Futures Studio: Data Paradox
Social challenges & speculative futures
Role: Experience Designer + Motion Designer
An exploratory, interactive space encouraging guests to think about emergent issues affecting our customers. Guests are invited to enter and consider their relationship with their personal data, especially as it relates to privacy, security, and convenience. This installation launched at Capital One’s SF Office in January of 2019, and traveled to other Capital One offices in Virginia.
Middle Aperture
Right Aperture
Apertures
As guests approach the experience their first encounter is a wall of apertures, Peaking in, a series of animations ground guests in the current landscape of personal data through thought provoking questions. Acrylic spheres mounted between the wall and screen distorted the animations and amplified a microcosmic visual experience. Strong consideration of perceived depth and directional focusing went into the development of these three animations to better bridge the physical spheres and digital content.
Left Aperture
Privacy Policy
Before guests officially enter the space, they’re confronted with a legal agreement reminiscent of the digital privacy policies we frequently overlook in apps and websites. Guests have to decide if the experience is worth relinquishing their rights to their image/likeness.
We designed this interaction to increase the friction of privacy agreements, yet more than half of the people that come to the experience pass through without reading the text. Few pause but go in anyway.
The Core Experience
Guests walk into a space and their attention is drawn to a pedestal in the center of the room. As they approach the pedestal, a question appears on the wall prompting guests to choose between security, privacy, or convenience, in relationship to each other. Visual particle filters dynamically change as guests navigate between choices. Votes are cast and immediately reflected in a data visualization along with previous guests submissions.
Capture of the primary screen as a participant makes a selection
Results Post Launch
Convenience: 140 votes
Privacy: 90 votes
Security: 125 votes
Designing Soundscapes
We worked in collaboration with our Data Viz teammate, Scott Ackerman, to compose a primary track that would continuously loop within the space. As guests choose between Privacy, Convenience, and Security, a soundbite reflecting their choice is layered over the ambient loop. The soundbites are played on a directional speaker angled above the pedestal, adding another “Wow” moment for the experiencer.
We added layers of intensity to help reinforce the emotions of each choice…
For Security we decided on telecom sounds; the first layer of intensity would be a softer computer keyboard clacking, then going to a harder, faster typing, and finally a phone ringing for the loudest layer.
In developing the sound of Privacy we landed on nature sounds, where the first layer is a cat purring, then birds chirping, and finally a downpour.
And for Convenience, we focused on layering travel sounds; first a bicycle, then cars in traffic and finally planes; speaking to the modern conveniences of transportation.
Fabrication: bignoodle.com