Project Introduction

Points of View is an interactive mobile walking tour that allows participants to 
explore New York City in an intimate way. Users will listen to stories 
that New Yorkers have left around the city and will also be able to leave their own personal perspectives throughout the city’s landscape.

Can an exploration of multiple perspectives help us to develop a better understanding of our past, present and future? 

How It Works
I am starting out with a collection of stories of different people’s experiences in the city. Each story occurs in a specific place in the city and I am tagging each audio file to that specific location. The user will be prompted to visit a nearby location on the map. The audio from these different stories will be activated when the user steps into the specified location. The user can also choose to record their own story in a location of their choosing.

The user will be prompted to visit a nearby location on the map
The user will be prompted to visit a nearby location on the map [image from dunnnk.com]
The audio from these different stories will be activated 
when the user steps into the specified location.
The audio from these different stories will be activated 
when the user steps into the specified location [image from dunnnk.com]
The user can also choose to record their own story in a location of their choosing
The user can also choose to record their own story in a location of their choosing [image from dunnnk.com]
Project Inspiration
I was inspired by a podcast on NPR about the changes in Texas’s history textbooks that present history from a particularly whitewashed version of American History. In the podcast, a Texas history teacher explained that her approach to teaching with these new books was to encourage students to examine history from many angles instead of from one textbook. So, I’d like to create a people’s history of New York City that the average person could add their own perspective to.

Project Goals
The goal of this project is to encourage people to see their everyday environment in a more playful and explorative way and forge a sense of connection with the other people that share that space. I’d also like this to be an archive of personal histories of New Yorkers.

Design Values
Physical RelationshipsI want to use technology to encourage a relationship to our physical environment

Participating in History: I want users to participate in the writing of history, rather than being passive recipients of someone else’s story

Intimacy of Sound: I want to use sound and spoken word to evoke feelings of connection and intimacy

I’m also interested in exploring some of the following ideas:

Solastalgia: People feel distressed when they experience changes in their home’s physical environment. New York City is constantly changing and it’s hard to always feel a part of the city.

Experience of Space: We also live in digital spaces and I want to bring people back to relating to physical spaces

Historiography: Historiography is the approach to studying and understanding genres of history. I want people to participate in writing history, rather than being passive recipients of someone else’s story

Early Design Questions

Concept Statement
I am creating an interactive mobile application that allows observers to explore multiple perspectives of New York’s history and leave their own personal perspectives and experiences throughout the city’s landscape. As they go about their daily lives, users will receive a notification when they physically enter a zone that has been marked by the application, using geo-location. The notification will lead to a historical fact that occurred in that specific location. The user will then be invited to share their own perspective on that historic location in the form of text, image, video, or sound. The user can then experience other people’s personal connections to that place. I want users to learn something more about the city, feel a greater connection to it, and establish a broader definition of history.

Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 1.39.55 PM
Listening Screens
Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 1.41.43 PM
Recording Screens

Design Questions

  1. Who is it for?
    This project is for new Yorkers from all different backgrounds.
  2. Where does this audience encounter it?
    The audience would encounter it on the street as they move through the city.
  3. When does this audience experience it?
    I want the audience to experience this as they go through their daily life. The experience should be an interruption of their daily life, forcing them to stop what they are doing and reflect.
  4. What are they doing while experiencing it?
    Users will be moving through the city.
  5. What does the project ask of its audience?
    NYSecret asks its participants to be open to interruptions in their daily life. It also asks the audience to be open and respectful to multiple interpretations of history.
  6. What do you want the audience to take away from their experience?
    I want users to learn something more about the city, feel a greater connection to it, and establish a broader definition of history.
  7. What are some adjectives around how the project will make its audience feel?
    I want the user to feel connected, appreciated, respected
  8. Ultimately, what problem are you trying to solve/ideas are you trying to express?
    I want the audience to view history as many perspectives of one point of view. With this project, I hope to shed light on the subjective nature of history and the need for multiple perspectives in education.