Person reference
Date of Exhibition:
Fri, 12/13/2024
Class:
Innovation Studio
Collection:
For the Fall 2024 semester of Innovation Studio, the objective was to build an interactive science exhibit based around the idea of mindfulness. Not only were we to design this exhibit, but also, in order to fully grasp an understanding for how to go about it, we also had to practice mindfulness ourselves. Each week we would discuss and experiment with a different mindfulness technique, including seeing, hearing, feeling, etc. After implementing these different techniques into our daily practice, we brainstormed a couple of potential ideas for our exhibit. As a group, we narrowed down our ideas based on their potential impact and whether we could realistically build it within our time constraint for Open Studios. We ultimately decided to build an interactive exhibit around the topic of interpersonal mindfulness.
Our exhibit is called the Listening Bridge. The basic concept involves there being two physical booths: a speaking booth and listening booth. Throughout the semester, our main priority for each prototype iteration, especially early on in the process, was to achieve a fully functioning technical setup. The entire experience including the onboarding and offboarding instructions are all done through code in P5.js. The microphone input from the speaking side is also transmitted in real time to the listening side through a discord call. Not only is it run through discord, but it is also routed through a voice modulation within Logic Pro in order to keep complete anonymity for the person speaking.
As part of our design process, we incorporated the framework from Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE), which is also used by the San Francisco Exploratorium. Each aspect was considered carefully with these attributes in mind. The main three attributes for this framework are exhibit labels, look-and-feel, and interactions. For our design, we created an exhibit label which introduces the concept of our exhibit as well as visually showing how to interact with it. We wanted the look-and-feel of our booths to be relaxed and comforting. To achieve this feeling, we created private booths with soundproof foam to block out as much sound as possible as well as contain what was being said within the booth. We also have fairy lights lining the walls as a calming lighting setup. As for the interactions, we intentionally have the two sides interacting in real time which accommodate one person in each booth. This experience is open-ended as it is very much based on each person’s life experience and the way in which they choose to utilize the booths.
The overall goal of The Listening Bridge is to create a space where people can speak about whatever is on their mind knowing there won’t be any judgment and can sit with their emotions without feeling the need to change or alter them. From the perspective of the listening side, the purpose is to hold space for the person on the other side. Even though they cannot give immediate feedback in real time, they are able to leave encouraging messages for their anonymous speaker. This interpersonal connection between the two sides of this exhibit are unique with each new pairing and can be visited time and time again.
Our exhibit is called the Listening Bridge. The basic concept involves there being two physical booths: a speaking booth and listening booth. Throughout the semester, our main priority for each prototype iteration, especially early on in the process, was to achieve a fully functioning technical setup. The entire experience including the onboarding and offboarding instructions are all done through code in P5.js. The microphone input from the speaking side is also transmitted in real time to the listening side through a discord call. Not only is it run through discord, but it is also routed through a voice modulation within Logic Pro in order to keep complete anonymity for the person speaking.
As part of our design process, we incorporated the framework from Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE), which is also used by the San Francisco Exploratorium. Each aspect was considered carefully with these attributes in mind. The main three attributes for this framework are exhibit labels, look-and-feel, and interactions. For our design, we created an exhibit label which introduces the concept of our exhibit as well as visually showing how to interact with it. We wanted the look-and-feel of our booths to be relaxed and comforting. To achieve this feeling, we created private booths with soundproof foam to block out as much sound as possible as well as contain what was being said within the booth. We also have fairy lights lining the walls as a calming lighting setup. As for the interactions, we intentionally have the two sides interacting in real time which accommodate one person in each booth. This experience is open-ended as it is very much based on each person’s life experience and the way in which they choose to utilize the booths.
The overall goal of The Listening Bridge is to create a space where people can speak about whatever is on their mind knowing there won’t be any judgment and can sit with their emotions without feeling the need to change or alter them. From the perspective of the listening side, the purpose is to hold space for the person on the other side. Even though they cannot give immediate feedback in real time, they are able to leave encouraging messages for their anonymous speaker. This interpersonal connection between the two sides of this exhibit are unique with each new pairing and can be visited time and time again.
