This graduation project describes the expansion and revision of a human-centred design method through the integration of introspective activities. The expansion is supported by an explorative, individual case study and a validating, collaborative case study.

In a previous research project, Siyuan Huang and myself developed an initial version of the activity-based need profiling method. The activity-based need profiling method investigates an activity (activity-based) through which fundamental needs are fulfilled by the experience of the activity (need profiling). The goal of the design method is to provide a way for novice designers to become familiar with the typology of fundamental needs by Desmet and Fokkinga (2020) and to apply this abstract typology in a concrete design process.

The addition of introspective activities in the data collection phase of the design method could add more richness and nuance to the data. It was also expected to add extra value to the design method, by broadening the reach and introducing novice designers to another way of collecting data. In this graduation project, I set about investigating the value of these introspective activities and how they could best be integrated in the design method, through two case studies.

In the first case study, I introspected for two weeks on which fundamental needs were fulfilled in what way in the context of food-preparation related activities in my own home kitchen. I used this introspective data to create a set of narratives, that were the source of a set of design briefs and concepts. These concepts were evaluated in a user test to ascertain the value of the revised design method.

In the second case study, I used the insights from the first case study to make an iteration on the design method. I evaluated this version of the method with its target group of novice designers in two design workshops. The workshop participants introspected on food-preparation activities in their own kitchens and took the resulting narratives to the design workshop, where they collaboratively designed concepts through the process of the proposed design method.

Both case studies showed the value of the addition of introspective activities, enriching the data with nuance and authenticity. The results from the case studies were integrated in the initial design method, which yielded the following five phases of the revised and expanded activity-based need profiling method.

- The preparation phase, where designers familiarise themselves with the design method and identify an activity to investigate.
- The data collection phase, where designers collect information on need fulfilment within the activity, either introspectively or through external participants. They investigate which needs are satisfied and which are harmed and why this is the case.
- The data overview phase, where designers create both a visual overview as well as a more detailed overview of the collected data.
- The exploration phase, where designers use three strategies, or play modes, to translate the data into design briefs.
- The realisation phase, where designers create design concepts based on the design briefs, validate them and iterate on them.

Anxiety is a natural “fight-or-flight” response that everybody experiences to perceived stress or threat. Even though it is a natural response, some individuals struggle with managing their anxiety levels in a healthy manner. Prolonged exposure to high anxiety states can lead to clinical anxiety disorders that negatively impact the quality of life, thus early interventions to reduce anxiety levels can help prevent the development of clinical level anxiety. Even nonclinical individuals can also suffer from periods of heightened anxiety state, so anyone can benefit from additional guidance with anxiety modulation.

This graduation project aims to create a wearable garment that helps with daily levels of anxiety modulation in a non-clinical setting by providing warmth and pressure sensations typically associated with Deep Touch Pressure (DTP). DTP is a form of tactile sensory input that is provided by holding, stroking, hugging and squeezing, which has been proven to elicit feelings of safety, relaxation, and comfort. Although there are some commercially available DTP wearable products typically in the form of a vest, they are often heavy, uncomfortable, or indiscreet as the DTP sensations are provided by additional weights or inflatables with hand-operated pumps. Since they are difficult to conceal, wearing those commercial DTP vests can attract unwanted attention from nearby strangers and further aggravate anxiousness. Instead, DTP sensations can be applied to the body in a noiseless, lightweight, and discreet manner by utilizing shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators in wearable garments.

The insights that formed the groundwork for this project was gathered through literature review in a wide variety of topics including haptic technology, affect regulation, and SMA. Deeper understanding of the intricate nuances involved with anxiety modulation were gained through self-reflection and introspection as part of the autobiographical design method. Although the insights gathered from introspection are rooted in subjective lived experiences, they can yield universally applicable outcomes based on genuine empathy and firsthand understanding that resonate with a broader range of users who experience similar or related difficulties with anxiety. Moreover, rapid prototyping and iterative processes were utilized to tinker with and learn about designing SMA based actuators for wearable garments. After fabricating several prototype iterations, each exploring different design variables, SereniSleeve was developed.

SereniSleeve is a fingerless glove sleeve that provides warmth and deep pressure sensations to the forearm. It helps users break out of spiraling anxious thoughts by providing on-body haptic sensations that they can focus on, enhancing their grounding techniques. User test participants experienced feelings of calmness, relaxation, and comfort at varying pressure settings. Users can intuitively activate the sleeve by clenching their fists during stressful or anxious situations, triggering one of three preset pressure settings depending on the user applied force. All the electronic components can easily be detached from the double-layered fabric sleeve cover for easy maintenance and washability. Based on the participant feedback, future work and iterations on SereniSleeve could further improve its overall usability and user experience.

Due to an ever-changing and complex world we are living in, more than half (55%) of the average earners and more than 1 in 3 top earners worry about their finances (Aegon, 2021). Moreover, finan-cial stress is increasingly being recognized across society for its impact on happiness and productivity. Banking customers want to have ability to make confident, well-informed money related deci-sions resulting in financial security for both the short-and long-term, which has traditionally been covered by existing finan-cial services. However, other key wellbeing factors such as mean-ing and prolonging positive emotions are yet to be explored...

This master graduation project explores the possibilities for enhancing passenger’s in-flight sleep experience during different stages in an economic class in a long-haul flight. The main purpose of this project is to get deeper understanding of sleep in cabin from passenger’s perspective, and try to use interactive design help them throughout the flight journey. This thesis project consists of five phases, context exploration, research, project redefinition, conceptualisation and verification. Most research activities were executed in the first two phases. During the context exploration phase, the goal is to gain basic knowledge and comprehensive information in aviation field, including the market trend, the stakeholders, and the contextual constraints. Therefore, the scope is relatively broad and literature research is the main method.
After that, the research scope was gradually narrowed down based on the findings from the previous research, and the focus now is on long-haul flight passengers and sleep in various environment. Through desk research, several theory models were analysed. In order to gather opinion from different types of passengers, several user-centred methods were also used, like co-creation, online survey, field research. The insights from this phase benefit the next phases as solid evidence. Combining insights gathered from these research activities, a concrete project definition was obtained. The design goal is “to make passengers who want to have a nice sleep feel more in control during different phases in long-haul flights”. An interaction vision was also defined as “being in control”. Additionally, the specific requirements were listed as the evaluation criteria of concepts. In conceptualization stage, several rounds of ideation were performed to generate initial concepts. According to the requirements and the difficulty of the implement, one concept was chosen for further development. Then a low-fidelity wireframe was used to fast-iterate the concepts by walkthrough. The final concept was then concluded in the final phase of verification. The digitally interactive prototype was built for evaluation of the effectiveness and usability. The evaluation results were analysed to see whether the final design meets the design goal and how participants experience the design. Due to the restriction of the social distance policy, most offline activities were prohibited, more than half of the evaluation tests were done via internet. The future recommendation has also been proposed in the last stage. The design of phone application could be the starting point for the future development of the digital platform, connecting different journey phases for passengers. And the improvement on in-flight entertainment system might also be applied in the near future.

It is generally acknowledged that digital and physical mementos has its own irreplaceable qualities for remembering.The project aims to explore what these qualities are, how people usually interact with the mementos, and how people’s memories are influenced by these mementos. Finally, by looking for a balance point between the qualities of digital and physical memento, a system for recording and relieving memory will be designed.

The rollercoaster Baron 1898 in the Efteling is a unique and thrilling experience. However, the Safety Department observes an unwanted phenomenon: Occasionally, guests do not safely store their small personal belongings, such as phones, which then fall out during the ride. The result is a lost or broken phone or other personal valuable. Not properly storing personal belongings is considered undesired guest behaviour and is addressed in this thesis.
The problem addressed in this thesis is twofold: First of all, the undesired guest behaviour is caused by expecting guests to make rational decisions in the distracting, emotion-laden immersive environment that is created by the Efteling. Secondly, safety measures are commonly seen as disruptive to the immersive experience created through storytelling.
Experience-driven safety is proposed as a solution to this problem. This type of safety design takes guest experience, rather than a safety problem, as starting point of the design. The result is a safety solution that allows the guests to remain in the immersive experience, while directly targeting the undesired behaviour.
Through ideation, the field of experience-driven safety has been explored, forcefully expanding towards safety-focussed and experience-focussed solutions. The concept that was chosen is the Kompel jacket, a wearable that allows guests to bring their items safely along during the ride of Baron 1898. It plays into the needs of the user behaviour found in the analysis phase, such as a staying close to personal belongings. Moreover, it takes an active role in the storytelling, transforming regular Efteling guests into 19th century miners (Kompels) before entering the attraction. The solution is placed in a low-pressure touchpoint – the queue area – to address guests while the distractions from the environment are still relatively low.
The iterations of this design concept focussed on exploring the clarity of visual cues on the jacket. These communicate the risk of losing phones and the functionality of the jacket as a storage solution. Four different varieties of the jacket were created with communicative elements ranging from experience-focussed to safety-focussed. These were tested with potential users to find the most effective balance between creating an authentic mineworker’s jacket and creating a functional storage solution. The two varieties that aimed at an authentic mining look were considered to be confusing. The variety with the strongest safety elements was preferred and most effectively convinced the participants of safely storing their belongings. The active role the design concept takes within the storytelling assumedly allows for some leeway in adding strong safety cues without breaking the immersive experience.
Guest behaviour needs to be fully uncovered to design functional products within the immersive context of the Efteling. This thesis suggests experience-driven safety as a promising method for capturing the guests’ attention and steering their behaviour within the emotionally turbulent environment of a theme park.

The product generated in this project aims to develop offline version of an emotion measure instrument and the objective of the project is to combining the convenience of physical product and the clarity of animations. By analysing some other emotion measurement instrument as well as previous work of PrEmo, some opportunities that could help to improve the offline product. Through a group discussion, some inspiring ideas were generated and five design directions formed. Eight interviews were conducted to get users’ requirements of PrEmo and also assess the five design concepts. Four qualities were summarized and the ideal solution was selected. After some exploration and several iterations, the final prototype was made. It is a set of acrylic cards with manual guiding people to use it. An application was also developed for users to watch the animations of emotions. There is also an introduction movie inserted in the APP. An evaluation test was taken place at the end of study and all the tests went well, proving that the usability of the PrEmo is fine, though the clarity still haves some room to be improved.