VESSEL | RESEARCH IN DESIGN - SPECULATIVE DESIGN | AuTHOR | 2022
Ongoing relationships with your loved ones
TEAM
Philosophy Advisor, Technology Advisor, UX Design Advisor, Interactive Design Advisor, UI UX Designer.
Context
Vessel is a phygital speculative prototype exploring curation as an answer to information overload. Inspired by the Design for Ongoingness movement, the project explores the potential of mementos for remembrance, creating meaning through limiting user options, and slow design to catalyze and nurture social bonds between loved ones.
CONTRIBUTIONS
- A Thesis on Communication Technologies, Philosophy and Death
- UX Research to define Value Proposition Design for different archetypical personas.
- Creation of branding and HiFi Speculative prototype using Adobe XD, Processing.js, and After Effects.
PROJECT SUMMARY VIDEO
Where curated memories enrich ongoing relationships
This video offers insight into the system architecture and the interplay among elements within the Vessel Platform
HOW MIGHT WE
design rituals to destigmatize death, and nurture an ongoing relationship with our loved ones?
Discovery & Theoretical
Framework
The foundational approach to the project was inspired by the pursuit of a relationship between digital design and mementos for reminiscing through the lens of a philosophical approach to death. This approach was based on three current fields of study in thanatology:
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Understanding one's identity is crucial for freeing the bereaved from societal expectations, and fostering authentic expression beyond norms.
Exploring memory as a collage of ever-reenacted dances of destruction and reconstruction reveals that its authenticity is not directly correlated to its accuracy.
Meaning in grief emerges through the shared experiences between the bereaved and the deceased, discovering the common ground that emerges from their interaction.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
From Discovery
Increased secularization on western societies non-religious groups – Potential in studying the lack of rituals for this growing population.
Physical experiences precede digital ones – Went it comes to reminiscing, having physicality increases time spent with object of appreciation.
Existential dread – There are crucial moments in one’s life that make people more prone to think about their death.
Information overload – The ubiquity of moment-registering devices calls attention to a shift in creating lasting mementos.
Exploring Philosophy of Death – This core theme in philosophy might shine a light on secular hypothesis for the bereaved.
Death is stigmatized – People have difficulty opening up dialogue about death.
DESIGN EXPLORATION
Bridging the gap between ethereal and tangible, Vessel's inception centered on designing interactions that engage both the individual and the object in a relational context.
MAIN PERSONAS
Emilia, 34
The Sender
Sender is the first point of contact for the Vessel Platform. This is someone experiencing anticipatory grief, contemplating life after they are no longer around. The sender's attitude should be of curation and reflection.
Jobs-to-be-done: Death Cafe (Learn flow); Add memory; Save memory; Create and Manage Receiver; Store Memory on Locket or Totem.
Marcus, 38
The RECEIVER
Receiver is the person chosen by the Sender to be the host of their shared memories together. May or may not know about Sender’s plans of leaving them posthumous memories. Interaction with artifacts should be ceremonial.
Jobs-to-be-done: Unlock Totem; Interact with memory; Store memory in a locket; Upload ‘ether’ message; Unlock curated memories.
IMPLEMENTATION STRAETGY
Embracing Identity, Memory, and Meaning, the Vessel platform explores three key interaction points: The App, The Locket, and The Totem. By integrating interactive systems, it aims to reimagine rituals surrounding reminiscence.
Learn Flow
Discover the Philosophy of Death and initiate conversations about end-of-life decisions on the Learn Flow
Add Memory Flow
The sender adds memory, records a message reflecting its meaning to your relationship with the chosen receiver
Locket Receiver Flow
Manage and control memories for a specific receiver, deciding whether they go to the Vessel Locket or Vessel Totem
Manage Receiver Flow
Control the receiver's access to memories and see updates on memory visualization, also serves as the database for Totem
Sharing a special memento with loved ones...
With the Vessel Sender App, users gain the ability to record new memories, organize their receivers, delve into the Philosophy of Death, and initiate conversations on "End of Life" decisions.
A unique physical memento of your bond...
Every relationship is singular, so for each one of your receivers, you will craft a unique Vessel Locket that stores specific memories. When ready, they can order the locket as a physical memento for their loved ones, displaying one visual memory and playing an audio file, changeable via the app. In the afterlife, it becomes the key to activate their Vessel Totem.
Curated memories for an ongoing relationship...
The Vessel Totem represents a distinctive device featuring curated memories. It is equipped with a generative design display and a proprietary projector, showcasing a unique abstracted visualization of each memory as they play back in real-time – a "Moodography" for every moment saved with the user's receivers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Designing for Grief
This project had a special significance to me because it was inspired by the end of a relationship that triggered a somewhat dormant grief I had over my mom's passing.
Despite of thoroughly thought through in terms of feasibility, viability, and desirability primary objective of the final platform is to serve as a speculative piece, aiming to raise conversation about the explored themes.
I have a continuous relationship with the Death Cafes in Northern California, and currently studying how I would be able to start meetings near Sacramento/San Francisco.
Much has changed in this landscape since 2020, the emergence of novel approaches and the maturation of AI pose particularly challenging and exciting prospects.
The multidisciplinary approach, with 4 advisors from different areas, proved instrumental in exploring the sensitive themes.
Throughout the whole process, I encountered many avenues to continue research, which I intend to follow through soon.
All rights reserved Jean Menezes – 2023
