Gardening Workshop

PROBLEM
Our problem is to increase understanding and acceptance of the Internet of Things (IoT) among the general public. The biggest guideline for solving this problem is to work with people’s preconceptions about IoT and address concerns such as lack of knowledge and fear of making mistakes.

SOLUTION
As we decided on working with peoples’ lack of knowledge in the terms of technology our main focus became creating a mental map for people who are not interested with technology. Our result consist Workshop Manual - an universal instruction for IoT companies which purpose is to fit to every interest.

PROCESS

Persona

She lacks perseverance when it comes to new technologies. So she would often give up on learning it, and with that she started having a fear of failure.
Having no insight and not knowing how the new technologies work makes her worry that she will do something wrong that may have consequences.
Having no insight and not knowing not only adds the fear of doing something wrong but also things that may happen behind the scenes that she is unaware of, creating a fear of violating her privacy.

Creating Tools

Info cards

At our workshop, we utilized info cards as a tool to provide participants with key information and tips. These cards were designed to be visually appealing and easy to understand, making it simple for participants to quickly reference important information.

Sensor dummies

We decided to create sensor dummies to provide more haptical and visual experience while attending to our workshop. We decided on simple shapes based on icons, so it provides instant information about data that is being collected by the sensor. This kind of simple housing might become a bridge between tech-aware person and a sensor.

Map

We discussed possible forms of map - temporary and permanent one. The aim of a temporary one would be to strenghten the memory of the location and the type of sensors that you’ve placed. The aim of a permanent one would be to keep it as your personal card that might be placed on a display.

Display

For the sake of testing the workshop we created a cardboard prototype of the IoT product.
It was created with physical buttons and separated displays. The idea was influenced by our finding that there is negative tension between our persona and classical types of display. It’s a continuation of one of ours leading thoughts about redefining classical approach of displaying a data.
As our project is not about designing a physical displays we stopped at this point and kept it as a possibility for further work on workshop.

Result

We used the garden example as a reference to construct the contents of our manual. By generalizing each step, providing examples, and incorporating feedback from interviews, we’ve ensured that it can be applied to any hobby or interest. We also made sure to include essentials in the manual. These weren’t necessarily steps or lessons but guidelines that help form and shape the workshop, as well as approaches for effectively presenting the content. We believe that these guidelines will help users approach the content in a more organized and effective way.
Once the content was finalized, we then focused on visually improving the manual. We designed it in the form of a booklet, with a clean and easy-to-read layout. This will not only make it more visually appealing but also make it easier for users to navigate and find the information they need.