Crit reflection

We took some time to reflect individually after the crit, and then met to discuss our thoughts and a plan to move forward. The biggest takeaways from the crit was the following -

Focus on designing an experience, not on the dataBefore the crit we had focused on how we would gather data regarding mental health. We faced many obstacles including -

1. Privacy concerns... Would people feel comfortable disclosing private information regarding feelings/moods?

2. How can we retrieve mood information from people who were not at the tree? Should we design different remote touchpoints?

3. What would mood data be used for? We were afraid there would be no actionable point to our proposed solution.

4. We were also conscious of the negative effects of introducing more digital tracking technologies on users, especially in regards to mental health.

After the crit it became clear that instead of exploring data gathering tactics, we should instead focus on providing a positive experience for city dwellers. We have shifted gears slightly to resist the technological vision of a Smart City, and rather focus on the physical experience the mood tree would provide. We will now...

1. Explore different ways in which citizens interact with the physical tree.

2. Think about the different sensory experiences it could provide.

3. Brainstorm the physicality of the tree - what does it look like, what is it made of? Should it look like a real tree, or not?