Product Designer | Design Researcher
三°S
(THREE DEGREES OF SEPARATION)
Graduation Project | The University of Edinburgh
September 2018 - May 2019
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
An investigation on advertising algorithm and its impact on the consumer's decision-making process. Using Google Ad Setting as the case study, based on existing research and reinterpretations of data collected from users' Google Ad Settings, a framework and an interactive design artefact is created.
三ºS (three degrees of separation), reimagining online users' control over the advertising algorithm and their decision-making process.
KEYWORDS: Google Ad Settings, Data & Privacy, User Profiling, Decision-Making, Autonomy
SKILLS: Qualitative & Secondary Research, User Research, Arduino, PHP, HTML, CSS, CAD/CAM, 3D Printing, Illustrator, Prototyping, Sketching
Context & Initial Research
Existing online services such as Google, predominantly rely on advertisements to generate revenues.
How might we address the issue of online services such as Google Ad Setting, that puts users into simple interest groups and characteristics in a binary manner, ignoring the complexity of human conditions?
User Research & Data Gathering
4 users of Google’s services have shared their Google Ad Settings with me. The Ad Setting includes the user’s demographic, brand preferences, and a list of interests.
From the gathered data, 3 main interest groups (i.e. travel, shopping, and work) are first identified, with sub-interest categories created under the three main interests according to the brands/ advertisers and interests.
After identifying and categorising the brands/ advertisers, the data/ interests are grouped into the 3 main interest groups for further analysis.
Data Analysis & Developing the 三ºS Framework
After grouping the data, I began connecting each node and three layers of separations were identified.
Using the consumer’s decision-making framework as the foundation and connecting it with the layers of separation, the 三°S framework was created.
Initial Ideation & Prototyping
There are two main components in the embodiment of 三°S, the physical controls (input) and the digital visualisation of the predictability level (output).
The initial designs focused on exploring how users may interact with the physical controls, from a playful approach to a more conventional design as a starting point.
Physical Input & Digital Output
There are three stages to creating 三°S, from reading the data from the rotary encoders to visualising the data as the digital output, and lastly creating a physical artefact to encase the components.
Outcome - Physical
The final artefact of 三°S is created through 3D printing after experimenting with the prototypes. Each knob is also colour-coded according to the 三°S framework, representing each degree of separation.
Outcome - Digital
The digital data visualisation is enabled by the Arduino and PHPoC WiFi Shield, the code is based on an Arduino Web-based Gauge tutorial. As users turn the knobs, the digital gauge will reflect the changes, showing users the simulated level of predictability in their decision-making.
