Worked with Emily Zhang on this project!
Scenario
The best experiences in our lives are fleeting, only to be captured in fragmented recollections of the past. By creating a memory garden, users can capture their precious moments from their unique perspective and revisit them through a location-based notification system
Inspiration
We initially approached this project by considering the boundary between physical and digital spaces. While physical products feel significantly more tangible and meaningful, digital ones last forever and can surpass physical limitations to create groundbreaking experiences. By designing a product that allows users to transfer their physical belongings to the digital realm, we hoped to examine the concept of permanence, evaluate how value is assigned to various objects, and compare the qualities of physical vs. digital.
In contrast to physical belongings like clothing and furniture, experiences and memories are short-lived and cannot be assigned a concrete value. They simply exist as a function of neurological pathways which can be rewritten, lost to time forever. Therefore, we decided to create Memory Garden, a device and application designed to help users evaluate their own experiences and realize the ever changing nature of their memories.
Initial Iteration
We originally intended to create a floating device that would record users’ everyday lives for the creation of documented memories. With the help of an app, users could select snippets of video to save and the device would drop a small square of recordings (that could replay its contents) in the location the memory was created. Because experiences are temporary and memories are easily altered, we wanted to provide users with a permanent set of videos for them to refer back to. This would help them relive their most precious moments with accuracy and eliminate misleading recollections generated by false memories. With this design, we prioritized the truth of the recorded situations and the physical permanence of documentation.
Second Iteration
After reflecting on our initial design, we realized that dropping a square device at every memorable site would create several issues: popular locations would be filled with our product, there would be an increase of electronic waste, reminiscing the past would no longer be a private experience, and we were placing too much emphasis on the material value of personal experiences. One specific example we were thinking of in our current life is the lock bridge which was created as a way for couples to physically signify their love by attaching a lock to a bridge in Paris. However, after numerous years, the bridge has become extremely heavy, people have been attaching their locks to each others, and the original meaning has been lost, leaving behind environmental waste. The city has now removed it, which further demonstrates the problem with leaving physical objects in popular locations.
We changed our product to use flower seeds as a more sustainable method to mark important locations and to store the videos on an app. We found that the life cycle of a flower parallels the fragility of memory. When the flower seed is dropped, it may not even take root. It can be easily trampled by others and will change significantly as it grows. Unless someone takes the time to nurture their plant, it can easily wither and die. Similarly, memories are subject to distortion and can be easily forgotten if not cherished. With this model of our design, users must take effort to maintain the memorial created by our product.
Final Product
While working on our final iteration, we decided to focus on the change of perception and the emotions associated with memory. While our second iteration addressed some of the issues we had with our initial concept, we realized that there was a disconnect between the creation of videos and the planting of flowers. Major factors that contribute to the sentimental value of a memory are emotional attachment and personal interpretation. Video evidence of an event doesn’t provide much emotional significance and the constant presence of a surveillance camera can make interactions uncomfortable for users. Therefore, we changed our app to store memories as written entries associated with different flowers, emotions, and locations.
After experiencing a special moment, users can use our product to create a memory in the exact location where the event took place. In addition to filling out a short description crafted from their personal experience, users can pair their memory with a specific flower to assign it with a special meaning. To anchor the memory with its flower and location, we only allow users to open their memory files when they are in close proximity to the associated location. When users pass by the location, the app will send a notification to the user and prompt them to take a look at their past entry and build upon the memory by adding a reflection. With this functionality, users can take the chance to relive their experiences with a different lens and confront their changing perspective. When away from any significant locations, users can open their memory gardens to view the kinds of flowers they have planted and where their special memories have taken place.
Future Work
To improve our concept in future iterations, we would change the face in the middle of the flower to a screen to display different emotions as the user creates memories. This would make the device feel more personalized and responsive to user input.
We would also include more forms of notification to remind users of their memories as they walk by significant locations. Currently, the app only reminds users of their memory through a notification, but these can be easily ignored or missed and are indistinguishable from other app notifications. If the clip-on flower itself displayed more information, it would be much more interactive and give users more incentive to relive their past experiences.
To do so, we can change the phone app to request additional information in entries to enhance users’ documentation experience — music, drawings, photos, etc. can all be added in. When they walk by the locations of certain memories, the device can give off stronger notifications using the new data entered. Music can be played, the flower can vibrate or spin, and the screen in the middle of the flower can display different images or facial expressions to convey unique emotions.
Because our product aims to capture the unique experiences of individuals from their own perspective, we believe it can also be used to memorialize people after their passing. People can relive others’ experiences by retracing their footsteps and learning about the memories they decided to save. This device can be used to question the importance of memories and how a person is defined by their experiences or the media that they leave behind.
