Context:
Senior UX design course project.
AiSi Scenario video edited by me.
Aisi
A critical design that speculates and reflects web content moderating.
My Role:
Product Design, Research, Graphic Design, Video Production.
Duration:
Mar. to Apr. 2019
- 4 weeks
Team:
Bianca Pricop, Bonnie Chen, Elijah Loong & Sam Springer.
Context:
Senior Speculative design course project.
Aisi Security Camera is a critical/speculative design project, it is a fictional AI-based security system to record its surrounding areas and to report criminal activities, and develops humanized feelings towards different events that it sees.
It is a team-based final project for an SFU senior-level speculative design course, the end product is a semi-functional physical prototype with coded behaviours. The project aims at speculating the fact that people who work as web content moderators experience excessive mental stress & trauma, but are not being taken seriously by their employers. Also, we wanted to remind people to stop taking the benefit of the digital products for granted and recognized the efforts and dilemmas other people are going through to provide a safe online environment.
Ideation
In the beginning, the team researched related speculative design projects and products done under the domain - Privacy, Data, and Security.
And came up with 2 initial design opportunities with 3 and 4 detail ideas each.
The research workbook designed by me which notes details about the initial ideas.
Following the class required format, I designed the research workbook to present the initial concepts, and provide examples for related previous works and interaction scenarios for every idea, and as a team, we presented our ideas to the class.
Iterating the Concept
We ended up producing the direction for the 'shy security camera', which is a security cam that monitors the surrounding environment but would develop emotional responses, and would experience mental traumas like a human. As we consider this idea is more clearly defined and has more potential since it was not really explored before. To help further demonstrate and the concept, I created more design documents such as the concept poster and interaction scenario storyboard.
We name it - the Shycurity Cam.
It is the first draft of the concept poster that fully defines the concept, designed by me.
The storyboard describes a few possible interaction scenarios for. Drawn by Bonnie, laid out by me.
The concept was more clearly defined by the concept poster and interaction storyboard. However, there lacks information to clarify the scope and the target audience for the project. So we added more information and created other design documents to provide more detailed definitions.
The design statement poster designed by me. It has more information added to explain the detailed positioning and target audience of the product.
Presenting the Prototype
Before the final showcase of the project, we start to think about how to best present the project with a realistic context to make people believe it is a real product. After our group discussion, we agreed on creating a consistent branding style as well as a series of packaging designs that follow the branding style.
Also, we've got feedback from the teaching staff that the name 'Shycurity' might be a bit hard to pronounce, also a bit too childish which does not match the project scope. So we came up with a new name - Aisi, meaning 'I see', and it is the shortened form for 'Artificial Interactive Security Intelligence'. I went on to create a brand logo for Aisi.
The 2 versions of the Brand logo I designed for AiSi.
Using the brand logo I created, as well as a better-photoshopped image, I redesign the concept poster.
More supporting props were created for the commercial context following the colour palette and branding I designed, such as the package box and the user manual. There are other options such as creating a website or an app to create a supporting context, but we consider it is more suitable for our project to have a physical package and user manual since we had created a semi-functioning physical prototype, as well as a pitch video introducing the product which would give a more specific and visually vivid illustration.
Front & Top side of the package, with product intro.
Explanation of the Facial Expressions of the camera
Features
Front & Top side of the package, with product intro.
The Aisi product package.
The user manual explains the mechanism of the camera.
To create a more understandable explanation for the project, the team shot the scenario video together, I was responsible for the editing of the video. As the prototype was still unfunctional, I used special effects techniques like the green screen, to create the facial expressions on the camera, to create the illusion that the product is fully functioning.
The original clip before editing.
The clip after colour grading and effects applied.
On our final showcase, we put out all the materials we design for the product - the poster, user manual, the package box and the physical prototype, as well as the scenario video.
The showcase booth. (sitting behind the table is the programmer of the prototype - Sam.)
Prototype in motion. There are 5 modes of the prototype, under this mode, it can detect and track people's faces.
Reflection
I was able to improve my ability in user research and market research, as well as further polishing my visual design skills in creating different products, such as branding, posters, and pitch video, delivering and communicating the product to a wide range of audiences. And I was very fortunate to be able to learn a lot from my teammates
and classmates on efficiency in constructing design and productivity
in team collaborations.
Now, I've gained more confidence in my design process through more experience on how to rapidly validate my designs iterations.