Jiaqi Wu | UI/UX Designer
412 OCTAVIA
Leveraging community dialogue through tangible interaction.
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What's Octavia?
Octavia is an octopus-shaped statue that located in a community garden (Octopus Graden) in Pittsburgh, PA. The statue itself was designed by a local artist.
Our team was tasked with discovering an opportunity to add value to the way people are already interacting and connecting with the garden.
Research and insights
We went to the park several times and managed to interview both the owner of the garden and people walked by. And things we learned about the garden and Octavia includes:
1. The site is located at the intersection of disparate communities, that are being affected by gentrification.
2. This garden is a place where people come to express their thoughts, enjoy the quiet, and reflect.
3. People already are finding ways of leaving messages in the garden on a blackboard and in plastic easter eggs.
4. Octavia, the octopus sculpture, is the garden's nexus.
5. Children often play 'telephone' with Octavia.
Solution
412 OCTAVIA: A COMMUNITY DIALOGUE TOOL
412-OCTAVIA is an interactive communication platform that allows users to listen to messages left by garden users and record their own. It takes the form of a telephone and is embedded into the existing sculpture in the garden (Octavia). This site for tangible interaction connects to a web platform, where community dialogue can also be archived, accessed, and explored. This allows community members to interact asynchronously so that the garden always feels like a place for connection even for users who may not have a garden plot.
At the park
When the user is in the park, the user can pick up an octopus leg, dial into different channels, either input something or listen to an existing message.
We managed to build a working prototype using an old phone we found online and the Arduino. When the user finishes inputting the message, he/she can see the LED light revolving around the tube and going from the receiver to the body of Octavia.
At home or...
anywhere...
In order to extend this service so that people don't always have to walk to the park, we designed a website as a virtual repository of messages and emotions.
We initially thought of the idea of an app. However, considered the demographic of this project includes children and elderly, we finally decided on a website.
Garden theme
Almost all the elements on the page are clickable. Different plants/fruits correspond with different categories on the dial.
Feedback
The user can sort of interact with the message by "water" it. Because all the messages are visualized as plants, when the user waters it, the message "grows".
Project info
The user can find information about this project on the website, which cannot be found anywhere else. More importantly, when something serious happens, we provide contact information for users.
Working prototype
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