Spring 2019
Gamification Case Study
Role : UX Design, Design Methods, InVision Prototype, Poster
___________
Different combines gamification, pop-up events, a mobile app, and interpersonal interactions to promote cultural exposure and diversity on Cornell’s campus. Through our Ethnography and User Enactment Studies, our team discovered strong ways of promoting intercultural exposure and interactions.
Goals
Our team wanted to create a new way for students to be exposed to other cultures and meet people from different backgrounds, especially when those students have had few other opportunities to explore outside of their cultural bubble. Our concern was motivated by intercultural prejudices on our campus, exemplified by emails from President Pollack addressing racial hate crimes. We believe we were successful in achieving these goals, thanks to the insights and feedback we received from participants, peers, and instructors. Using HCI research and design techniques, we successfully developed a novel and useful program for an area of student life that has yet to be properly addressed.
Secondary Research
Our goal of bridging cultural differences became even more salient after we examined current issues of prejudice and bias. Existing social science data, previous research studies, and design solutions served as inspiration for our own human-centered design process.
Homogeneous Echo Chambers. The emergence of new communication technologies has streamlined the way people share and receive information in their networks, increasing the likelihood of homogeneity and consensus within a network (Carley, 1995).
Reflection and Communication. A curriculum designed to help doctors treat patients from various backgrounds, found that among a workplace emphasis on “self-awareness and on a relationship-centered approach” fostered cultural humility and open-mindedness (Juarez, 2006).
Digital Intervention. Raybourn et al (2000) found that computed-mediated communities were effective in intercultural collaboration, providing opportunities for synchronous work, play, and learning between cultures in a convenient and appealing way, all while overcoming geographical boundaries.
Design Opportunity
" How might we foster exposure to other cultures on campus and help students meet people from different backgrounds?
Pain Points & Goals
1. Incidents of hatred and racial bias on campus
2. Implicitly ingrained biases
3. Encourage natural learning and exposure to cultural differences
4. Craft a memorable experience based around intercultural interaction
2. Implicitly ingrained biases
3. Encourage natural learning and exposure to cultural differences
4. Craft a memorable experience based around intercultural interaction
Ethnographic Research
Our team observed attendees and people representing different cultures, interviewed some of them about their interactions, thoughts, opinions. We found that cultural exposure is the key to empathy and open-mindedness toward those who have different backgrounds from us. Our experience at Cornell’s Culture Fest provided the perfect opportunity to observe cultural exchange and gain a deeper understanding of students’ intercultural interactions. We watched people taste the foods of other cultures and learn about the language, customs, and history through various activities and performances.
Observation
1. People like talking about their own culture
2. Setting and the social context fostered enthusiasm, inclusivity, and open dialogue
3. Participants were predisposed to sharing and learning about culture
2. Setting and the social context fostered enthusiasm, inclusivity, and open dialogue
3. Participants were predisposed to sharing and learning about culture
Objective
1. Provide an opportunity for students to not only learn about but also share cultures
2. The sensory experiences of culture goes beyond a digital screen
3. Incentivize this in order to reach a wider audience
2. The sensory experiences of culture goes beyond a digital screen
3. Incentivize this in order to reach a wider audience
User Enactment
We used an User Enactment (UE) to test an initial design concept and see how effective incentivized pop-up booths would be in exchanging culture. For that reason, we chose to set up a pop-up which showcased Korean culture through the language, food, and music. We then scripted 4 scenarios to guide the participant through each interaction, allowing us to test our initial pop-up, mobile app, and incentive ideas. We reached out to 2 participants, one Korean-American and one Argentinian-American, and asked that they follow our scenarios. The UE showed that students are eager to share their own backgrounds and are also interested in cultures foreign to them, and that food can be a powerful motivator for college students.
Observation
1. Some students are intrinsically motivated to participate, others are interested in a reward
2. People want to bring their friends and want to be rewarded for it
3. Participants would like to both attend a pop-up and host one
2. People want to bring their friends and want to be rewarded for it
3. Participants would like to both attend a pop-up and host one
Objective
1. Gamification and free food used to attract a wide audience
2. Points system for users to reach their goal faster with more social engagement
3. Ongoing and spontaneous so users can participate at any time
2. Points system for users to reach their goal faster with more social engagement
3. Ongoing and spontaneous so users can participate at any time
Prototype
In addition to in-person experiences, our design incorporates a mobile app that supplements the experience. The app has features such as a “Cultural Hub” to discover what cultural stations are available on campus and find more information about these cultures, a “Progress Tracker” for keeping track of which cultural stations the user has visited, and finally a “Notifications” feature where they could be updated with alerts that notify the appearance of a popup on campus. Our research suggested that a supplemental app was necessary for engaging users, tracking the progress towards receiving an incentive, and connecting users across locations.
Reflection
Our initial preconceptions and predetermined path limited our initial concept. For example, before even focusing our topic we already wanted to utilize a tech-based solution. Our design methods were able to help develop our thinking by highlighting the importance of face-to-face contact and the value in experiential learning. Therefore, we realized that culture could be shared through personal, sensory experiences. After undergoing the process of research and ideating design solutions for our problem space, we came to recognize that our topic of celebrating cultural diversity and raising awareness for empathy towards others was one that could not be addressed any one specific way. It would take the integration of multiple types of solutions, which is why we decided to incorporate both an interactive experience and a tech solution to aid that experience.