baladoesmicroux

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 1

Timeframe: 28/04 – 05/05

Starting off the brief, we decided to do some individual research. I looked at where you could currently buy body fluids, which I found to be scientific research labs, and noted the safety and storage information. I also looked at the buying and selling of breast milk, noting that in the UK, breast milk banks exist for breastfeeding mothers to donate their milk, but there are currently no platforms to buy and sell breastmilk. My research can be found here.

We then came together for a discussion with all the Gumtree group members. We shared what we had learned, and I found out more about breast milk banks in other countries, fetishes, and the background of Gumtree itself.  

We then decided to split into smaller groups. We went around explaining our skillsets, strengths, and weaknesses so that we could have the groups be evenly spread out with skillsets. However, some members noted a strong preference for wanting to work with certain others; for example, Ramya and Varsha wanted to work together, and Bea and Dora wanted to work together. Rylee, being good friends with Bea and Dora, joined their group, and asked me to join them. I’d worked with Dora and Rylee before and was happy doing so, so I joined their group. This was probably not the most democratic way, but there seemed to be a sentiment of wanting to split into smaller groups anyway, and we agreed to switch around later should the need arise.

Ideation

Upon splitting into smaller groups, I analyzed the current Gumtree app by creating an account and trying to buy a listing. 

The biggest problem was that not enough information about the seller was available to create trust.

Therefore, I proposed features such as a more 1) detailed profile of the seller with mandatory fields such as storage and collection information, 2) reviews, drawing inspiration from the Carousell app founded in Singapore, and 3) verification of the seller. We also came up with some design opportunities, such as labels and testing kits.

Drawing from the research I’d done previously about companies that sell human fluids, such as Generon and InnovResearch, we also thought about how different fluids could be priced differently.

We also thought about meeting places that could create trust, inspired by anonymity booths and hidden vending machines.

We grounded the project in normalizing fetishes, drawing from the research Bea did about the prevalence of fetishes involving body fluids, interviews where she found that fetishes need not always be sexual, and another study that concluded that tapping into fetishes could enable people to tap into the power of their sexuality.

On a different note, we proposed a for-profit milk bank. At this point we hadn’t decided between the fetish and breast milk idea, so we presented both.

Feedback

Our presentation link can be found here.

The main points of feedback were:

To think more about verifying authenticity

If we were to continue with the fetish idea, to interview fetish groups

In a quick and dirty way, to explore and prototype packaging, test kits and probes

To map out the whole process so we can decide where to intervene

Reflection

I think splitting into smaller groups so early on has its positives and negatives. On one hand, my group works together quickly and well – we get on really well with each other and have an intuitive understanding of the pace we want to move at and trust each other. On the other hand, listening to the other Gumtree group presentations, some of the research was repeated so I wonder if it would have been better for broader research to have been a big group earlier on. Nevertheless, we got off to a good start and have clear directions for proceeding.

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 2

Timeframe: 06/05 – 12/05

We started the week by mapping out the user journey, as suggested by Al, Tonicha and Wan. It was useful in helping us understand the whole process and different areas we can intervene.

We also split different body fluids amongst us to research:

Bala: female ejaculate, breast milk

Bea: pee, semen

Rylee: blood, spit

Dora: sweat, vomit

We shared this research and our consolidated approaches (below) in our tutorial.

I organised this into a wireflow as well, as my handwriting is pretty unreadable sometimes.

We had a few pieces of feedback:

That vending machines are too technocratic, and that were forgoing the social aspect and trust part of the brief

To think more about where meetings can happen

To think more about trust and its signfiers

That the idea of dating app matching can be developed further

Following this, we split into focusing on two tasks: making rough wireframes and creating an app flow (Dora and myself), and creating packaging prototypes (Rylee and Bea). Dora and I ideated together, after which I made the wireframes on Figma.

I also made a mockup of the screen. I used the name and handle of a current seller of pee. Below are some different colorways based on the current Gumtree colors, as well as what we decided on.

Feedback

We presented all of the above work. Our presentation link can be found here.

We had a few points of feedback:

That the digital wireframes need more relevance to fetishes

How can we create an identity verification system without putting up barriers? Could we create a Gumtree ID?

To consider and test other forms of packaging for the liquid: it could squish/burst/be a pull and release. We could also look at the current different types of containers for liquids.

We were still vaguely undecided between the breast milk bank idea and the fetish idea. We were leaning slightly more towards the fetish idea, but in the tutorial, we asked Al and Tonicha which had more potential, and they also liked it more.

We also raised the concern of not being able to reach people with fetishes. They encouraged us to look at proxies or people related to people with fetishes – to go on social media, reach out to advocates, and watch documentaries.

Reflection

It was a productive week. We took the feedback from last week and expanded on it, mapping out a user journey which helped us get a more birds eye view of the whole process. Splitting into two smaller teams to work on the wireframes and packaging was also a good idea as we got them both done efficiently. We have a clear way forward with the feedback, in terms of both the packaging and the digital aspect, and I’m happy with the work we had done this week.

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 3

Timeframe: 13/05 – 19/05

We started off the week by going to eight different sex shops and interviewing the owners. We split into two so that we could cover more ground more quickly: me and Bea went to five stores, and Rylee and Dora went to three stores. I did my usual thing, which was take notes. I later also transcribed the voice recordings from Rylee and Dora’s interviews.

We also put up probes around the university to gather people’s thoughts on fetishes and to encourage people with fetishes to contact us.

Workshop with Hayley

This workshop was useful for setting a context to our project. We answered the Who, Why, What for, and How questions of the project.

We were also encouraged to think more about the materials were were considering using for packaging. Why do people like rubber? We proposed that it feels like skin; that it’s soft, is a natural material so there isn’t a concern of bodily safety with chemicals. Bea did more research into the rise of latex. 

She also emailed 13 universities with kink/fetish societies (Birmingham University, Dundee University, Durham University, Imperial College London, University of East Anglia, University of Lincoln, University of Portsmouth, University of York, Warwick University, Bournemouth University, London Metropolitan University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bristol), of which two responded saying they would pass on our contact details to their members.

She also watched Klub Verboten interviews, VICE documentaries, reviewed Fetishism (1927) by Freud and Fetishism and culture: a different theory of modernity (2014) by Böhme and Hartmut. Her research can be found here.

Packaging exploration

Bea and Dora worked on exploring squeezable packaging and packaging for sweat (to store items that would contain the smell of them). We consolidated and ideated together, on my trusty iPad.

Rylee and I explored packaging for blood, reusing the materials from our soft-robotics workshop to create packaging that could be cut into.

Feedback

Our presentation can be found here.

We received several points of feedback:

To generate a number of scenarios where people would buy fluids – what forms might it take? What are the situations where people are exchanging? Think of every type of situation, and design for some specific situations. Who’s involved? Where and how does it start?

To develop the packaging further.

To develop the digital part more. Where in gumtree in this. Password protected? What is a safe online space? Maybe there should be protected sections of gumtree. It doesn’t have to look underground to be underground.

To make the project more situated. Who is doing it, where is it taking place, how much fluid is being exchanged?

Our research from sex shops needs to be analysed more.

Reflection

It was a good week.  Bea was really active with reading literature and watching interviews and documentaries this week in particular. She takes a lot of initiative and makes me feel like I should be doing more. I did contribute the same as I always do, but Bea really goes above and beyond just on her own, and shows up having done so much. It made me feel bad because it made me feel like the distribution of work was not equal, and moving forward we should clearly vocalize our roles at the start more.

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 4

Timeframe: 20/05 – 26/05

Responding to the feedback from last week, I did thematic coding.

We also confirmed the features of our project, before I had to attend to a personal matter for a majority of the week.

As per our feedback last week, Rylee worked on the packaging further. Dora also developed the wireframes further, which were presented in the interim presentation.

Feedback

Our interim presentation can be found here.

We received several points of feedback:

That we should focus on balancing anonymity vs. identity.

To consider the rating system more and flesh it out.

To consider what might happen if a package/seal is broken, and to design the more micro aspects of the project.

That we should design the interface based on how we want it, not on the existing Gumtree app.

Moving forward then, we have two points to focus on: 

We need more feedback on how to move forward with the packaging and meetup, so we can conduct a role-playing workshop

To refine the user interface, such as the rating system and the overall design

Reflection

I tried to contribute as much as I could this week, on the Friday and Monday the week after, before I had to attend to a personal matter from Tuesday to Thursday. I was sad to miss the interim but was glad to hear from the class and my group mates that it went well. I caught up after I came back and vowed to make up for lost time on my part moving forward.

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 5

Timeframe: 27/05 – 2/06

Dora had a personal matter to attend to this week. We split the roles such that I would focus more on the digital side of things, such as designing the app, given my graphic design abilities. Rylee would focus on the packaging with her product design background, whilst Bea would work on planning and the presentation side of things.

We spent the majority of the week planning and executing the workshop. Bea and Rylee worked on the plan for the workshop whilst simultaneously, I worked on the logo animations and wireframes for the app.

Workshop

Four participants, Tithi and Omar (my flatmates), Austin (Rylee’s friend) and Mu Lin, participated in our workshop. We assigned three different scenarios to them and interviewed them about their experience after. Following which, we printed out our wireframes to get more feedback on them, as well as our packaging. Our workshop plan can be found here. 

Reflection

It felt really good to execute the workshop. We managed to pull together a well structured workshop in a short period of time and gathered extremely useful feedback. It was a relatively short week due to the 2 day bank holiday on Thursday and Friday, so there isn’t much else to reflect on. A lengthier reflection on the workshop will be done in my essay. Apart from that, we worked well together as usual, and I’m excited for next week. 

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 6

Timeframe: 3/06 – 9/06

We started off the week by sitting together and transcribing and analyzing the feedback from our workshop, which can be found here.  

Overall, we had a few major points of feedback and changes moving forward:

We decided on having an erasable and reprogrammable QR code for reuse on the packaging. Sellers would be able to input details such as time of collection and storage information onto it, whilst buyers, by scanning the QR code, can easily access this information. They can also upload media if they want to.

Following the feedback from one of our workshop participants who was very frustrated in the scenario where the seller did not show up, we implemented a penalty for no-show, which was suspension for a month. We also implemented a system where once the buyer makes an offer and the seller accepts it, they are free to leave each other reviews, which prevents the seller or buyer from being flakey when a deal has been made.

We also noted feedback that participants felt uncomfortable with a digital paper trial or uploading ID such as their passport (our previous screens had too much information required). We decided to simplify the app interface.

We then continued to work on the screens: we split it such that I would continue working on the digital app and logo animations (below), whilst Rylee would work on the packaging with Bea. Dora would help either of us if we needed help.

I also worked on the flow of the app, making sure to incorporate the additional features from the feedback.

Feedback

Our presentation can be found here.

We received feedback that using just date of birth to get into the section might not necessarily protect children, who could easily lie, or the people in the community. Exclusivity could be achieved by having passwords be given to people with influence in the community, who could give that out.

People also liked our logo and package pattern, and moving on, we decided to spend our time this last week on finishing the app and cleaning up the presentation.

Reflection

It was a productive week yet again. This is probably the best group I have ever worked with. I particularly enjoyed how we all came together at the start of the week to transcribe, analyse and thematic-code pages and pages of transcripts from our workshop – we spent a good few hours on it but got extremely useful insights which we then focused on for the rest of the week. We fall into roles quite naturally and finish our tasks in a focused and efficient manner, which means that every week we make constant progress and get constant feedback that we can carry on to the next week. With one week left to go, we can now focus on refining our presentation. On an individual level I would’ve liked to have made gotten more screens done app-wise, but I think I spent too much time deciding on the exact functionalities, colours and fonts.

[baladoesmicroux]

Week 7

Timeframe: 10/06 – 17/06

We spent this last week focusing on the presentation.

I had to finish my part, the app, this week. I really wanted to get it really slick, so I spent a lot of time making sure all the features, spacings, icons, fonts and hierarchies were perfect. The first image below shows some research and initial sketches for icons, whilst the second shows the custom icons I designed. These were employed in the final app design, which can be viewed here.

I also designed the flyers and posters that were to be displayed and handed out at fetish clubs. Below are some different backgrounds and layouts, and the final versions made into mockups.

In the meantime, Dora and Rylee finished the packaging and filmed the process of getting the packaging and how it would be used. Bea, simultaneously, worked on the video. It was a mad rush down to the day of the presentation.

Presentation feedback

The class and tutors really liked our video. There were a few things in particular that they enjoyed:

We could exchange body fluids with children’s clothes, and the project would still work as it was based and designed around trust

The UI was great. With the safety pop-up messages, there were little moments of trust embedded. It wasn’t too in your face, but nicely designed

We were not laughing at the people in the environment, but taking their fringe experience and overlaying it with some design to share with them

The packaging was nicely done

They noted a few points of improvement:

We could have had some spoken introductions before the video

We could have staged the packaging prototypes more directly in front of the audience

More of the journey could have been explained: what went wrong, how we adapted, etc.

Reflection

This was easily the project I learned the most from, had the most enjoyable time working on, and had the best team synergy in.

Everyone was very understanding of one another and brought their unique skills to the table. Bea and Dora edited an incredible video, Rylee made some great packaging, and I designed the app and print collaterals. At the same time, we were very motivated from the start, never slacking for a single week and continually employing a high number of research methods, from going to sex shops, to probes, to role-playing, and interviews.

I think my blog posts in other projects thus far have been very different thus far – usually in other groups, we get stuck, or there is some friction. But in this project, although the ideation or process itself wasn’t easy, the way we bounced off each other and kept trying new ways to achieve an outcome that would be palatable to a hard-to-reach audience was something I really hope to emulate in other groups in the future. We were also very willing to help one another too, even if it wasn’t exactly in our role, per se. For example, Bea designed the outer wrapping of the packaging. Then, I helped to find a good weight of paper and printed the wrapping, and helped Rylee spray paint the tops of the packaging, after which she brought it all together by pasting it onto the packaging. Even when we clearly delegated roles, we didn’t just leave each other alone. I think this was why we could keep refining our project to a high level.

If we were to take the project further, I think we could try to be more experimental with our packaging. Possibly we could try a more membrane-like packaging that could burst, or exploring a pull-and-release mechanism like Wan mentioned in Week 2. We were more focused on the storage and transport aspects of the packaging, and it could have been interesting to explore the ‘play’ aspect further. Moreover, it would be great to test the app and packaging with people who have fetishes, who despite our best efforts, we could not reach  this time.

Peace out, Cumtree!