Uneven integration of Internet technology between the younger and older generations in China has created communication gaps between them. The youth’s continuous use of Internet-based services remains a mystery to parents due to their unfamiliarity with various services and low technology adoption.

This project focused on understanding the environment in which communication takes place in the Chinese home, to identify current habits and breakdowns in communication among immediate and extended Chinese family members, and to bridge the communication gap with the design of an information device.

This appliance, called Mandala, uses novel techniques to magnify and emphasise unidirectional social presence data (taglines, buddy icons, online status etc.), so as to address social disconnects that exist. The appliance tries to support interaction ranging from peripheral awareness to real-time conversation.

My role was to conduct user research and give design directions from conceptualisation to final prototyping. It involved brainstorming, user studies, building personas, storyboards and low/high fidelity prototypes, developing the information architecture and designing the user interface.

The project was a collaborative effort between our team members and potential users. A lot of cross-learning happened between my team members and I was able to take my experience at NID. An important takeaway was understanding the integral relationship between design and technology and the importance of both in developing effective humane-centred solutions.