Lab+6-+Bodystorming

Body-storming is a relatively new approach in human-centered design. It entails a series of probes and mock sessions of designers physically immersing themselves in a user environment. The goal is to better understand the instant needs, reactions and trails of thought of a person in a particular situation or condition. Body-storming techniques have been performed in many cases, where designers inspect the specificity of the condition as well as any possible challenges it might raise for the design process. The design is put in certain context and/or environment where one person or a group of people try to simulate the situation in which the product is to be used in the future.

The areas in which body storming can be used are either in improving the existent design for a product by developing more clear and precise mental model of what the user experiences in their condition, or use it as the body storming experience as a base ground to research new products that can assist and/or facilitate the present condition. In the first case, human centered designers focus their attention on whether the person or the group that shares commonalities and is part of the target group using the product has some common features that are beyond what the present design caters to. If so, additional more cooperative features can be implemented (of course, if a cost/benefit analysis allows that to be done).In the second case the designer needs to familiarize themselves first with the basic commonalities of the user and consequentially develop a system that can fit those conditions.

The particular methods being used in body storming are usually simplified, bare bones approaches. For example, if a designer wants to body storm the user experience in disability case- say the user experiences a visual impairment- blindness, they can simply use a hat over the face of the acting figure. If the object of interest is a computer and the goal-how does a person facing the above stated disability uses one, various challenges are brainstormed with appropriate measures to act upon. If a designer wants to body storm the experience of people in a coffeehouse waiting in line to order coffee can use a group of actors waiting in line to buy a coffee in a real or simulated coffeehouse.In every case, body-stormers are interested in gaining insightful data on what the environment in which the product is to be used is like.

The negative criticism of the field have been focused around the idea that the body stormer is different from the actual user that is going to use the product. The concerns address that there still might be some subjectivity in the process since it is the designers that are the subject of the body storming (Wikipedia). Another fact supporting this claim is that often people even though they can simulate, they cannot fully assume certain context without any mental and or physical barriers that pertain to themselves rather than to the desired body storming.

Body storming can be used in order to resolve the problem of recycling. An ethnographers group consisted of designers of the recycle bins as well as various different companies that design recyclable water bottles, coffee cups etc needs to be compiled.For example, ethnographers can do Case theater scenario in a an in-door or out- door environment (a park, a fast food restaurant etc) to simulate the instant decision of where the waste material is going is being made. Ethnographers can observe at the point of decision looking at common habits people share.

The first aspect to be elaborated here is the knowledge people have of recyclables.The way people approach the waste material they find in their hands is either dump it in the nearest bin or actually take the second to consider whether it is a recyclable or not and put in the right place. What is really important at this step in the body storming process is that ethnographers need to find out is what the proposed idea of the bins can offer in order to make this process smoother and more efficient.

The second is the psychological aspect in terms of emotional response to the environment, the idea of being watched when placing waste material in bins.People need to be more aware that the environment is constantly monitoring their behavior and as a result they want to be more responsible for themselves, as well as the environment.The preasure from the environment watch can be eliminated by implementing a way people can be 100 percent certain.

The final aspect that the body storming session can take as an input to be improved in a new bin design is develop some sort of communication with manufacturers of all kinds of product to display more information on the ALL materials used to produce the final container of the product. In this instance, the user can rely on on the spot information, rather that relying on retrieval of information on what materials are recyclable and which ones are not- often prone to making mistakes.

The proposed solution is:Bearing in mind people don`t always know what is to be recycled and what not, the bins need to have some guidelines that go beyond a single line of analog text stating the most simple and most widely used type of waste only. What a design proposal team can do and implement in some point X in time is enable the bins with some piece of technology that can scan the label where all the materials used to produce the final input is being displayed and show the user a digital text where to place the product. This also relieves the uncertainty and the pressure from the environment. People no longer need to feel that they are placing their waste in the wrong bin and need not to worry that they are being negatively judged by their immediate environment. The third one is the most obvious because this way the system is able to check the entire list of material input into the product to determine that the mix makes the final product 100 recyclable(example some of the coffee cups are considered as recyclables by default, but there is some was lining that makes them non-recyclable (Betacup 2009)).


 * Work cited:**

Betacup Drink sustainably 2009 Online at:http://www.thebetacup.com/2009/08/05/betacup-demonstrating-the-value-of-user-centered-design-thinking/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyE5bDqaSwc&NR=1