The Cost of Freedom: Our Digital Liberties

Brief

Design a way to expose data's ethical impact, unveiling Dark UX Design, and sparking discussions about Privacy and Technology ethics in modern society.

Easing into a new beginnings

Bridges Transition Model maintains that Some people fail to get through transition because they do not let go of the old ways and make an ending; others fail because they become frightened and confused by the neutral zone and don't stay in it long enough for it to do its work on them. Some, however, do get through these first two phases of transition, but then freeze when they face the third phase, the new beginning. For that third phase requires people to begin behaving in a new way, and that can be disconcerting—it puts one's sense of competence and value at risk.

The assertion from Bridges was true, only I had less than a week to find a new team to work with and to my luck and rescue, were a team of five: Jennoir Simpson, Kimberly Rodriguez, Muhammed Bekkaoui, Qibin Cheng and Wan Liang Chen. There project touched on the ever increasing Cost of Living and had through research, discovered a rather ambitious solution.

A new brief

The new team's primary objective was to embark upon an academic investigation into the prospective expenditures associated with a Data-Driven speculative exhibition, placing particular emphasis on ethics and the influence of dark UX design. We were to undertake an in-depth examination of the data-driven landscape, delving into its ramifications for privacy and consumer behaviour.

Within the domain of Interactive Installations and User Experience Analysis, we were to meticulously scrutinise the psychological effects of Ad(advert) Walls and the alterations in behavioural patterns within residential settings. The project aimed to reveal the intricacies of Data Protection legislation, fostering discussions concerning data privacy, surveillance capitalism, and technology ethics. Subsequent to the project's conclusion, we would engage in reflections on the broader implications within the sphere of contemporary technology and society.

New learning outcomes

The new project The Cost of Freedom: Our Digital Liberties had the following learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate a high level of initiative and personal responsibility in conducting extensive research and analysis related to collaborative interdisciplinary projects in the field of user experience design.
• Engage critically in a collaborative learning project that transcends disciplinary boundaries, applying advanced theoretical approaches to address pertinent issues and contexts.
• Showcase proficiency in both independent and collaborative work, exemplifying effective planning, negotiation, project management, and successful project delivery.
• Exhibit learning gained from multi-disciplinary collaboration through a rigorous critical self-reflection, contributing to personal and professional development.

Feeding into the Research

Directed Storytelling ‐ Exploratory approach

The research question aimed to find out How do users interact with their home and engage with adsguided by the following inquiries:

• Tell me about ads
• How do you deal with ads?
• What platform do you engage the most with ads?
• What's your thought on personalised ads?
• Tell me about a time you lived with people. Where would you be social in the house and what kind of products/furnitures do you share?
• Tell me about your thought process and how you feel when arriving home?
• What do you do when you get home from a stressful day?
• Tell me about something you love in your house?
• Tell me about something you dislike in your house?
• What room do you spend your time most in?
• Do you have a routine you have at home? What is it?
• What are the most important items in your house?
• How many ads do you think you are exposed to in your home?
• Tell me about the technology that you keep in your home. How do you interact with these? What do you feel, think? When was the last time you watched TV?

Workshop ‐ Confirmatory approach

Next up were workshops that aimed to:

• Understand users' perspectives on freedom and privacy within their homes. Understand what they value as freedom within their personal space.
• Understand users' views on non-intrusive advertisements and what they consider an advert.
• Understand any essential items that they use and how are they incorporated within their routines.

Workshops

Understanding Users' views on non-intrusive advertisements and what they consider an advert

In the first part, the groups discussed what you consider as an advertisement and then sketched down and presented two advertisements that you would consider non-intrusive.

Idea Generation

With idea generation as a research methodology, they explored the following as a way of gaining insight into understanding any essential items that they use at their homes and how are they incorporated within their routines:

• What their morning routines were like
• What their nighttime routines were like
• And walking them through their home and write down a list of essential items and technologies.

Idea validation

Here, they presented the ideas they had in addition to:

• Mentioning subtle and in-your-faceads
• where they felt most free and why
• What smart devices they owned
• How they would feel if they were advertised to in their homes
• Whether they thought they were already being advertised to within their homes with examples
• How they would come to accept being advertised to within their homes
• The kind of themes they would be comfortable being advertised to

This was aimed towards understanding their perspectives further on freedom and privacy within their homes in addition to understanding what they value as freedom within their personal space.

References

Bridges, W., 2017. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. >