This master's thesis highlighted the importance of prototyping and user testing through Research through Design. We developed a concept grounded in existing theory and our own research, using prototyping and design. Emotional Triggers explores the design of emotions in interactive installations.
Interaction design
Rtd
Installation
Tangible interaction
Interaction designer
Research, user testing, prototyping, concept development, soldering, coding.
Supervisor
Suhas Govind Joshi
Duration/Date
Autumn 2023 - Spring 2024
Designing is used as a way to explore and understand issues. It generates knowledge through the creation and reflection on design processes and artifacts.
Concept development through The Rage Game, an interactive installation designed to provoke anger.
The research followed a Research through Design (RtD) approach, combining theoretical exploration, iterative prototyping, and user testing to develop and refine a conceptual framework for emotional triggers in interactive installations,
The theoretical exploration combined principles from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Tangible Interaction, and Emotional Design. Key insights from existing theories and installations helped shape an initial conceptual framework for designing interactive experiences that evoke specific emotional responses. Our concept focused on the qualities of being self-reflective, exploratory, and audiovisual. These design qualities guided our prototyping, testing, and the final development of our interactive installation, The Rage Game.
In this phase, we conducted iterative prototyping by initially exploring various interfaces and emotions. This process was guided by frequent testing, with each prototype evolving into a more refined design, The Rage Game.
One interface alone only confused the users and was not efficient enough. Through prototyping and theory, we discovered that we needed to combine them to create an environment capable of triggering an emotion. No single quality was sufficient on its own.
By rapidly exploring different aspects through iterative user testing of prototypes, we ensured continuous improvement in the overall design of the interactive installation.
Making The Rage Game
The purpose of the interactive installation was to explore how design can trigger specific emotions in the user, using anger as an example. By utilizing earlier prototypes, user tests and theoretical frameworks, we aimed to deepen our understanding of the initial concept and further refine it to address our research question. We came to understand that the combination of prototypes and interfaces played an important role in identifying the qualities that trigger emotional responses.
In this design iteration, we combined our prototypes into a cohesive experience. The installation included three stations, each contributing to an interactive environment designed to provoke and represent anger. We found that a single interface was insufficient, and an immersive environment was key for users to fully experience and recognise the emotion.
At this stage, we refined the successful prototypes from testing into a higher-fidelity design. The installation includes a button game that fails intentionally, provoking the user with a negative voice, a punching bag for physical release and a microphone that controls LED lights. The mirror adds a self-reflection element, allowing users to confront their image while experiencing the emotion.
Insights from 34 participants on the final design
4
Pilot tests
30
Participantc were observed and interviewed
By combining theory, our own research, and data from participant evaluations, our goal was to understand which qualities within our interactive installation could trigger anger, based on our initial concept. Anger was used as a representation of emotional responses more broadly.
By combining theory, our own research, and data from participant evaluations, our goal was to understand which qualities within our interactive installation could trigger anger, based on our initial concept. Anger was used as a representation of emotional responses more broadly.
Initially, we presented a preliminary concept consisting of the qualities of self-reflective, exploratory, and audiovisual. Through practice and evaluations, we have revised the qualities and our understanding of our research.
This study began with theory and, through prototyping, developed an understanding that led to the final concept of Emotional Triggers. By designing The Rage Game, we explored design qualities by using anger as an example. The findings contribute to HCI research by enhancing the understanding of how to evoke specific emotions in interactive installations.