2020
How to stimulate intimacy between two people over long distance ?
During Covid time, it was difficult to have intimate conversations with closed ones due to physical distancing. This problem is prominent even today for people separated by distance to have meaningful intimate conversations. Sometimes video calls are not enough to feel the closeness that physical presence brings about.
To solve this problem, my team and I developed a virtual stargazing app during our master course. This app provides an opportunity for two people to relax, look at the virtual stars together, while feeling each other's presence, just like they would, when lying on the grass and looking at the vast sky while telling many stories to each other on a regular day without Covid . The app also encourages drawing over the stars to make a constellation and the app itself comes up with deep questions to help spark a conversation.
My Role : Ideation, concept development, user interaction design, research into intimacy
We participated in 'Pioneer 2020’ of the Dutch TV show VPRO Tegenlicht. Together with 3 other teams, we made it to the finals. In January 2020, the project was also featured in VPRO Tegenlicht Documentary (in Dutch) and an article accompanying the documentary.
Key Learnings
I learnt the fundamentals of iterative testing and refinement of concept in this project. Our initial concept started as physical space creation and in later iterations, it translated to a full virtual reality platform. Furthermore, I learned a lot into the nuances of promoting intimacy through technology.