Context: Pre-Master Research Project
Dates: February – June 2017
Team: Janna van Rosmalen, Maximillian Morres, Marius Ursu
Young adults turn towards different forms of digital communication, trying to meet their desire for social contact, belonging and connectedness. A part of the young adult population has an unfulfilled need for better quality of contact.
The research project studied whether more awareness regarding a friend’s availability would lead to more calls, and as a consequence, to a better sense of social connectedness.
The design took form of a self-balancing interior design accessory that works in the periphery of attention. It allowed the 2 friends to see the phone call availability of their friend at a glance.
The findings confirmed the main premise in more than 3 out of 6 subjects, while the strongest effect was observed in those people who believed they had a need for more social connectedness.
Below you can find the hierarchy of hypotheses that lead to the final research goal:
Update January 2020:
See this great study from the “Happiness Research Institute” for even more quantitative research
