Sharing Earthquake Narratives: Making Space for Others in our Autobiographical Design Process.

Title of the Paper

Sharing Earthquake Narratives: Making Space for Others in our Autobiographical Design Process

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Personalized Autobiographical Design
• Keywords: Autobiographical Design, Tactile Feedback, Earthquake Memories, Embodied Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Emotional Design, User Experience, Multisensory Interaction

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Issues or Challenges:
  • In autobiographical design, how to balance the relationship between the designer's personal memories and the experiences of others; how to effectively convey the designer's personal story through design while creating meaningful connections for other users.
  • Lack of transparency in the design process, particularly in cases where the designer's subjective experiences drive the process, and how to integrate external evaluations.
• Significance:
  • Autobiographical design is not merely an externalization of personal experiences but also a way to reconnect cultural and embodied experiences, especially when addressing complex issues involving cultural identity and personal memories.
  • This research can help uncover new directions in HCI, such as more emotional and personalized design approaches.
• Motivation and Related Work:
  • First-person narrative-driven research methods, such as autobiographical design or phenomenological approaches, have historically been used to explore underrepresented socio-cultural experiences.
  • Current research predominantly focuses on functional aspects of HCI design, lacking case studies that reveal the complexities of user identity and cultural background.

Solution

• Proposed Solution:
  • This study introduces a method that combines earthquake-related tactile sensations with narratives, using design tools and evaluation frameworks to share earthquake memories of the first author and their partner.
  • Three design strategies are proposed to address the challenges:
    1. Reintegrating the designer's story and motivations into the design process;
    2. Striving for diversity in design while creating credible user experiences;
    3. Providing users with additional space for perception and meaning-making.
• Innovations:
  • Designed and evaluated a multisensory prototype based on tactile devices (e.g., vibration devices and audio narratives), demonstrating how individual socio-cultural backgrounds can be reflected in interaction design.
  • Methodologically combined Micro-Phenomenology interviews and Automatic Focusing techniques to deeply explore users' internal experiences and emotions.
• Implementation Steps and Techniques:
  • Phase 1: Conducted a year-long self-exploration, including experiences with earthquake simulators, engaging in dialogues with the designer's and their partner's first-person memories.
  • Phase 2: Designed a prototype device featuring tactile stimuli and audio narratives. The prototype includes a camping bed equipped with vibration sensors capable of transmitting different types of tremors.
  • Phase 3: Recruited users to experience the device and narratives, collecting feedback through Micro-Phenomenology interviews.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Achievements:
  • Extracted three significant personal narratives, showcasing the complexity of cultural identity and personal experience construction through earthquake experiences.
  • Completed and evaluated a prototype device based on tactile and narrative elements, fostering interaction between users and design through co-created multisensory immersive experiences.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Automated personalization in experience design, addressing the lack of attention to individual cultural and emotional characteristics in traditional HCI design.
  • Emphasized the power of designer subjectivity while creating channels for interaction with other users, offering a space for dialogue across diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • Earthquake survivors ("familiar users") and non-survivors expressed different responses to the design. Survivors often engaged in experiences that dialogued with their memories, while non-survivors emphasized the "care" conveyed by gentle tactile sensations.
  • Some users noted that the rhythm and information density of the narrative and tactile feedback could be overwhelming and distracting.
  • Users generally affirmed the emotional experience of tactile simulation, particularly the sense of care evoked by metaphorical objects such as plants and mirrors.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations include: some users were unable to fully grasp the core of the narrative; the importance of designer subjectivity in the feedback process was not systematically addressed.
  • Future plans include optimizing the narrative structure to make it clearer and more adaptable to user diversity; exploring more diverse user backgrounds to enhance design adaptability and credibility.

Summary and Reflection

• This study highlights the potential for mutual enrichment between the designer's personal narrative and external users, emphasizing the importance of transparency, subjectivity, and cultural perspectives in design.
• Provides a detailed case study and reflection on multisensory prototype development, offering comprehensive theoretical and empirical support for further exploration in autobiographical design.