Adobe Illustrator
Eindhoven University of Technology
Master Study
Microsoft
Slim Opgewekt
The result of a 4-week Master course as part of the 2013 Microsoft Expo Design Competition on Big Data. A collaboration with Nick Hermans, Karin Niemantsverdriet, and Bart Wolfs
We all know the reasons why we should save energy: it’s better for the environment, it’s better for our energy bills… but in our daily lives it appears to be very difficult to stay conscious of our energy usage. Prospera shows you the direct effects of your energy usage at home through a casual game.
Prospera is a casual game that lets you create your perfect world: Make mountains, dig for water and plant vegetation to sculpt the landscape the way you like. Be surprised by the animals will roam your world. Your world and the animals that call your planet your home are directly connected to your personal energy use. Turn on you heater and the temperature will rise, take a long shower and the water oceans will rise. Can you discover all the animals? Will you make the most beautiful planet in the galaxy? Compare your planet to your friends, family and comparable households all over the world to find out what your energy profile looks like. Will you stand out from the rest of the galaxy? It’s up to you!
Designing for the User Experience
Prospera is the result of a four-week Master course Designing for the User Experience. The goal was to make big data insightful and humane, allowing people to gain new insights from the massive amount of data that is being collected. Our goal was to make energy data insightful and engaging to increase energy awareness.
The user was central in this project. Techniques like narrative interviewing, data sampling, co-constructing stories, and user testing experienceable prototype were applied to iteratively learn about people’s experience of energy data and the game Prospera.
Technical prototype
Mind that this project conducted before the time of smart energy meters in the Netherlands. So, in order to get energy usage data in the game, we needed to make our own sensors. What started as an Ardiuno Uno taped to an energy meter, evolved into sensor blocks that could be easily attached to the electricity and gas meters with stickies. The sensor data was translated to calibrated energy use, transferred using an Arduino Ethernet shield and stored on an Apache server, be later imported by the game prototype running in Flash.
User testing
The game was tested in two ways. First, A simple version of the game showed that the game was fun and engaging. It allowed for self-expression and freedom to create. Through playing the game together, finding new animals together and comparing planets, people were motivated to keep on playing.
Second, sensors were installed in peoples meter box, which were linked to a real time planet visualisation. This test showed that the direct energy-feedback encouraged people to reflect on their energy use. People started to play around with their electronic devices to see the effect and actively reflected upon their usage. In some cases this even led to a behavior change.
Results
Prospera was the runner-up of the Microsoft Expo Design Competition and exhibited at the Dutch Design Week in 2013. From these events resulted a collaboration with Slim Opgewekt, a company that realises a future-worthy by bringing sustainability to schools across the Netherlands.
Runner up, Microsoft Expo Design Competition on “Big Data”, 2013
D&AD Wood Pencil, D&AD New Blood Awards, 2015
Presented at the Dutch Design Week ID’13 exposition, 2013
Published in Eindhoven Designs volume 7, 2013
After my Master education I took up further development of Prospera as a UX designer at Slim Opgewekt, read more about the project here.
Creative sessions, physical ideations and user involvements helped to explore concepts of energy flows and usage at home. This led us to our central challenge: How can we make people more aware of their energy usage in a playful way? Scenarios of ideas around energy awareness were created and brought before the target group to find opportunities in societal contexts.
In the meantime, sensor probes were installed in two households to sample and monitor energy use, in order to understand how energy is used on a daily basis. This serious activity of energy monitoring should become more engaging, which led to the development of a game. Weeks of creative sessions, prototyping and acting-out followed to develop many game mechanics and scenarios, which were discussed with potential users to obtain feedback and to fine-tune the game.
Even though Prospera is not fully functional yet and the long-term effects have not been tested thoroughly, we believe that with Prospera, a new, valuable approach to energy awareness is given that is worthy of further exploration.