REMI
Digital Photo Retrieving, Storytelling, and Remembering
Sponsor: Microsoft Corporation
Role: Researcher & Interaction Designer
20-week thesis project. User-centered design.
Sponsored by, and in collaboration with Microsoft.
The Dilemma
Identifying a design problem.
Digital Photos Dilemma: With endless amounts of digital photos, how do we re-experience them.
Task: Enhance the experience of digital photo retrieving, story sharing and remembering.
Keywords: Reminisce, stories, legacy, nostalgia, memories, tangibility.
Research
I. Paper Survey & Survey Monkey
Paper Surveys
Survey Monkey
II. User Interviews
1-on-1 interviews focused on photos retrieval.
To verify whether a cousin had brought a particular girlfriend to the last family reunion in order to settle a disagreement with her sister.
"I still prefer old (paper) photos, you can take them with you and sit on the sofa..."
Using Photoshop Elements to search for a picture of his son to print.
"Pictures are more romantic (than videos,) forces oneself to imagine how it was rather than how it actually was..."
Looking for a picture of her niece for the paper she's writing. And during a friend's visit, looking at old photo albums to relive past memories.
"I take much more pictures now... because it's okay to delete."
Reviews pictures over and over again from her digital camera to remember the stories that went with them.
"A random picture is so nice when there's something to them... like a good moment."
While organizing, he came across an old program of the opera which reminded him of an old photo he took in 1999. So he looked for it.
"I wanted to see how we were doing back then..."
III. Participatory Design Activity
A game session involving 11 users in an activity dealing with photographs of themselves and their friends.
Participants were divided into groups and asked to:
1. Categorize the pictures as they wish (15 min.)
2. Create 3 stories relevant to the pictures to share (5 min.)
3. Prepare pictures for presentation of 3 stories (20 min.)
4. Present to the group (6-8 min.)
5. Discussion