Provoking relaxed and natural interactions in a library environment

This concept was the result of an exploration of public workspaces and their interaction possibilities. 

After comparing some informal co-working spaces (a central café, STPLN) and private ones (a startup incubator, MINC), the city library of Malmö, Sweden, became our main place of work. Its goal as an institution is to be welcoming to all users, and offer a a natural meeting point for the citizens of Malmö. Values such as democracy, equality and openness are highly valued in this space. Our research followed a double-diamond process. 

Research phase

Our research was conducted both by ethnographic methods as well as surveys and interviews to be able to better understand the profiles of the users, as well as the purpose of each of the visited spaces. 

We found out that, in some spaces where more informal ambient is desired by the institution, there is still a notion that libraries should be quiet. We observed that there are some spaces in the library that are marked as silent zones, but apart from those it is perfectly allowed to interact, work in teams, and speak. Why were some areas not marked as silent zones, much quieter than others? 

Sketching and design

Our main task was to explore the notion of parasitic systems, so our sketching and ideation process was focused into observing the environment and finding design openings within it. Our team came up with ideas that included the cracks on the floor, the book shelves, the illumination and furniture. 

The design concept

By designing an ambience intervention in already existing furniture in the library, we proposed the concept of the Euphonic chairs: Rotative chairs in the magazine section, that when sensoring weight and movement, trigger armonic sounds in a discrete volume. With an Arduino and a giroscope we can assign each chair with a sample or a tone, becoming a palette of sounds that the users can play in an informal way while reading, or even create a composition. 

Team members: 

• Angelika Losko
• Lia Meilyawati
• Himanshu Rohilla

Roles:

Designer with a focus on research, concept developing, brainstorming, sketching. Shared roles on project management and presentation. 

Keywords:

Interaction design, UX research, UX design, sonic intervention, playful experiences, double-diamond.