wanted each character to reflect its feelings and bring the users a sense of hope and healing. Throughout this process, I deeply felt the complexity of emotions, which gave me a sense of immersion and accomplishment. Even though there might still be some gaps in my design, I hope my design can help the users, which motivates me to do this project.
Findings
This week, while working with the emotion-based version, I discovered the potential to integrate the concepts of emotions with character design deeply. By researching the deeper meanings of each emotion, I hope that the emotional characters I design resonate with users. Additionally, my feelings have significantly driven the progress of my project, especially when I feel a sense of responsibility. This strong sense of purpose has kept me focused, ensuring that every design stage reflects my thoughts and emotions.
What I felt during the process of designing the emotional avatar was that everyone does not have only one side. Everyone has both positive and passive sides, and that's completely normal. Instead of dwelling on self-blame, it's important to accept every aspect of ourselves, allow space for negative emotions, and make peace with them.
Future
I plan to incorporate a multi-language setting in this project to enhance cultural diversity and create a more inclusive user experience. Of course, this will depend on my time management. Additionally, I will shift my focus from just visual aesthetics to prioritising the emotional interactive experience. This shift has made me realise that my design is about functionality and embedding deeper emotional meaning. Moreover, I will improve my technical skills to design more inclusive and healing products.
Reference
Greenaway, R. (2018, November 5). The four f’s of active reviewing. [image] The University of Edinburgh. https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/four-f
Grammar
Grammarly(AI) was used to enhance the grammar of this Blog.