Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1T204A53vwnwHKGVBPYU3YFZL1fwYiCmfTC-jDsz1hxw/edit?usp=sharing
After working with speculative design on the group project, I knew I wanted to work with this framework again for my final project. With speculative design, there is so much freedom in choosing how the future will turn out, so design possibilities were very broad. By brainstorming my interests in visual and graphic design, I settled on a broad idea to visualize thoughts into something that could be physically seen.
I refined my idea to take the form of a communicative necklace for travelers to use in foreign countries. The necklace would use futuristic technology to emit holographic images that represent what the wearer says to ease with foreign communication. I chose to use a necklace to be the mode of emission because it would easily display images in front of the wearer but not obscure their face. Similar products, like translating earbuds, also do the job of translating, but they obscure the speaker’s voice with an AI that speaks the translation into the wearer’s ears. I find this to serve as a barrier between people’s interaction, since the aspect of hearing the other’s voice is lost. Therefore, I think using visuals while being able to hear what they are saying makes a more personal connection.
I soon realized that this necklace had much more potential to help others besides travelers. Our world is getting so much more interconnected that people of all different cultures are engaging with each other. Language therefore still remains a barrier in people’s homelands. Personally, I face this within my family, which speaks many different dialects of Chinese. Though I have basic knowledge of Chinese, I don’t have the time to master other dialects they speak, which keeps me from bonding with older generations. Additionally, I see barriers within the different cultures at our school. Even though many nationalities are represented, people tend to stick with people of the same background as them, which I infer is because of language and culture differences. In the future, I see people having to interact more with different cultures, but not having the time to fully learn other languages. Therefore, I changed my target audience to anyone who wishes to create deeper connections with people of all different cultures without the challenge of having to know their languages. Additionally, I realized how much of the conversations we have cannot be efficiently translated into simply visual representations. Therefore, I decided to include word translations with a visual supplement so that people are able to get the full picture of what is being said.
Since I don’t have the technology to make an actual prototype, I decided to make a user manual to show how the necklace works. Using Photoshop, I designed all the pages to be as minimal in text as possible so that it would be easier to digest. I then printed a physical copy that was small enough to fit into the product’s box.
In designing my product, I tried to make considerations about the many ways people would interact with it, for example the two modes of use, but there were some drawbacks that I did not catch. Some feedback I received included how people would be distracted by the holograms and not be able to fully concentrate on the speaker, the inconvenience of pushing buttons to activate the necklace, a more feminine design not geared to men as much, and the possibility of creating class differences between the rich and poor. Regarding the last point, I feel that all new technology has the potential of creating contrasts between people of different socioeconomic backgrounds. New technology is bound to be used by a specific group who can access it first, but as it stays in the market for a longer time, more and more people begin to use these products and they do not become niche anymore. This can be seen in Apple’s AirPods, which many people were opposed to when they first launched. However, now that they’ve been out for three years, it is commonplace to see all kinds of people wearing these. So, I think this could apply to the VISION necklace as well.