issue#04 The Feeling in-Between

This issue aims to find opportunities for design to support transitional experiences. My objective is to provide an understanding of transitions and the feeling of being in-between from a theoretical and experiential perspective.

In my practice, I follow an experiencecentred approach to understand transitions. I present an exploratory period of self-reflective practices and an experiential co-workshop as explorations on the role of digital jewelllery to support micro-transitory experiences in our lives.

This issue also opens a discussion on new methods of understanding how people experience a transition exploring the notion staged atmosphere as an element that could enrich the experiential qualities of the workshop.

THE FEELING IN-BETWEEN ISSUE#4

Transitions and Self Understanding of transitions from theory Social Studies Psychological Studies Design Studies Discussion Understanding transitions from practice hide&seek piece let it go piece the air[craft] workshop nuances of probes Newcastle Academy & British Airlines responses through making - Narratives

This issue is about transitional experiences.

INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH

Transitions and Self Transitional experiences are interesting research subjects as it is concerned with individuals’ or group self and can foster or decline one’s emotional wellbeing. In periods of constant change and transitions in space and time, it is valuable to understand how we can, as individuals, adapt to change, find ways to ground and center ourselves in ways that are meaningful to us. Understanding how people experience transitions is a subject that has drawn significant attention from scholars in social scientists and psychology. Many scholars in social sciences discuss critical points in a lifecycle, such as loss or displacement, bringing appropriate changes in the selfidentity of the individual (Casey 1993; Chambers,1994; Dixon et al 2000). And extended research has been conducted in migration experiences in order to understand how people integrate when they their life is changing. The subject of transitions has received significant less attention from other disciplines such as design (Fisher, 1990; Ozenc 2011).

The aim of getting a deep understanding of transitions is to find and propose ways and strategies to adjust to a changing and negotiating self. In this context, I explore the potential of design and more specific the design of digital jewellery to

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foster emotional wellbeing in periods of change. The focus is the potential role of digital jewellery to support transitory experiences, as objects concerned with the self and hold a long history as companions during life changes (e.g. loss). This issue aimed to provide an understanding of transitions and the feeling of being in-between from a theoretical and experiential perspective in order to find opportunities for design to support such experiences.

Although it doesn’t seem to exist a theory of transition in general, from various studies in different contexts we can identify some characteristics of transitory experience from theory that can help us understand what is a transition and what is happening in relation to our sense of self and emotional wellbeing. After some theoretical understanding of transition and the identification of a research gap in studies micro-transitory experiences, I engaged myself with an autoethnographic study to get some rich reflections from within during the transitions of “going home”and I gained understanding on how people experience similar situation during the aircraft workshop. My explorations are presented in this issue.

What is the role of digital jewellery in supporting transitional experiences?

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UNDERSTANDING OF TRANSITIONS FROM THEORY

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The term Individuals experience all kind of transitions within their lives: beginning school , changing school, leaving school, getting married, becoming parents, getting divorce, beginning and leaving employment, to name a few. The list, if not endless, is potentially very large. Indeed, it can be said that life is organized around transitions (Holdsworth, 2005) and for some is given particular or more personal significance. The term transition has its origin mid 16th century from the latin word “transire” meaning ‘go across’. Transitions are longterm processes that result in a qualitative re-organizationn of inner life and external behaviour (Cowan, 1991, p.5), the experience of the “thresholds” (Apter, 2001), where threshold

refers to the in-between of two states (Turner, 1967). From a pragmatic point of view, transitions can be understood as the struggle within the dynamic of changing-unchanging states of an experience. It occurs when a person is in the midst of passing from one state to another and usually challenges an individual’s well-being in physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions (Ozenc 2014). To avoid a confusion between change and transition, change is a result, “make or become different” (Oxford dictionary), whereas transition is “the process, a period of changing from one state to another”. Transition is a process of “becoming”, when self experience change in personal or social context.

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SOCIAL STUDIES

Normative – Non normative transitions We experience transitions we know in advance different from those that occur unpredictably. They might be predictable in timing and sequence (normative transitions) or more idiosyncratic and ambiguous (non-normative) (Fisher & Cooper, 1990, p.127). For example, going to school for the first time is an event that most children experience at an early age and for the most part we expect it to happen. On the contrary, events, such as diagnosed with dementia, or parents are getting divorced in life are non-normative transition.

Normative and non-normative transition are significant process in life and affect how we feel, but the non-normative ones are experienced with higher intensity and the affect our sense of self more dramatically.

TYPES OF TRANSITIONS

Functional – Experiential dimensions Micro – Macro transitions When dealing with transitions we are dealing with, at least two different levels (Holdsworth, 2005 p.25). There is the macro or historical level where we are concerned with regularities of changes in the overall patterning of transitions within a particular society or some other collectivity; an example is migration, unemployment. In considering these regularities and changes we are concerned with matters such as structures and structuring and the role of normative definitions. On the other hand, there are the more micro transitions, relating more to individuals or particular families and households. This type of transition concerns more with experiences, negotiations and meanings in a personal setting. Within micro-transitions we can identify two types:

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a) the life transitions are required major changes in the life of an individual (role transitions, face an severe illness) b) day-­to-day setting transitions (join a different social circle, falling in love, moving from one country to the country of origin in regular basis). The later has received less attention from researchers in social sciences perhaps because it is less dramatic in comparison with life transitions (Vernberg, 1990,p.127). However, all types of transitions pose a variety of adaptation challenges. Thus, micro-transitions in a day to day setting can be seen as a research of interest across disciplines that is not widely explored and are worthy of greater scrutiny.

Transitions have a functional and experiential dimensions. A transition might imply a physical movement from stage A to B. In the example of going to school there is a transition in space, going to the new school. The functional dimension refers to the spatial aspects of the transition and how to travel from home to school, whereas the experiential focus on how an individual feels during the transition. The experiential aspects of a transitional period is a challenge for research to understand.

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THE CONCEPT OF LIMINALITY Liminal is a term that can help us understand transition.

Liminal describes the characteristics of any in-between period between two states where the transformation of an individual or group occurs, regardless of the context that it is part of, and the period itself is characterized as one of liminality. The word liminality is derived from the latin word limen, meaning threshold and was used from the social anthropologists Arnold van Gennep (1961) and later taken up by Victor Turner (1967) to understand the rites of passages. Unlike a limit, a threshold is not an endpoint but a mid point, that allows fluid crossing of, or wavering between two worlds.

For Turner liminality is a process, a becoming where transformation is taking place. A threshold is a liminal space in itself, but the crossing of this threshold is also a liminal act.

Liminality can be seen as a part of a transitory experience when the subject is in between of two states and it is the “space” where our sense of self is in question (Andrews & Roberts, 2012). Liminality is defined as a middle ground, a space and time where transformations take place, and is a process filled with ambiguities and contradictions. Very

generally, the term can refer to a particular stage in life that is characterized as betwixt and between (Turner, 1967) and to the experiences of individuals located within this stage. A sense of liminality is not always associated with unpleasant and painful experiences. It might be associated with positive feelings such as freedom and independence.

Liminality can be seen as a part of a transitory experience when the subject is in between of two states and it is the “space” where our sense of self is in question (Andrews & Roberts, 2012). Liminality is defined as a middle ground, a space and time where transformations take place, and is a process filled with ambiguities and contradictions. Very generally, the term can refer to a particular stage in life that is characterized as betwixt and between (Turner, 1967) and to the experiences of individuals located within this stage. A sense of liminality is not always associated with unpleasant and painful experiences. It might be associated with positive feelings such as freedom and independence.

In their study, Holdsworth and Morgan (2005) stated that transitions are not parts of some biological driven set of inevitabilities and there is not such a thing as a context free transitions, but vary within and between societies and cultures over time.

The fact that transition has always a context is an interesting finding from the literature review as it proves the fact that a general theory we could understand such experiences doesn’t seem to exist. In order to understand a transitory period or process, researchers ought to understand first the context where it happens and engage with people in transition accordingly. Although it doesn’t seem to exist a theory of transition in general, from various studies in different contexts we can identify some characteristics of transitory experience from theory that can help us understand what is a transition and what is happening in relation to our sense of self and emotional wellbeing.

Transitions differ in duration depending of its context.

They could be an one-off event or a situation with a gradual change. Concerning with time, transitional periods can vary duration (moment, days, years) and intensity (shock, gradually change). They mainly associated with a negative connotation (loss, stroke, displacement), but they are also considered as moments of becoming and change in a positive manner (independence, freedom).

m ac ro -s ca le

Being in-between refer to both the physical transition from a place to place, as well as the emotional transition one undertakes while being in transition.

start

end seperation

e al sc ocr mi

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TRANSITIONS TAKE PLACE WITHIN TIME AND A SPECIFIC CONTEXT AND ARE THEMSELVES THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATION. HOLDSWORTH & MORGAN (2005) SUGGEST THAT A PROCESS OF TRANSITION IS ITSELF OF INTEREST, APART FROM THE STAGES THAT MIGHT BE IDENTIFIED EITHER SIDE OF THIS TRANSITION.

liminality

incorporation

Liminality can be seen as a part of a transitory experience when the subject is in between of two states and it is the “space” where our sense of self is in question where transformation is taking place. Liminality is defined as a middle ground, a space and time where transformations take place, and is a process filled with ambiguities and contradictions. (Turner 1967).

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES DURING A TRANSITION A PERSON’S WELL-­BEING IS IN A STATE OF FLUX, AS ONE EXPERIENCES MOMENTS OF UNCERTAINTY, STRESS AND UNEASINESS.

According to Nicholson (1987) and his framework of transition circle (p.87) there are four stages in a transition circle; preparation, encounter, adjustment and stabilization and there are different characteristics. Motives and expectations rule the Preparation stage (the period leading up to the point of change), emotions in the Encounter stage (the first days or weeks of familiarization with the new situation), Assimilation and accommodation govern the Adjustment stage (period of developing performance and physiological change) and relating and performing dominate the Stabilization stage (the steady state achieved after Adjustment).

PREPARATION

During a transition a person’s well-­being is in a state of flux, as one experiences moments of uncertainty, stress and uneasiness (Goffman, 1958). Transition is a period of transformation, an interplay between the changing and unchanging dimensions of body, role, interactions, habits, and environments. It is a move, a period of changing that we experience emotional shift. Oatley (1988) has argued that emotions are signals that accompany transitions between one kind of action and another. Thus, periods or process of transition is an interesting research where selfhood and belonging are a process of negotiation with the self. For clarity, in this study “self” is understood with a focus on its emergence and transcendence (Mead 1925; Goffman 1958; Clooley 1968) Transitional spaces, both physical and in mind, can create a fragile, unstable atmosphere when one questions notions of identity and belonging. With the term transitional spaces, I refer both to the physical spaces in transit as well as the more emotional transitions one undertakes.

“GOING HOME”

limimal

IMPACT ON SELF

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TRANSITION CIRCLE

limimal

STABILISATION

ENCOUNTER

limimal limimal ADJUSTMENT

PREPERATION: Anna lives and works in a country other the country of origin and travel in her family home regularly for short breaks. In the preparation stage Anna will start thinking of going home (family house), she will book the tickets, pack her suitcase, maybe buy some gifts. This period is filled with anticipation, expectation of what is going to happen at home, thinking of who is going to be there while she is there and so on. In the encounter stage, she is already at home, and she is filled with emotions.

THE LIMINAL STAGE BETWEEN PREPERATION ENCOUNTER : Between the preparation and the encounter stage there is the liminal stage of transition where the individual is on the move. She experiences the airport, the flight on the place, and the transport from the destination

airport to home. This liminal period might have a mix of characteristics, the anticipation of what is going to happen when she arrived, what was left behind, different emotions when meeting the family, friends and so on. This period of uncertainty and ambiguity will end when the person is at home and face the situation, she was thinking about.

ADJUSTMENT: Later she will get on the adjustment stage, which is on its one a liminal stage, when the person is getting used to the new environment. She starts getting used to the routines, habits of the new situation and adjusting herself.

STABILISATION: When she feels stable she is in the stabilization stage which might be experienced as catharsis.

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DESIGN STUDIES OBJECTS IN TRANSITION During a transition, the role of products is important, as they carry a strong potential for being companions and facilitators (Csikszentmihalyi 1993, Belk, 1988). Research shows that when people gain a new role, the use products as props for their role enactments (beck, 1988). Beck (1995) recognised that “certain goods may come to be seen as extensions of the self”. (1995 studies in the material culture). Drawing from Winncott’s psycholoanalytic theory as a starting point to analyse the way in which particular qualities of objects can be seen to offer the means through which to examine how people use things to transact certain aspects of being in the world at a direct sensory level of experience particularly with reference to time. (From wild things. P. 122). Textiles presents the genre of artifacts ideally suites as exemplar of transitional objects, because of their intimacy in relation to the body (e.g. toddler’s blanket). (Attfield, 2000). According to Winncott (1953) Ephemerality and playfulness are two features that best incorporate the transitoty nature of the transitional object.

Ephemerality in terms of the material qualities of the object and playfulness as an activity, an enactment of the search of the self.

Attfield is suggesting that, with the everyday, things function in a way analogous to the “wild” cars in a card game (p.74); their meaning is not simply unstable but non-existent until they are played and their value is designated.

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UNDERSTANDING EXPERIENCES IN HCI Observing the everyday life, I argue jewellery occupies a unique space in wearer’s sense of self, as objects that hold personal stories and memories and being place in the intimate personal space in relation to the body. The importance of meaning of jewellery in relation to time had been the focus of some attention of many jewellers; for example Rana, Isenberg, Cheung, Wallace. Jewellery is objects imbued with personal memories and significance and can be termed a form of transitional object helping people to come to terms with the passing of time- the seperation of youth , the loss of a loved person. (Attfield,2000). Thus, inherently personal in its nature and concerned with one’s identity, jewellery historically offers the personal content for exploring the adjustability of the self to a situation that is changing.

Extending the meaning of jewellery with digital technologies, the exploration on digital jewellery could potentially of digital jewellery foster emotional wellbeing in transition and find new ways to support one selves in a moment of change. Digital jewellery is a promising area of exploration as is combines qualities of interactive objects and a long history of objects that support wearer’s sense of self in periods of emotional change.

Designing interactive products and understanding experiences are core subject in the field of HCI (Human Computer Interaction). In the recent years, the HCI community has been shifting its attention towards an experienced-based interaction, which involves expressions and emotions (Monk et al., 2002). A range of methods and tools has been introduced to research practices and design processes to help designers gain a rich understanding on how people feel and act in a certain situation (Sandres, 2004; Stappers, 2010; Mattelmaki, 2005; Gaver, 1999). Workshops, prototypes and probes are only a few of the Co-Design activities, where the participation of designers and non-designers can bring new insights to a research area in a continuous dialogue (Sappers, 2010; Mattelmaki, 2006). Whereas probes seem to be an established method in gathering inspirational data and in HCI design and providing an alternative frame to design in HCI, they have undertaken many adaptations and some of the essential characteristics of the method have been left behind (Boehner, 2007).

As probes becomes more standardized, Boehner (2007) argues that the subjective mark and expression of designers in the process of designing the probes is increasingly lost and probes ended up informing the final design of a system, losing an important stage which could advance the conversation between designers and participants.Probing should not be seen as formula to inspire design, but as a method to engage and encourage participants to talk about their lives and experiences.Wallace (2013) challenged the undocumented leap between the probes and the design, as identified by Boehner, with a proposed framework for the design of

probes. In her comprehensive analysis of a series of deign probes, centred on sense of self and personal significance, she highlighted the openness and the variety of materials used to design the probes suggested, the pace that the information is revealed and the reciprocity of the probes are key factors to create a reflective and reflexive relationship between researcher and participants.

Thus, although a range of methods has been developed to understand experiences in HCI, there is still room for further exploration on ways that designers can better understand how people feel in a certain situation before they propose design objects or services that might enhance this experience.

In exploring personal significance and sense of self, participant might find even more challenging to articulate aspects of their lives and it is not straightforward for them to document their feelings (Wallace, 2013), it is worth further exploring methods that make people as comfortable as possible to share aspects of self. Although f the probes have gained significant attention in their role to elicit people’s reflections in context, to lesser, attention has been given to the place where the probes are introduced. In my work, I introduced and explored the notion of “staged” atmosphere as a methodological approach to understand and design for experiences that centred in sense of self and personal significance. I will expand this nuances of methods later on this issue.

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DESIGN FOR TRANSITIONAL EXPERIENCES From an experience-based lens, transition is seen as the struggle between changing and unchanging dimensions of an experience. When an individual faces a transitional situation the changing or unchanging dimensions can occur at a more material, tangible level of a person (body, role, surrounding people, habits environmental), factors which are often observable from others, and/or at a more abstract one which concerns with person motives, goals, expectations, intentions, values and it often depends on the individual’s willingness to share them with others. At its most basic, it occurs when a person is in the midst of passing from one state to another and usually challenges an individual’s well-being in physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions (Ozenc, 2014).

During a transition the individual encounters this tension between changing and unchanging dimensions happening simultaneously (Ozenc, 2011) and that affects the individuals emotional well-being. The potential for design in fostering people’s emotional wellbeing and mediating their relationships with them self, others and environment is a rich, not widely explored, area for exploration.

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The MOT (Modes of Transitions) Framework is a theoretical framework that can help designers to understand and design for transitions.(Ozenc, 2011). The framework suggests designers to understand transitional experiences with four plots; routine, performance, rituals and life narratives. Routine refers to habits and the automated acts in a specific context, performance to the social roles that one performs in various contexts, rituals are routines imbued with meaning and life narrative refers to the narration of a situation in a form of an inner dialogue or dialogue with others. Aspects of the four stages are changing during a liminal state. The methods to understand what is changing and what remains the same is borrowed from human-centred design, such as life mapping, role enactment activities, personals and interview. The aim is to identify value themes and potentially “sweet-spots” in the experience that can lead to design opportunities. The framework could be used to find opportunities for design as well as to test design outcomes.

MOT framework and the design for transitions highlighted the potential role of interactive objects to promote emotional well-being.

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DISCUSSION

Transitional experiences are concerned with emotional changes and can foster or decline our emotional well-being; they are subjective and context-based. Due to the fact that transitions are usually personal, and implicit in nature, present a major challenge for designers (Ozenc 2011). To understand transitions and find ways and means to support them a designerly stance providing an experience-based lens and a deeper insight on the transitory feelings is necessary. To address the complexity of the experiential dimensions during a liminal state, designers need to approach transitional experiences from an experienced centred design approach and engage with participants of the study in personal dialogue.

desiging digital jewellery to support micro transtitory experiences

From the literature review I identified the area of micro-transitory in everyday settings, an area which has received less attention from social scientists and phycologists, mainly because it is not experienced with the same intensity as life stages changes in life.

Nevertheless, it is an area concerned with our sense of self and emotional wellbeing and it is worth exploring. The micro-transitions of our everyday life I suggest is a rich area for investigation and research in this micro scale is limited. Micro-transitions could be for example: when someone working in a different country journeys home for a short break; when a student leaves change universities; when someone starts a new job. I suggest that micro transitions are ripe for exploration as they occur frequently enough for me to engage with people in such situations and collectively they form a landscape of everyday moments when jewellery could be used to support a sense of self, identity or connection to something grounding.

Objects occupy a unique space to support the self in transition and offer a space where the self can be grounded (Winncott, 1953; Belk, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi,1993; Attfield 2000).The role of designing interactive products to foster emotional wellbeing during transition has been identified (Ozenc, 2011, 2014), but research in this area is limited.

self during a transition, to re-center the self with something grounding or to enable a new setting for meaning making process.

experienced-centred design

probes focus on micro transitory experiences in day to day setting

“going home”

Moreover, from the literature review, I identified that there are not context-free transitions. The fact that transition has always a context is an interesting finding from the literature review as it shows that a general theory that could help us understand such experiences does not seem to exist. Thus, In order to understand a transitory period or process, researchers ought to understand first the context where it happens and engage with people in transition accordingly. If designers are thinking about experience in design and how to design in an experiential way for people, which is something we should be do when we are designing digital jewellery, then we need to think on microtransitions never on its own, but always in relation to a context.

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In order to understand peoples’ needs, aspirations and fears during a transitional state I engage on a dialogical approach to experience and apply methods that can progress designers’ empathic understanding of the lived experience of the participants (Wright et al. 2008; Wallace 2013). In dialogical approach the focus is on experiential, relational, and community approaches to communication, knowledge, and identity, and it is associated with empathy, active listening, and perspective taking. (Anderson et al., 2004; Hicks, D. 2002; Kester, G. 2004; Wright et al. 2010). A dialogue between participants will provide a detailed understanding of how people experience a transitional moment in their lives, an approach that is necessary in order to understand the transitional experience holistically.

The role of researchers is crucial during the process, as they try to motivate reflections and engage actively the participants through subjective involvement. As I have highlighted in the literature review on existing methods on gathering reflections on people’s experience, new methods are needed to explore how designers could bring back the subjective and personal nature of probes. In my attempt to design new forms of creative engagement and support the ongoing dialogue between the designerresearcher and the participants, I follow Wallace’s approach on designing and using design probes, as an approach of understanding and analysing user-experiences, where the materiality, the openness, the pace that the information revealed is of great significance and an approach that is based on the emphatic relationship between researcher and participants.

digital Jewellery and transitions

Inherently personal in its nature and concerned with one’s identity, jewellery historically offers the personal content for exploring the adjustability of the self to a situation that is changing. Extending the meaning of jewellery with digital technologies, the exploration on digital jewellery could potentially foster emotional wellbeing in transition and find new ways to support one selves in a moment of change. Digital jewellery is a promising area of exploration as is combines qualities of interactive objects and a long history of objects that support wearer’s sense of self in periods of emotional change.

The study explores the role of digital jewellery in transitional experiences in everyday setting and follows and experienced-centered approach. My aim is to provide a deeper understanding on people’s feeling and emotions of being in between and potentially inform the broader field of experience-centred design on how to achieve this. My research it is an exploration on the potential role of digital jewellery to accompany the

Drawing on Oznenc (2011) work on understanding and designing for transitions and the methods applied to gather data about transitional experiences, my research builds upon a number of exiting participatory, co-creative research methods (Gaver et al 1999; Wallace 2008; Wilde 2009) and I explore new methodological ways grounded on codesign activities and experiential workshops.

An example of micro-­transitions I address in my work is when someone working in a different country journeys home for a short break. Combining the framework of transition circle and liminality I attempted to unweave the complexity of a transitional experience into liminal stages and processes. But, a theoretical framework, as it was argued earlier, is not enough to give us a rich understand of the experiential dimensions of a transition.

Thus, I followed an experience- centred approach, as suggested by other studies.

Following I will present an exploratory period of self-reflective practices and designing prototypes of digital jewellery driven from my own experience of moving between UK and Greece, and my work with a small group of people who experience similar situations to support some of my finding and to design with/ for them pieces through co-design activities. My aim is to explore the role of digital jewellery to support a sense of self and one’s emotional wellbeing during a transitory period. After unpeaking the stages of the transition through visual maps, I decided to focus my study on liminality, the “in-between” state, the middle ground in a transitory experiences in space and time where transformations take place (Andrews, H. Et al 2012). In short I explore what it means to be “neither here nor there”. This decision was based on the theoretical understanding of liminality, as a state/ period that is on itself of interest, apart from the stages that might be identified either side of this transition (Holdsworth & Morgan 2005).

approach

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UNDERSTANDING TRANSITIONS THROUGH PRACTICE IN DIALOGUE WITH MYSELF

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TOUCH “hide&reveal” piece

SIGNIFICANT OTHER The piece is painted with thermochromic ink that hides the text after being heated by the wearer’s fingers. Changing from an overall black to colorless to let hide the black printed text at human’s temperature. Reached the transition temperature of 27°C the text disappears reversibly upon people’s tactile inputs or ambient temperature. The thermochromic ink used is a mixture of pigment in equal parts with a clear acrylic binder that is applied on paper with the screenprinting technique.

The text is written in greek. The text was sent to me via email from my mum as an attempt to stir my motivation at a time.

In a form of a small folding envelope, the piece of paper can be worn on the body.

I took that picture while I was traveling from Greece to London. I was on board few minutes before taking off.

“hide&reveal” piece

I am at CPH airport in Copenhagen waiting for my next flight to UK. I had to spend 2 hours at the airport. For this time I found a quiet space next to a glass window. I am already half a day away from home and I have a mixture of feelings.

I opened my bag and I wore the brooch with the revealed message.

I was wearing the brooch for a few hours before and during the flight.

I enjoyed the playfulness of the changing state of the brooch.

The unexpected changes due to environmental conditions at the aeroplane (warm environment before departure and cold during the flight) draw my attention back to the object and directly link my thinking with the meaning of the text and my mum. In the warm environment the text was hidden, but I could activate the text with touch and vice versa.

What is this text for me? a motivation, an anchor, a support. I rubbed the piece of paper regularly to hide the text, to externalise my emotions that she is not here/there.

Her absence became visible, but then she “revealed” again through her words.

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“IT’S NOT EASY TO TALK’

The object is made from a found object, a piece wood from a forest in Hehxam (an area near Newcastle), a beautiful detail from silver that reminds us of a microphone and something cheap, a plastic bubble, which fills in with water.

The object is made of clay and it serves the similar function. The object “fits” with the wearer’s hand.

The object gives the impression of a piece that could be found in a beach. One of those pieces that you might take home because there are beautiful.

“let it go” piece

The realisation that I needed my personal time and space to get myself ready for “going home” was the inspiration moment for the “Let it go” piece. The piece is made as a thought piece to provoke concepts on digital jewellery and interactive possibilities.

The piece acts as a companion; it listens and stores personal narratives. The piece has the potential to listen, but the speaker doesn’t have the ability to listen instantly back what she says. The piece responses to what it hears by filling in with water. When the bubble (see on the right) is full of water, the speaker has to pour the water and empty it. This is a symbolic action. “Let it go” and start over again next time you might needed to share a thought. After a certain period of time the wearer can listen back his emotions and feelings at a time.

Drawing on Gidden’s theory about the continuity of the self through self narratives, the piece can potentially sustain a personal biography and provide the basis for ongoing selfreflection.

A period of transition can lead to isolation, shock, difficulty to express one’s feeling with words. Sharing personal thought with a piece is seen as a gentle way of externalising emotions.

In order to further explore the idea I made an explorative video. The video was set up in the right time and place, a few before my flight to Greece. What I realised while I was exploring the interactive qualities of the piece, “talking to piece” was not as easy as I thought earlier in the process. But

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the way that the piece responded to my thoughts was a nice symbolic action. Filling in with water made me fill that feelings were going out of myself and placed in an intimate object.

I thought that by holding the piece it could activate its function as well.

I will explore the possibility store only few seconds of spoken words. The wearer when later activates the memory in the piece can listen another variation that mix words in time.

I spent a week in DJCAD in Dundee as an attempt to further explore the form of the object, its relation to the body and its qualities of interaction. The next iteration took the form of an organic form, a coral, a reminder of a found object in a beach. The piece was made of clay. Reflections and thoughts from other practitioners and participants from my study later on, I got a positive feedback about the form, its physicality and its “fit” with the wearer’s hand.

Both pieces were given to the participants of the aircraft workshop to test the concepts.

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IN DIALOGUE

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IN DIALOGUE WITH PARTICIPANTS

THE AIR [CRAFT [ WORKSHOP Atmospheres

“I enter a building, see a room, and – in the fraction of a second – have this feeling about it”, Peter Zumthor 1993 (architect) The importance of atmosphere and its production is a longstanding concern of the design professions, and architects have long been explicit about its importance (Borch, 2014; Griffero, 2014; Pallasmaa, 2014; Zumthor, 2006). Turning to the field of HCI and the growing interest of designing for experiences, the notions of atmospheres started gaining interest as it encompasses the bodily felt experience in space (McCarthy & Wright, 2004; Kinch, 2011). In order to understand how we feel and experience the transition of going home, it is interesting to think how transitional spaces such as the plane and the airport, as parts of the physical transition with a certain atmosphere can be the setting for an exploratory aircraft workshop.

The air[craft] workshop seeks to explore how people experience the liminal situation of going home. The participants were four girls, non-UK natives travelling from UK to your home on a regular basis. The study is an example of micro – transition in day to day setting.

The aim of the workshop was to explore the roles and potentials of objects in relationship with our bodies and ourselves and also their potential within our significant personal relationships during the micro-transitional experiences we encounter.

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Unfolding the experiential qualities of transitional spaces, I started exploring the notion atmosphere as an element that could enrich the experiential qualities of the workshop.

The atmosphere of the aircraft

In order to gain a rich understanding of how people feel in a transitory experience of between two intimate places (home to place of origin) we set up the workshop in a real airplane. The rationale of this decision was that the space could potentially stimulate feelings and emotions of the actual experience.

Those feelings are often hard to reveal in a workshop. In an atmospheric environment, potentially, participants will feel

closer to the real experience and share with me their deeper reflections. I propose that if we want to make participant reflect on feeling and emotions during the transitory time of being in the place, it is not enough to create an abstraction of a plane (see Buchenau, 1999), because we are loosing an important part of the experience, the atmosphere of the real space.

My intention was to create an environment as close as the real one and leave some room for imaginative thinking and co creation. The methods we explored were the staging of atmosphere, meaning that the atmosphere is close to real but still “staged”, the theatricality of the experience with the researcher acting as flight assistant and finally the creation of open-­ended, crafted objects. All these methods aimed to invite participants to reflect on notions of home, the feeling of being in-between two intimate places and to imagine ways to support their transition.

Staging the atmosphere

How do I create the “staged atmosphere”?

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The use of a real airplane

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Imaginative and personalized objects

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Role playing - flight assistant, announcements

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Discussion at the airport

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THE PARTICIPANTS ARE THREE GIRLS AGED BETWEEN 25 AND 35, WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE UK. THEY ARE FROM GERMANY, BRAZIL AND CANADA.

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location The workshop was set up in a stationary

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Dec 14th 2015

BOARDING

14:00

SEAT Different explorations offer different aesthetic qualities: BOARDING material differ in their response to the body and PARTICIPANT’S NAME 14:00 11 the environment. The probes I have designed wereBettina Nissen GATE FLIGHT NUMBER made of various materials that could potentially HOME engage participants to respond in different ways.

They could interact with those ones that they feel more comfortable. In this respect, if some of the probes would not work for someone would potentially engage another participant. A set of probes were made for each participants. Few were bespoke pieces and others are simiral in purpose, while proposing different interactive contexts. Participants would potentially exchange ideas and thoughts during the workshop and reflect on the differenr materialities of the probes.

PASSENGER Their purpose was to stimutate reflections andNAME space for imaginative thinking.

PASSENGER NAME

HOME

GATE

PARTICIPANT’S NAME Robyn Taylor

FLIGHT NUMBER

HOME

Larissa Pschetz

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HOME

LOCATION : Newcastle Aviation Academy, Newcastle International Airport, Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 8BT(near Newcastle Airport)

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BOARDING TIME

NG

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HOME

Participants were asked to prepare the luggage for the trip and bring artefacts that usually accompany on transitions.The ticket was sent to them prior to the “flight”.

BOARDING TIME

Dec 14th 2015

14:00

The way I responded to data I gathered was to write a reflection in a form of a narrative soon after the chat. While reading the narrative, I was searching for opportunities to make a bespoke object that could reveal aspects of self as I interpreted. This interpretation is not seen as analysis, rather as a response. My response was a sketch with parts of them All of them have a female figure which divides the self into work(right) and home(left of the figure). Words triggered my imagination to create collages with ambiguity. The sketches could be interpreted only from the participant that was made for.

SEAT

I decided not to record our informal conversation, rather to keep some notes during the chat. The goal was simply to get to know each other and create the space for dialogue.

Feelings and emotions related to the notion of home are personal and require a friendly environment with mutual trust.

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A series of surreal, weird, fictional/ imaginative objects were created and given out during the workshop to the participants. Their purpose was to open creative and imaginative ways to reflect on how they felt during the transitional situation of going back home and create triggers for imaginative thinking exploring the potential of digital jewellery in the context of transitions.

Robyn Taylor

UK

LOCATION : Newcastle Aviation Academy, Newcastle International Airport, Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 8BT(near Newcastle Airport)

FLIGHT NUMBER

HOME

PASSENGER NAME

UK

LOCATION : Newcastle Aviation Academy, Newcastle International Airport, Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 8BT(near Newcastle Airport)

GATE

probes

Bettina Nissen

a theatre performance where the researcher (myself) acted as a flight assistant to create an immersive environment, as close as the real flight, for the participants. Announcements during the flight helped participants to reflect on notions of home, relationships with their body and others and transitory feelings.

In my research I seek to explore how a jewellerresearcher can contribute to a deeper understanding micro transitions and design digital jewellery as personalised object to support our sense of self during such liminal period.

FLIGHT NUMBER

I met with each of them in person and I explain the rationale behind the aircraft workshop and my intention to design bespoke pieces for them to support their transitional experience.

theatricality The workshop took the form of

FLIGHT NUMBER

An important steps to happen before the workshop was getting to meet my participants and understand what might be a barrier for them. What might made them feel uncomfortable, what are there considerations when they talk about “home“?

PARTICIPANT’S NAME Larissa Pschetz

getting to know the participants

aeroplane at the Aviation Academy in Newcastle, near the Newcastle airport. The aircraft space was mainly used as a classroom, but it is fully equipped with the appropriate equipment.

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It is different when I have longer flights. I sit down and I wan to be more comfortable. Going home is like taking the bus. It is just one flight.

Zuhause = at home Heimat = is a place you grew up. It does't mean anything important to me. heimweh = sometimes I do have moments of homesick.

JUDE

LAURA

Bread, beer in the beer garden in flensburg...

I did crochet on the flight once I was going home. My mum and my grandmoher knit.

it is a whole day of trip to go back home.

Although it is geographical close. oo I am used to travelling a lot./ going home is not a special trip for me.

Home it is a kind of routine, it is about the family.

When I have to go home, I have to do a lot of things, renew my passport, driving licence, I calm myself down when I am reading,

I could be anywhere...

(I MAKE THE PICTURE IN MY HEAD OF A MIGRATION BIRD )

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I know there is the convential idea of home. Home is the place when you grew up and you are coming from, but for me it is different.

I love going to the beach when I am in Brazil!

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inspiration for the sketch

JAYNE Time Zones She chats with her family almost everyday. Suffering from Insomnia makes it slightly easier to overcome the time difference. She can ring her mum when it is 8 there and 3 in the morning here (7 hour difference). She struggles when she is there and her husband is in Newcastle. “I miss him” “Our schedule don’t match" "Distance makes you talk"

(FRENCH ART DECO - FURNITURE AND TILES )

Paris/ Newcastle/Canada Paris : is my fantasy place. I would not like to live there. It would be boring (do the rituals of working life). It pays me back overtime I go there. I can take more risks there.

For her home is Canada. Parts of who she is in Paris and Newcastle.

Fantasy - work - Home

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She likes tea/ and vintage things. She really liked the Guilliam brothers decoration (cafe in newcaslte)

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Enthusiastic about the objects they asked me if they could take the bespoke one with them. I told them that they could take anything they wanted to. I just asked them to write down the reason why they wanted to take it. They all wanted to take the “parts of me” piece. They couldn’t believe it that they could take the pieces with them.

OBJECTS FOR MINDFULNESS

When I asked them why they thought that was uncommon their answer was that the objects were valuable to them because they were handmade, time consuming and personalised.

“COMFORT ME” KIT Sleeping Mask, Comfort Cushion and Earplugs are familiar objects in the flight experience to provide comfort. Questions were added to each piece to encourage participants thinking on being in-between.

The ”Comfort Me” kit was designed to introduce participants in the practice of mindfulness. Listening to your body and creating a bodily awareness is key for mindfulness practices and a great starting point for this workshop. Participants were invited to focus on our bodily experiences and listen to our bodies through paying more focused and intensive attention to what is happening to their bodies by listening to their senses.

The aim of the activity was to create a relaxing and immersive environment where participants could reflect on how the feel during the transitory experience of going home.

“Give yourself some time hold your breathe for a few seconds.

Close your eyes, your ears, focus on different parts of your body. Spend a few minutes to navigate around/ scan your body and think about how do you feel in this situation. You know how it feels to travel home. You have experienced it before.

If it helps, can give a name to this feeling. If it is a specific part of your body you can point on that part and bring the focus there.”

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OBJECTS FOR REFLECTION

“CHEW OF FAMILIARITY�

Home means different things for different people.

People might consider more than one home during their lives. Although the focus of my study is not what home means is an important theme that has to be revealed and explored.

Chew of Familiarity piece is one of the objects that would potentially help participants to reflect on notions of home and things, sounds, places that are they link to it.

The form of the object is inspired from one of my earlier exploration on pieces for myself (picture above). It can be worn as a brooch. It has a folded envelope with some information regarding the activity. I asked my participants to chew the chew of familiarity and focus again on their bodily sensations, and feelings or physical places that have a significant meaning to them.

During the activity I invited participants to wear the piece on their body and reflect on the location and the rationale for their decision.

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“PARTS OF ME” The piece is bespoke for each participants. It was inspired from the interview I had with each of them before the workshop. Sketches were designed a response to their descriptions and connotations of the notions of home and “being in transition”. Our talk was not being recorded. It was an informal conversation.

The piece was screen-printed with a combination of thermochromic (inks that change with temperature) and normal pigments.

While activated the piece heats up and changes the surface on top. When is heated the black strips (thermochromic ink) are disappeared and the sketch reveals. The sketch could be revealed through rubbing and breathing. I gave the three pieces to them without telling which one was designed for whom. Through playful interactions the participants identify each bespoke piece and started exploring “parts of them” through my sketch. A level of ambiguity left room for reflections and the crafted object acted as a bond between myself and the participants.

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I gave the piece to each of them and I asked the girls to pick the one that they thought was made for them. An playful interaction started. The girls were interacting with the piece and with their breathe and rubbing, they could reveal different parts of the piece. One of Jayne’s comments was that it felt weird to bring someone else’s personal narratives so close to your body. The girls really enjoyed the piece.

The playfulness of the piece and the fact that I have created something as a response to their stories helped us to move to the next activity with curiosity and excitement.

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Enthusiastic about the objects they asked me if they could take the bespoke one with the them. I told them that they could take anything they wanted to. I just asked them to write down the reason why they wanted to take it. They all wanted to take the parts of me piece. They were keep on asking if they could get other pieces as well. They couldn’t believe it.

When I asked them why they thought that was uncommon their answer was that the objects were handmade, time consuming and variable.

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“NEITHER HERE NOR THERE” Transitional experiences have a start and an end and their boundaries are often blurred and sometimes without a conscious mind. The “Neither here nor there” seeks to explore what is for the participants’ sense of self, when they are in-between.

The piece is made by a clock mechanism that is hidden and a variety of materials with properties to hide and reveal information. For one, the surface on top consists of two sheets of polarizing filters. While the one rotates the questions slowly reveals The piece (on top right) reveals parts of the question while the circle one top rotates The piece is activated when the participant place the ticket (the ticket was sent in advance) to the hole on its side. The piece starts rotating and revealing the following question.

Where does the transition start and when does it end?

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THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT DYNAMICS YOU EXPERIENCE (FAMILY, PLACE, FRIENDS, THINGS). YOU SHIFT FROM FRIENDS, STORIES, THINGS IN THE UK TO DIFFERENT NARRATIVES. OBJECTS FOR EXPLORING DIGITAL JEWELLERY IN THE CONTEXT OF TRANSITION

OPEN THE SUITCASE WITH MATERIALS THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND SUPPORT YOU DURING TRANSITIONS. EXPLORE THEM AND GO BACK TO ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, OBJECTS YOU INTERACTED TODAY. HOW DOES THIS MAKES YOU FEEL? (ANNOUNCEMENT)

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It’s like a musical instrument. I would imagine this as a precious souvenir from somewhere I’d been. – Jayne (fictional name)

“UNKNOWN”

participants’ responses

“Anemone” companion (not sure about the spelling, German word) but I’m in airplane mode so can’t check the internet (smiley face) Inspired by underwater plants that are always moving a slowly shifting in the ocean’s streams, this companion would incorporate little parts of what home is to me, each hole is something else, the two sides of this one could be my two homes, one in Germany and one in the UK. The shape seems a bit big and heavy for me to travel with. I always feel like I’m carrying too much in my bag, but I love the feel of smooth ceramic the smaller one that Jayne(fictional name) had seems to fit into the hand nicely, like a Handschmeichler (another German word, usually a smooth peddle fitting nicely into the palm) – Jude (fictional name)

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The “Unknown“ piece is a piece that I made for myself to explore digital jewellery (see p.29) For the workshop I took advantage of the physicality of the physicality of the object and I invite participants to reflect what homes mean to them and what links them with their notion of home and explore possibilities for digital jewellery.

The surreal form was intended to trigger their imagination and come up with ideas to support their experience of “going home“.

Where are all these feelings of home?

Tell me places, objects, people, songs that make you think of home. Push your answers in the receptors.

Leave a place for a wish.

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“UNKNOWN”

“MY SELF + YOUR SELF”

The “Unknown” one of the though pieces I have made for myself (see p. ). Name it “unknown” I intended to invite participants to explore its potentials of how this sureal object could support their transition without giving them many clues of why I thought that piece would work during my experience. Inside the plastic bubble I wrote “Whisper a thought. Nobody can hear it.“ That potentiallty will gave a insight of what the piece was intented to do.

The sketches started a dialogue between myself and the participants. The dialogue was based in drawing. By the end of the workshop, I gave the initial sketch I have made for each of them on a piece of paper. I invited them to complete their image of their self.

By taking the bark there is something I conveyed by valuing that person, a small detail of a well-crafted piece and a cheap detail and a way of interacting with the body. My consideration was that if an object was beautifully considered object participant might consider it as finished object and thus it might be a barrier . My aim was to create open-ended unfinished objects that stimulate participants imaginative thinking.

What are the parts of them that I have not captured on my response to their stories and thoughts?

Participants created a series of responses. I highlighted that the purpose of the activity was not to interpret the pictures that they made, but find creative ways to respond back.

I added a ring attached to the piece of wood to the initial form. The ring is made of silver and can be detached from the piece.

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at the airport “After the first and the second part of the activities, the mindful and the reflexive ones, the last part of the activities was the imaginative one. They seemed to enjoyed their interaction with the ceramics piece more than with the wooden one. Jayne (fictional name) held the piece in the way I have designed it. To fit inside the hand. She was enthusiastic about it. Me too. “

My Reflections after the aircraft workshop 20.12.2015 - before the analysis

How was the process of facilitating? What went well and what went wrong?

My aim to create an immerse environment of flight was successful. My role as a flight assistant was crucial to create the atmosphere of a flight and participants seemed to quickly adjust to the setting. I started with welcoming announcements and some information regarding the structure of the workshop.

The first activity introduced them to the Comfort me kit. The activity was an introduction to the practice of mindfulness.

The purpose of the activity was to help participants relax and bring the focus to their body; to their sensations and their feelings and emotions during this transitional experience. I was trying to make clear throughout the workshop that the focus was the in-between state and not the final destination (home)

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as such. Participants tried on the sleeping mask and they spent a few minutes concentrated and being lost in their thoughts. It was enjoyable to observe their body posture and the overall relaxation.

The second piece I gave them was Chew of Familiarity piece.

The piece was an introduction to a series of objects that would potentially helped to reflect on notions of home and things, sounds, places that connect them with home. They seemed to enjoy the piece. During the activity, I have asked them to fold the piece back and wear the object somewhere in their body.

Laura kept on wearing the object during the whole workshop.

In regular basis, I invited them to write and reflect on their feelings. Consequently, the workshop became a writing class.

As soon as I realized that, I wanted to change the atmosphere into play and fun. In my attempt change the atmosphere of the

space, I have changed the order of the next activity. Instead of giving them the “neither here nor there” piece, I gave them the “Parts of me” pieces and I told them that the pieces were made after our conversations in the cafe and they were bespoke.

The girls already started commenting on the quality of the objects.

I was relieved and relaxed. The workshop had a good flow. All the hard work was worth it. With more confidence I introduced the next object. The neither here nor there piece.

Where does the transition start and when does it end? was the question slowly revealed when the participants placed their ticket. Unfortunately one clock mechanism broke the night before. Although I introduced the three variations of the piece, they engaged with two of them (the working ones.) I had the

feeling that the piece worked great to bring the focus back to transitions and the transitory feeling. Interesting they were chatting with each other and started exchanging objects with each other. They were thrilled with the quality of the objects.

I got the impression that the piece worked well to make them reflect.

It was hard to find the right time to introduce the next activity.

The girls were so keen on documenting their thought on the travel journal I gave them in the beginning of the workshop.

My reaction was to start more playful announcements that they had to leave their pens down like in exams. I wonder if I had left them writing as much as they wanted then I could have gathered richer reflections. They refused to use the audio recorder to capture their thoughts, because they didn’t feel comfortable to share their thoughts out load, while surrounded by strangers. The same reason discouraged them to interact with the wooden piece later in the workshop.

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Collaborating with Newcastle College The friendly atmosphere of the Newcastle College and the hospitality and the openness of all the member of the staff I worked with, was a vital step to the realisation of the aircraft workshop. In dialogue with them I talked about the rationale behind the workshop and my design intentions.

IN DIALOGUE

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I will never forget the moment when I went with my mum and my aunt at the airport to farewell their trip back to Greece and afterwards I went to the Newcastle Collage to ask if organizing a workshop at their facilities would be possible.

It seems that crazy ideas can happen.

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up

B A down

RESPONSES WITH MAKING

2 types of connectivity horizontal (A-B) - dynamics from place to place vertical (up-down) - geographical data

Opportunities for collaboration with BA Insights from the workshop have been presented to the Creative Director at British Airlines, Richard Stevens. We have discussed opportunities for collaboration. An interest is to find ways to support the travelling experiences and avoid any anxiety during the journey to foster passengers well being.

Our conversation brought the theme of connectivity between places places (horizontal connectivity with places) and the updown (vertical connectivity with the geographic data) (Figure 3). The first might be linked with the emotional connectivity with places and people that participants consider as home and the second type is connected with “the magic of flight�.

Both types of connectivity will be explored and the potential of digital jewellery in both situations in the next stage of my research.

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NARRATIVES

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“Found objects on the beach, shells or smoothened glass shards have always fascinated me. I like to collect random things from different places, took some corals with me from my most recent holidays to Thailand, when I went diving and saw all the beautiful colours of ocean.” Jude (fictional name)

Sea Pottery Few days after the workshop, I went for a walk along the coast in Tynemouth. I am looking for “sea pottery” and broken pieces of glass. On the left down, there are some pieces that I found on a certain parts of the beach.

Objects worn out from the sea salt, relics of objects. Some of the parts made me imagine the object of origin. The bottom of a mug, the handle of mug, the same glaze of two pieces of ceramics.

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Thimbles with Stanhope

On Saturday I visited the market in Tynemouth. In my wondering around objects, smells and voices, I found a small collection of thimbles. These objects fascinated me for various reasons; their intimacy and stories. These intimate objects can tell us something about the person wearing them and something about cultures and history in a certain period of time. Thimbles from Japan, Germany, England, different sizes and different materials. In the one with the engraving “the Royal Wedding 1988”, somebody has to look inside the black point on top of the thimble and discover a hidden picture of the royal couple in the inside (picture on the right).

I didn’t know that these objects can be personalised in such a way. Relics of memories and family bonds. How many people have been wearing those thimbles? They might have used by different people and travelled in different places over the years to end up in my hands. Objects with a sense of belonging to a place and a person that I may never meet.

Objects with meaning and significance.

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Microfilm & Microfiche

Sketches in microscale

Microfilm and microfiche contain miniaturized images of pages from printed text such as archival documents, newspapers, magazines, journals, and books. These formats are used to preserve fragile materials and to save space in a library. Microfilm came as an idea when I found a Stanhope Thimble at the Tynemouth market (p.61). It has an inbuilt lens for viewing micro pictures. I have become interested in the “tiny� pictures with personal meaning.

The role of drawing is an interesting and inspiring method to establish an empathetic relationship with my participants.

Drawing and its alterations due to participants engagement and participation creates a visual dialogue, which is open for interpretation and imaginative thinking. Responding to one’s interpretation of self is considered as a promising method for co-designing objects or services concerned with sense of self and wellbeing.

I am thinking the design of pieces of digital jewellery that hold personal stories embedded within it? I am intended to make microfilm from the detailed co-design drawings with my participants.

Can we design personlised meaningful data?

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Reflections on Self The sketch was designed by Jayne (fictional name) during the workshop. The initial sketch (in the middle of the picture) is the bespoke sketch I did for her. It was inspired from the interview I had with her before the workshop. My sketch was a creative response to her personal stories and descriptions of the notions of home and the feeling of “being in between”.

Drawing inspiration from my participants’ sketches, I am preparing the next creative response with another sketch.

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Compass of ourselves “I truly identified myself with both the clock and the drawing.Clock is a good metaphor of how I feel about transitions. This slow coming and going, but stayes in the background of action. I probably wouldn’t call it a clock though. Maybe I would call it a compass that points towards ourselves.”Laura (fictional name) “The way the clock slowly rotates and reveals something, is similar to the way she feels in transitions. A slowing process of change that stays on the background of an action. “A compass points towards ourselves”.Laura

How do we experience time zones? What does happen to the time that passes during the flight?

Our phone change time automatically when the clock go back or forward, but how do we experience the in-between?

LOCAL TIME : 2:00AM EXPERIENCED TIME: ?

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Carry your song Inpired by George Brassens songs I wrote a melody in this DIY music box.

What would that be like listening to a memorable tune in this this analogue device while you are in transition?

How would you feel if have written your own tune?

AIRPORTS JUXTAPOSE IN A SINGLE REAL PLACE SEVERAL SPACES, SEVERAL SITES THAT ARE IN THEMSELVES INCOMPATIBLE. THEY CAN DISORIENT US WITH SPEED, BLURRING BOARDERS AND TIME ZONES. THE SAME CAN HAPPEN WITH AEROPLANES. THEY TRANSITION US FROM ONE PLACE TO THE ANOTHER. IN THE CONDENSED SPACE OF OUR SEATS WE ARE LOOKING FOR COMFORT AND RELAXATION. WE ARE WAITING TO REACH OUR DESTINATION AFTER SOME HOURS OF DISCONNECTEDNESS FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD. THE RITUALS OF TRAVELLING WITH CONTROL AND CHECKS MAKE US FEEL VULNERABLE AND WE FACE MANY POINTS OF ANXIETY. OUR EMOTIONAL JOURNEY MIGHT HAVE STARTED LONG BEFORE THE ARRIVAL TO THE AIRPORT. 71

WITHIN AIRPORTS OUR BAGGAGE, OUR BODIES, AND OUR MOVEMENTS ARE ALL PART OF AN ALLENCOMPASSING SPECTACLE, WHERE WE FEEL EXPOSED. BUT, OUR THOUGHTS MOVE STILL IN PRIVATE. THUS, THE AIRPORT CAN BE BOTH—A SEPARATED, COMPOSITE SPACE WHERE ONE LOSES TOUCH WITH COUNTRIES, TIME AND AT THE SAME TIME A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MEET AND GIVE THE WARMEST HUGS, A PLACE WHERE PASSENGERS HAVE TIME TO WAIT AND REFLECT ON THEIR FEELINGS. AND THE AEROPLANE CAN BE BOTH A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, WHICH BRINGS US FROM A TO B AS WELL AS PLACE IN TIME AND SPACE, WHERE WE EXPERIENCE THE “MAGIC OF FLIGHT”; AND MAGIC CAN HAPPEN. A BIG THANK YOU TO JAYNE.WALLACE, NEIL.SMITH, TIM.JACKLIN. 72

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