Case study: Urban Typewriter

Messages submitted to the Urban Typewriter
Urban Typewriter deployed at a school

Objective:

Explore the use of a situated installation for qualitative feedback as a supplement to traditional consultation methods

Process:

Sketching, prototyping, trial study, usability evaluation, interviews, observations, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis

Approach:

In collaboration with Croydon Council, this study investigated how a feedback installation could engage residents in providing their ideas and concerns for the future of a local park. The device enabled people to type their suggestions, read other people's contributions, and to view summary visualisations of the collected data. It was deployed in key social hubs in the area, including in a community centre, primary school, and library, over a period of three weeks. During this time, more than 1500 suggestions were submitted. I conducted over 85 hours of observations, to investigate how people interacted with the technology.

Team:

This project was carried out in collaboration with Dr Sarah Gallacher and Professor Yvonne Rogers, and was funded by ICRI Cities.