Loneliness in the bottle | UX Design
MAPmima，NSW, Australia
team project
2 months
Figma | Programming | AE | Pr
Challenge
The catenary lights project involves designing an engaging and interactive outdoor lighting experience at MAP mima, using programmable RGB LEDs controlled via a web-based interface. The main challenges include working within the low resolution of the lights, ensuring seamless real-time responsiveness, and balancing individual and group interactions. The design must also reflect the cultural context of Lake Macquarie, be inclusive for diverse users, and remain visually impactful under outdoor conditions.
Overview
Loneliness in the Bottle is an interactive installation for MAP mima, transforming the catenary lights into a platform for connection. Using a web-based interface, visitors control lighting effects that reflect emotions, encouraging shared experiences. The project combines creativity and technology, integrating passive, individual, and group interactions to reframe loneliness as an opportunity for connection while honoring the cultural identity of Lake Macquarie.
Incorporate a catenary image aid into the interface to help users easily check light effects.
Enhance the visual quality of the lighting effects to simulate a bottle thrown into the sea, creating ripples that reflect users’ selected areas.
Improve mechanisms to filter out inappropriate content, ensuring that the platform supports genuine and safe sharing.
To encourage more participation, only allow sending messages to trigger the light effect. While many interviewees desired to see the light effect when reading others’ stories, it is challenging to read and watch the light simultaneously. Encouraging more active sharing and interaction, rather than passive reading on their cellphones, can also help alleviate feelings of loneliness.
Final Design
Impact Statement
"Loneliness in a Bottle" reimagines engagement with the theme of loneliness. Our design, envisioned as a communal space, facilitates open discussions about loneliness through a creative “message in a bottle” approach, employing LED lights to simulate the ripples and smartphones as the platform for exchanging and responding to messages. This setup not only encourages interaction but also deepens the emotional connectivity among participants, highlighting the importance of intuitive and meaningful public engagements.
Drawing on insights from user testing, our design strategically utilizes anonymity to create a secure environment where users can share their feelings without fear of judgment. This approach is critical as it enhances privacy and security, thereby increasing individuals' willingness to participate, especially when addressing sensitive subjects like loneliness (Hespanhol & Tomitsch, 2015). The use of dynamic LED effects and mobile interactions is particularly developed to ensure that the technology is accessible and engaging, capturing the dynamic essence of the ocean and mirroring the fluidity and depth of human emotions.
Moreover, the integration of intuitive interactions, such as swiping gestures to send messages and the empathetic response options like “hug,” is driven by the need for interfaces that facilitate easy and significant user interactions. These features are aimed at strengthening the sense of connection and community among users.
By transforming personal vulnerabilities into a shared experience, "Loneliness in a Bottle" builds community bonds and cultivates a supportive network within the Speers Point community. This concept makes MAP mima especially a vital and timely enhancement to the cultural and social landscape of Speers Point, bolstering community spirit and addressing the widespread issue of loneliness in an empathetic and innovative way.
Storyboard
After the countdown, Ann observes the light shining in her chosen color.
ann watching the light shining her chosen color
Aiden and Noah, friends, have each sent a bottle and now await their respective light effects.
Aiden and Noah are friends, they just sent two bottles and are waiting for their light effect + background being ann’s effect
After the countdown, Aiden and Noah witness their light effects shining simultaneously.
After Ann’s light effect, Aiden and Peter saw their light effect shining together, discussing
Aiden continues to open some bottles and responds to several of them.
after that, Aiden continue to open some bottles + [close up] open bottle interface
Aiden scrolls to the last page and reads the message, which reveals the theme of this communication platform.
The communication platform and the light installation bring people in the community closer together, strengthening bonds.
[overview] a few people under the catenary + [close up] some are sending or opening bottles + some are looking up to the light
There are white, glowing lights appearing at random spots, resembling tides.
Ann reads the poster and scans the QR code.
Ann looking at her phone + [close up] send a bottle interface
Ann reads the introduction and decides to send a bottle.
[close up] picked the yellow
After finishing her message, Ann selects the yellow sea to send her bottle.
The countdown indicates that Ann needs to wait for 17 more seconds, so she patiently waits.
Ann looking up and waited + [close up] countdown interface
The light strip displays a flowing and dynamic rainbow spectrum, looking like the movement of oceans
Interaction by one individual
Passive mode
Interaction by multiple individuals
This is my color!
Interface wireflows
Passive mode
The strip of lights forms a flowing and dynamic rainbow spectrum, with white, glowing lights appearing at random spots, mirroring the fluid movement of oceans.
When multiple users upload data within the same 30-second interval, the light effect will display each person's chosen color simultaneously. The display area will be evenly divided based on the number of participants.
The newly uploaded data is refreshed every 30 seconds, ensuring that each light effect maintains the same duration.
"If the data has not been refreshed at the time of the user's upload, they must wait for the refresh to see their chosen light effect. The mobile phone interface will include a corresponding reminder for this step."
When a single user uploads a color selection, the light strip transitions to various shades of the chosen color, while the dynamic effect of the strip mimics the ripples created by a bottle tossed into the sea.
Interaction mode
Elements in diagram
We view loneliness not as a fleeting emotional state, but as an inherent aspect of the human experience. With this understanding, our vision for the Catenary is to serve as a communal space where individuals can engage in open conversations about loneliness, realizing they are not alone in their feelings. Inspired by the concept of a 'message in a bottle,' our design positions the LED lights as a sea, while the smartphone acts as the platform for sending and reading message bottles. The LED lights feature five preprogrammed effects, one for passive observation and four for interactive engagement, each mimicking the dynamic movements of the ocean. On the smartphone platform, users are encouraged to share their own experiences of loneliness and empathetically respond to others. To preserve anonymity, identities remain undisclosed, fostering a safe environment for candid expression. If users wish to view responses to their posts, they can return to the venue and search for their assigned post number, enhancing the connection between shared experiences and physical space.
Introduction
Define
For the Catenary:
we've built a platform to enhance communication about feelings and thoughts of loneliness within the community, employing the concept of "message in a bottle." The aim here is to convey the message that individuals are not alone in feeling lonely.
Design Concept
We view loneliness not as a fleeting emotional state, but as an inherent aspect of the human experience. With this understanding, our vision for the Catenary is to serve as a communal space where individuals can engage in open conversations about loneliness, realizing they are not alone in their feelings. Inspired by the concept of a 'message in a bottle,' our design positions the LED lights as a sea, while the smartphone acts as the platform for sending and reading message bottles. The LED lights feature five preprogrammed effects, one for passive observation and four for interactive engagement, each mimicking the dynamic movements of the ocean. On the smartphone platform, users are encouraged to share their own experiences of loneliness and empathetically respond to others. To preserve anonymity, identities remain undisclosed, fostering a safe environment for candid expression. If users wish to view responses to their posts, they can return to the venue and search for their assigned post number, enhancing the connection between shared experiences and physical space.
Design Solution
An Overarching Theme for Design: Loneliness
Figure 3: Picture of MAP mima
Drawing from our background research, we've identified loneliness as a profoundly meaningful theme to present at MAP mima. With the aim of encouraging individuals to take a deeper look at the nature of loneliness and our relationship with it, we've chosen to assign an overarching theme to both the Cube and the Catenary, allowing for a more comprehensive exploration of this topic.
Develop
Deliver
User Evalution
User Evaluation Cont.
Almost half found the “throw” button boring when sending a bottle to the sea.
Around 30% noted that the “like” function did not effectively foster connections due to the sensitive nature of sharing loneliness.
More than 40% failed to look up at the light when prompted by the corresponding page.
Nearly 90% of participants were unsure of the connection between the color choice and the sea.
Over 50% of the participants felt the notification about anonymity was not sufficiently clear.
Introduce swiping gestures for sending messages to enhance user interaction.
Add response options like “hug” and message replies to foster deeper connections between users.
Replace color-only cues with image illustrations for area selection to provide more intuitive guidance.
Clarify how anonymity works right on the first page to establish trust among users. Replace the account mechanism with a numbering system, allowing users to track their posts using a unique bottle number.
Result
(Appendix 9)
Over 88% preferred reading others' stories to sending their own, likely reflecting the general visitor sentiment at MAP mima.
Figure 10: Result of the product reaction card
Inviting
10%
Intuitive
10%
Inconsistent
14%
Confusing
19%
Engaging
4.5%
Empowering
4.5%
Responsive
14%
Meaningful
14%
Connected
10%
Low-fidelity paper prototypes of the mobile interface and pre-programmed LED light strips were utilized in user testing to evaluate usability and engagement for the Catenary. The think-aloud method, product reaction cards, and interviews were employed to gather feedback from participants. Moreover, thematic analysis is being used to identify issues and guide iterations.
Figure 9: One participant is testing the interface
Despite the risk of inappropriate messages, the platform can provide a valuable outlet for individuals to express themselves and find relief from loneliness.
There is a concern that some might post inappropriate content on this platform.
More than 55% of participants felt the current lighting effect did not facilitate a connection with the concept.
Around 50% believed this platform was beneficial for sharing personal experiences of loneliness, helping users to open up.
Research
The Community
According to the 2021 Census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Speers Point has a population of 3,400 residents, with 47.6% being male and 52.4% female. The median age in Speers Point is 45, which is 7 years older than the national median age of Australia, indicating a relatively balanced age distribution. This demographic profile suggests an older community compared to the national average.
Figure 1: Census date of Speers Point
The Audience at MAP mima
On March 10th, our team visited MAP mima and conducted 15 interviews with visitors. We gathered valuable insights from the feedback of local residents interviewed there.
Surprisingly, only 20% have visited the Cube for exhibitions, which is much lower than we had anticipated.
20%
All interviewees reside in the Speers Point area.
100%
More than 80% of them regularly visit Speers Point Park either every other weekend or monthly.
80%
Addressing Community Loneliness
A survey from the longitudinal Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) suggests that, consistently from 2001 to 2021, about 1 in 5 Australians agreed with the statement 'I often feel very lonely'.
Figure 2: Long-term health condition of Speers Point
Discover
