Thinking, Making,
Writing: The Research
Behind Tactiles
Category
Masterthesis // Design Process
In this section, I want to take a deeper dive into my master’s thesis and walk you through my design thinking process, from initial research and ideation to prototyping and final execution. My approach is rooted in a balance between intuitive exploration and structured analysis, allowing me to develop solutions that are both innovative and grounded in real user needs. I believe that successful human-centered design emerges from an interplay of curiosity, iteration, and critical reflection.
This master's thesis is dedicated to exploring a better understanding of the gesture control of smartphone users, taking into account the concept of meta-awareness. Meta-awareness is an analytical way of thinking that helps to understand one's own behavior and the reasons why one does something more deeply. In addition, the work refers to the vision of a future human-machine interaction in which traditional touchscreens could be replaced by different haptic materials.
By using different materials for touchscreens, I am designing the question of how different emotions could be triggered in users and different gesture controls could be encouraged. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the use of touchscreens by investigating gesture control with analog materials and to explore the effects of different materials on gesture control and the emotional reactions of users.
Design Thinking Process
Introduction
Key-Finding: Meta-awareness
Meta-awareness is an analytical way of thinking that helps you gain a deeper understanding of your own behavior and the reasons why you do something.
Aim of the Research
1. This master's thesis is dedicated to exploring a better understanding of gesture control of smartphone users, taking into account the concept of meta-awareness.
2. In addition, the work refers to the vision of a future human-machine interaction in which traditional touchscreens could be replaced by different haptic materials.
Theoretical foundations and definitions
I have been working in the academic field of digital anthropology. During my research, I initially focused on the cognitive resource of attention. As my research progressed, I shifted my focus to meta-awareness.
Understanding & Define
THEORETICAL PART
The Development of Media practices
The concepts of persistence, recombination, and embodied media knowledge illustrate how our understanding of media is integrated into cultural practices and everyday habits. They explain when, where, and why we use our smartphones in certain ways. The knowledge of how to interact with digital media, or how not to, is socially constructed through daily observation, imitation, and negotiation. In everyday life, we learn from others which ways of using media are appropriate in different situations, just as we do with other social practices.
Media use: Development and Trends
I have explored media usage in depth, particularly questioning whether the touchscreen, as our current standard, needs to be reimagined. To explore the future of user interface design and gesture control, it is essential to first examine the past. Media consumption has always been in flux, constantly evolving and facing critique. As part of my research, I have developed several timelines, tracing the evolution of media, digital media, communication, and social media. Additionally, I have created a visual collection of media usage, inspired by Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas (1927), which presents a curated, illustrated history of media interactions.
Using media with the Senses
My research delves into the impact of digital media on human perception and the senses. Digital technologies create rich emotional, aesthetic, and sensory experiences, shaped by what are known as "mediated senses." In her media-theoretical analyses, ethnographer Judith Willkomm (2022) explains that human perceptions, such as seeing, hearing, and touching, are reshaped through interaction with technical media. This perspective helps us better understand everyday media practices between humans and machines.
Ideation
PRACTICAL PART
Digital visualization of gesture controls
At the start of my exploration phase, I focused on everyday gestures used on smartphones. To analyze them in more detail, I created a visual collection that isolates and highlights individual gestures. After analyzing the gesture controls, I experimentally explored how they could be represented visually in an Instagram post.
Does a digital problem need a digital solution?
Building on the digital representation, I next considered how everyday gestures could be translated into three-dimensional space. Throughout my research, I encountered many key insights suggesting that a digital problem does not necessarily require a digital solution. Instead, an analog approach, one that engages users emotionally through their senses, can be more effective.
Prototyping & Testing
It was important to me to choose a material that was easy to edit. This material would capture the displayed gesture controls and make them immutable, so that users could experience them haptically. The result is a series of ceramic pieces, essentially analog smartphones, that capture both everyday gesture controls and experimental movements in clay. Each Clay-Phone isolates a specific gesture, inviting users to reflect on their daily movement patterns. Through observation and touch, viewers can develop different associations and become more aware of what they are holding in their hands.
This project deliberately plays with the concepts of analog and digital. While the smartphone symbolizes the digital world, clay represents a purely natural material. It is primal and organic. The texture and shape of the Clay Phones are reminiscent of familiar digital devices, while the color and back are made of unfiltered, natural clay.
Shaping Interaction: Experimenting with Form and Material
In the first variant, all Clay Phones have a white glaze so that users can be guided by the haptics. In the next step, I experimented with other shapes, patterns, and associations. The surface of the objects was designed in a more abstract and sometimes ironic way, for example, with the open mouth as the earpiece of the smartphone or the finger swiping across the surface. Overall, I allowed myself more freedom in the design of the objects. For the next phase, however, I deliberately wanted to broaden my horizons and work with other materials to explore the variety of possibilities and their impact on users.
By incorporating metals, synthetic materials like plastic, various textured fabrics, and natural elements, I was able to explore a range of tactile and visual properties within the objects. Each material has its own language, evoking distinct associations and emotions. Metal, for instance, often conveys a sense of coolness and durability, while fabrics exude softness and warmth. Plastic represents ubiquity and functionality in contemporary life, whereas natural materials can symbolize a return to authenticity and sustainability. This diversity of materials allowed for a broader spectrum of affordances and user responses. They encouraged interaction in different ways, with their unique characteristics inspiring new gestures and behaviors.
Investigation Process
and Findings
To answer the research question and test the proposed hypotheses, a combination of different methodological approaches was chosen. The focus is on four key aspects: observing how participants interact with the objects, using an interactive method to capture associations (card sorting), and conducting a survey with both open and closed questions.
The analysis of the gestures revealed that participants performed different gestures depending on the material of the phone object. Soft surfaces resulted in more pressing movements, while hard surfaces were predominantly operated by stroking and swiping. Brittle materials were handled more carefully, often with the flat of the hand to avoid damage.
HYPOTHESIS 1
The use of different materials for touchscreens leads to varying associations and triggers different emotional reactions among users.
HYPOTHESIS 2
Touchscreens made of different materials encourage users to use alternative gesture controls that deviate from the usual interaction patterns.
HYPOTHESIS 3
The different and unfamiliar haptic touchscreens guide users to reflect on their own routine gesture controls and thus gain a deeper understanding of how they use their smartphone.
Now, onto the hypotheses ...
Hypothesis 1 was confirmed: All participants had different associations. For example, Participants 7 and 8 both chose the same Clay-Phone but attached completely different emotions to it. While Participant 7 saw positive associations such as self-reflection, Participant 8 perceived the object as cold and unpleasant. This highlights the highly individual emotional significance of the objects. Hypothesis 2 was partially confirmed: Some gestures resembled those used on a regular smartphone, while others had no connection to digital interactions. Hypothesis 3 was also only partially confirmed: The average rating was 5.3 on a scale from 1 to 10, indicating only a short-term reflection effect.
Resumé
The results show that the objects sparked curiosity and encouraged test subjects to hold and use them similarly to a smartphone. These interactions provide a good basis for addressing meta-awareness. The colors and haptics appealed to different target groups. Research and user feedback revealed that it is important to break routines in a playful and positive way without discouraging users. A haptic, three-dimensional object can help with this. The Phone objects offer a suitable introduction and food for thought. All sources can be found in my master thesis, which you can download on my project site Tactiles. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. And finally a big thank you to everyone involved!
UNIVERSITY
Technical University of Applied Science
Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Shih Chien University
Taipei, Taiwan
Ceramics shop Versammeln
抱瓶庵藝事空間, Taipei, Taiwan
CONSULTING
Prof. Erich Schöls
Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Gerhard Schweppenhäuser
YEAR