Exploring distant communication between families

Research：How time difference influences the communication

International students are facing a similar situation that communicating with families are no longer a pleasurable and casual activity. For example, they may need to make an appointment in advance to arrange time for contacting. This sense of inconvenience caused by the time difference strengthens the sense of distance and depresses them for lack of company of families.

Five international students were interviewed who were in more than six hours time difference from their family. Their current ways of communications and feelings about it was asked.

Figure 1.1 Insights gained from interviews: painpoints of distant communication 

Figure 1.2 Insights gained from interviews: External and internal difference 

Design Goal

I want to design a natural and fluent way of communicating for international students and their families in order to make them feel close and accompanied even in different time zones.

Design &refine by prototyping

Several prototypes were made to explore people's interaction and emotions in different ways of communication.

Figure 2.1 Roommates on drawings: Participants simulated furnishing their new home and living as roommates. They can only communicate by drawing and writing.

Figure 2.2 Different ways of collaboration: Participants finish a puzzle together, firstly did it one by one and wrote their tips and thoughts to the next one, then did it at the same time but still talking by writing.

Figure 2.3 Asynchronous communication: DIY poster. 'Gesture message' from faking ears.

Figure2.4 Combine two 'homes' :Participants firstly collected interesting or meaningful items in their home individually during the week. On weekend, they gathered and put the items together in their 'shared' home.  

Final design: communication between online home

The new communication is triggered by items and can be divided into two phases. 

Figure 3.1 Experience journey：how design intervenes the communication

ONLINE HOME APP :  WHEN THEY ARE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

On weekdays when they cannot follow a conversation, people can collect interesting items which represents experience or stories they want to share at their online home. On weekends, or when they have time to make a video talk, the pictures at online home can arouse their memories and trigger more conversation.

Figure 4.1 App for asynchronous communication

A PHYSICAL COLLECTION : WHEN STUDENTS ARE BACK TO HOME COUNTRIES

After going back to their home countries, international students and their families can make a physical collection by using the photos that they took in previous years. It can be a family activity which arouse their memories of the past. 

 

Figure 5.1 3D college for synchronous communication

The physical collection can be a 3D collage, can be a photo album, can also be a Lego game.

Figure 5.2 The resources collected at the online home can be used to make a physical collection, which trigger more and deeper communication between international students and their families.