Flow is a familiar experience among designers: we become deeply engrossed in a challenging activity, losing track of time and feeling completely in tune with what we’re doing. We may even experience transcendence — a deep connection with something outside ourselves, something greater and more permanent than ourselves. But what is transcendence? Is it just an aspect of flow, or is it something else altogether? What’s distinct about transcendence, and why does it matter? And how do we design technology to facilitate it? (Can we actually design for transcendence?) Transcendence shares some key features with flow, such as focused attention and altered senses of time and of self, and the experiences differ in some fundamental ways as well. Researcher Gayle Privette captures one major distinction: transcendent experience “is mystic and transpersonal”, and “flow is fun”. Transcendent experiences elude description and resist planning: we cannot define or anticipate them reliably but can only invite them. This renders inadequate the direct approaches of classic UX work: we must instead take an oblique approach. Design for transcendent experience requires new methods. I explore in this talk the nature of transcendent experience — contextual elements that can foster transcendence, the kinds of perceptions and reactions that can constitute a lived experience of transcendence, some words we use to characterize a transcendent experience, and the impact such an experience can have on our lives. I describe and illustrate some tools and methods that I developed during my PhD research on design for transcendent user experience.

1. @ebuie
Beyond Flow
ELIZABETH BUIE
Senior User Experience Consultant
Sigma Consulting Solutions, Ltd.
@ebuie
When User Experience
Becomes Transcendent

2. @ebuie

3. @ebuie Image from Vimeo, used under Crea2ve Commons
Mihályi Csikszentmihályi

4. @ebuie
Flow:
A dance of
challenge
and skill
h5ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Challenge_vs_skill.svg

5. Characteristics of Flow
! Intrinsically rewarding activity
! Clarity of goals
! Complete concentration on activity
! Merged actions & awareness
! Loss of awareness of oneself
! Sense of control over activity
! Relative absence of emotion
! Time distortion
List adapted from Ilona Boniwell’s “Living in Flow”,
Posi2ve Psychology UK
h5p://posi2vepsychology.org.uk/living-in-flow
@ebuie

6. Key aspects of flow
! Centered around an activity
! Usually personal, individual
! May be shared with others,
when all are in flow
with the activity
Flow is centered on an activity.
@ebuie

7. @ebuie
Flow in human-computer interaction
Research began >25 years ago
! What flow looks like in interaction
! How flow affects task performance
! Designing to support flow
Various contexts
! Gaming
! Shopping
! Learning
! Social networking
! Health & well-being

8. @ebuie
An early study (1991)
Face-to-face activity Computer-mediated activity
Ghani, J. A., Supnick, R., & Rooney, P. (1991, January). The Experience of Flow in Computer-mediated and
in Face-to-face Groups.
In ICIS (Vol. 91, pp. 229-237).
Significantly greater flow intensity

9. @ebuie
A very recent study (February 2017)
! Reviewed information systems research on flow
! Found that flow is not well defined or measured
! Offered an integrative theoretical framework of
flow in information systems
! Concluded that design was important to flow:
Rissler, R., Nadj, M., & Adam, M. (2017). Flow in Informa2on Systems Research: Review, Integra2ve Theore2cal Framework, and Future Direc2ons.
‘…the design and implementation of IS plays an important role in
whether or not users have holistic experiences such as “flow”
when interacting with technology.’
– Rissler, Nadj, & Adam (2017)

11. Transcendent experience — What is it?
A sense of intense connection
with something greater than oneself
??
What might that be??
@ebuie

12. What is “something greater”?
Do we think first of a deity?
Sinagoga di Torino (Italy), ©Elizabeth Buie
OR…
Mosque photo by MohammadReza Domiri Ganji h5ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nasir_al-_mulk_mosque,_Shiraz.jpg. Used under Crea2ve Commons BY-SA 4.0
Hay Street United Methodist Church (USA), ©Elizabeth Buie

13. The bounty of Nature Photo © 2000, Elizabeth Buie.

14. The grandeur of the Universe

15. The grandeur of the Universe NASA photo

16. The compassion of a humanitarian cause
Photo: Interna2onal Community of the Red Cross, www.flickr.com/photos/icrc/8536526544/in/set-72157632930713318/. Used under Crea2ve Commons BY-
SA 2.0.

17. The intimacy of a community with shared purpose
Photo © Chris2ne Kipper, h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/info-graz/15975507965. Used under Crea2ve Commons BY
2.0.

18. @ebuie
Is it always the same?

19. @ebuie
Is it always the same?
No.

20. @ebuie
Is it always the same?
No.
Transcendent experience (TX)
takes on many forms,
comes in many flavors,
goes by many names.

21. Many forms,
flavors, names
! Spiritual experience
! Mystical experience
! Peak experience
! Religious experience
! Numinous experience
! Samādhi
! Cosmic Consciousness
! Satori
! The peace that passeth
all understanding
! (etc.)
Levin, J., & Steele, L. (2005). The transcendent experience: conceptual, theore2cal, and epidemiologic perspec2ves. Explore, 1(2),
89–101.
@ebuie

22. An experience
that transcends
the ordinary —
! reality
! worldview
! sense of self
! boundaries
Transcendent
Experience:
the key
@ebuie

23. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter

24. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
! Loss of awareness of self
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter
! Awareness of self, sense of
connection beyond oneself

25. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
! Loss of awareness of self
! Usually individual
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter
! Awareness of self, sense of
connection beyond oneself
! Individual or communitarian

26. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
! Loss of awareness of self
! Usually individual
! Long (hours to days)
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter
! Awareness of self, sense of
connection beyond oneself
! Individual or communitarian
! Short (seconds to minutes)

27. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
! Loss of awareness of self
! Usually individual
! Long (hours to days)
! Fun, enjoyment
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter
! Awareness of self, sense of
connection beyond oneself
! Individual or communitarian
! Short (seconds to minutes)
! Wonder, awe, chills, tingles

28. @ebuie
Is it Flow or Transcendence?
Flow experience
! Rewarding activity, clear
goals, sense of control
! Loss of awareness of self
! Usually individual
! Long (hours to days)
! Fun, enjoyment
! Repetition (do it again)
Transcendent experience
! Activity not critical,
may not even matter
! Awareness of self, sense of
connection beyond oneself
! Individual or communitarian
! Short (seconds to minutes)
! Wonder, awe, chills, tingles
! Transformation

29. @ebuie
What does all this
have to do with UX?
@ebuie

30. @ebuie
First, some
background

31. @ebuie
A tale of two fields
Transcendent experience
! Experience is the focus
! Artifacts seldom play a role
in the work
! Experience is usually brief:
! “An” experience
! Design??
User experience
! Artifact is a major focus
! Experience revolves around
artifact
! Experience may be ongoing:
! “Experiencing”
! Design is crucial

32. Can we bridge these fields?
Transcend
ent
Experienc
e
User
Experienc
e
Bridges over the River Tyne, Newcastle, ©Elizabeth Buie

33. Can we bridge these fields?
Transcend
ent
Experienc
e
User
Experienc
e
What about user experiences
that involve transcendence?
Bridges over the River Tyne, Newcastle, ©Elizabeth Buie

34. Of music and mystery

35. Of music and mystery
Several years ago I realized a long-held dream — I joined a group that sings
Medieval & Renaissance sacred polyphony.
I’ve resonated with early music for as long as I can remember — even in
childhood, my favorite Christmas song was the 16th Century “Coventry Carol.”
Now, I’m not religious in a traditional sense, but this music just speaks to me.
Polyphony is a musical texture in which two or more independent melodic lines
weave in and out, creating complex harmonies. Some of the rhythms are
difficult.
For someone raised in the 20th Century, used to having all voices sing the same
words more or less together, learning to sing early music is just plain hard.
Fortunately, we don’t use this notation any more.

37. One of our members transcribed old manuscripts into modern notation;
this is mostly what we sing from.
I’m grateful for technology that enables me to learn this glorious and
difficult music.
One month before the first rehearsal, our director sends out the sheet
music, along with MIDI files to give a general idea of how the pieces
sound.
(I’d like to play you one of these, but SlideShare has made it impossible for me to test that capability).
It’s really hard to tell the lines apart. I’d never be able to pick out my part
by listening to that.
Fortunately, I have music notation software that can. I set my part to a
French horn played loudly and the other parts to softer instruments… and
voilá! I save the results to MP3.

38. Live with pieces
Photo © 1998, Elizabeth Buie
For two months before each concert, I lived with these pieces.
I had a handy little gadget that allowed me to play my iPod through my
car radio…
…which I did, any time I had a drive of more than about 15 minutes.
(Note that this was before most cars had USB connections.)
Not only did it help me learn the music, it made my commute more
enjoyable.

39. Live with pieces
Photo © 1998, Elizabeth Buie

40. Commute - spirit soared

41. Commute - spirit soared
One morning I commuted through Rock Creek Park in Washington DC…
… singing along with my learning files and feeling intensely connected to
the Universe…
… cherishing the fall colors, the flowing stream, and the mystery that this
magnificent music evokes in me.
My spirit soared.
Thanks to music technology, the DC rush hour didn't faze me one bit.

42. Mystery/wonder part of my UX

43. Mystery/wonder part of my UX
Creating this experience involves three software apps and three pieces of
equipment (not counting the car).
My sense of connection to the Universe — the mystery and wonder I feel
— are part of my user experience of these tools.
The tools help nourish my spirit.
In his goal-directed design approach, Alan Cooper would say that
connection and wonder are two of my goals.
I say they’re my fundamental goals.

44. @ebuie
This experience and
insight launched my
PhD journey
@ebuie

45. Bridging the fields
Transcend
ent
Experienc
e
(TX)
User
Experienc
e
(UX)
transcendent experience supported/facilitated by technology

46. Bridging the fields
Transcend
ent
Experienc
e
(TX)
User
Experienc
e
(UX)
transcendent experience supported/facilitated by technology
Transcendent User Experience (TUX)

47. @ebuie
Brief overview of my
PhD activities

48. @ebuie
Enrolled in PhD program(me)

49. Research Activities
Background Studies
! Analyze ACM literature on techno-
spirituality
! Inventory/analyze iTunes App Store
offerings
! Analyze comments on top YouTube
meditation videos
Along the way
! Explore design fiction for techno-
spirituality

50. Research Activities
Background Studies
! Analyze ACM literature on techno-
spirituality
! Inventory/analyze iTunes App Store
offerings
! Analyze comments on top YouTube
meditation videos
Along the way
! Explore design fiction for techno-
spirituality
Empirical Research
! Design/conduct/analyze interviews
! Develop grounded theory of
transcendent user experience (TUX)
! Design/conduct game workshops
to elicit speculative design ideas
! Analyze ideas from workshop;
map them to grounded theory
! Assess workshop’s potential for
generating TUX design ideas

51. Research Activities
Background Studies
! Analyze ACM literature on techno-
spirituality
! Inventory/analyze iTunes App Store
offerings
! Analyze comments on top YouTube
meditation videos
Along the way
! Explore design fiction for techno-
spirituality
Empirical Research
! Design/conduct/analyze interviews
! Develop grounded theory of
transcendent user experience (TUX)
! Design/conduct game workshops
to elicit speculative design ideas
! Analyze ideas from workshop;
map them to grounded theory
! Assess workshop’s potential for
generating TUX design ideas
Peripheral/Oblique Design
! Use workshop-generated ideas to seed TUX design fictions
! Develop new forms of design fiction for TUX

52. @ebuie
Compared App Store & ACM Digital
Library for coverage of tech in
spirituality & religion
! 6,000 apps in late 2012 (1% of App Store)
! 19 HCI research papers focused on
techno-spirituality
! Apps included many uses that
research had not studied
…
! 123,000 apps in mid-2017 (4% of App Store)

53. Analyzed comments on YouTube videos
for meditation
! 87 videos
! Three main types of
comments:
! The video or its creator
! The viewer’s reaction
! Convos among viewers
! Very little flaming

54. Analyzed comments on YouTube videos
for meditation
! 87 videos
! Three main types of
comments:
! The video or its creator
! The viewer’s reaction
! Convos among viewers
! Very little flaming
WHOOOAAA ! ! !
THAT WAS INSANELY AWESOME ! ! !
thank you for sharing ! Namaste
I felt the top of my head tingling
look deep, you are god Makes me wanna poop slowly and peacefully…
some viewer
comments

55. Explored design
fiction for techno-
spirituality research
Developed several “imaginary
abstracts” for techno-spiritual
products
Investigated inspirations that science
fiction can offer
Blythe, M., & Buie, E. (2014). Chatbots of the Gods: Imaginary
Abstracts for Techno-Spirituality Research. Proc. NordiCHI ‘14 (pp.
227-236). Helsinki, Finland: ACM Press. Explora2on of science fic2on for techno-spirituality
Presented at NordiCHI 2014
Chatbots of the Gods

56. Empirical research began with
interviews
! 24 people of varying backgrounds and perspectives
! One or two transcendent experiences they’d had
! How they used artifacts* in
their spiritual practices
! Desires for enhancement
to experiences
*artifacts = devices, objects, high-tech
products, low-tech items

57. @ebuie
Constructed grounded theory of
transcendent user experience
! Coded/categorised
interview data
! Related categories
to existing literature
! Identified
relationships
among categories
surrounds or
contributes to
Desiring
Enhancement
wishes for
wishes for
evokes or
satisfies
evokes or
satisfies
wishes for
Living the Experience
Perceiving Phenomena
- Connection
- Consciousness, Control
- Numinous Presence
- Physicality
- Duration, Frequency
- Quality of Experience
evokes
Reacting as
Exp. Unfolds
- Emotion
- Interpretation
- Effect, Action
Creating
the Context
- Developmental
- Spiritual
- Social
- Physical/Activity
- Psychological
- Temporal
Integrating
the Experience
- Reflection
- Continuing Effects
- Sharing
responds to
Using
Artefacts
(supports)
supports
wishes for
evokesresponds to
makes a change to
supports
reacts to
These
relationships
make it a
grounded
theory.

58. @ebuie
Designed & conducted a game to elicit
design ideas
! “Transcendhance” — for
enhancing transcendence
(More on this later)

59. @ebuie
Developed new forms of design fiction
! Different versions of imaginary abstracts
! Imaginary usability tests
! Design poetry

60. @ebuie
Why do we care
about TUX?
@ebuie

61. @ebuie
Why do transcendent
experiences matter?
Why are they so hard
to design for?
– and –
Why do we care
about TUX?

62. @ebuie
Why do transcendent
experiences matter?

63. Transformation
change in beliefs
le-ng go
release
unburdening
accomplishment
resolu5on
forgiveness
loss of fear of death
acceptance
open-mindedness
freedom
lovingness
comfort
joyfulness
growth
openness
reduced anxiety
compassion
change in values
kindness
peace
Photo © 2005, Elizabeth Buie@ebuie
qui-ng smoking

64. Pssst: Why did we get into UX, anyway?

65. @ebuie
Why are TUXs so
difficult to design for?

66. @ebuie

67. Normally, we use interviews
to gain an understanding
of users and their needs and experiences.

68. Normally, we use interviews
to gain an understanding
of users and their needs and experiences.

69. TUXs are Ineffable
“I have no words
for what I felt.”
“To this day
I couldn’t describe it.”
“I can’t find the words for it.”
“It was like nothing else
I’ve ever experienced.”
“It was beyond words.”
“I cannot begin to tell you
what it was like.”
Photo © 2012, Elizabeth Buie

70. TUXs are Ineffable
“I have no words
for what I felt.”
“I can’t find the words for it.”
“It was like nothing else
I’ve ever experienced.”
“It was beyond words.”
“I cannot begin to tell you
what it was like.”
“To this day
I couldn’t describe it.”

72. Can we do this
for TUXs?

73. No.

74. No.
“…you can’t dial it up…”
– interview participant

75. Photo copyright © 2007, Elizabeth Buie @ebuie

76. How do we evaluate a design’s
ability to support TUXs —
Photo copyright © 2007, Elizabeth Buie @ebuie

77. How do we evaluate a design’s
ability to support TUXs —
if we can’t ensure we can
observe one happening?
@ebuie

78. “…you can’t dial it up…”

79. “…you can’t dial it up…”“Althou
gh

80. “Although you can’t dial it up,
you can kind of put yourself
in the way of it.”
– Interview participant

81. @ebuie
TUX design calls for
an oblique approach

82. @ebuie
An oblique approach to TUX design
! Elicit ideas — “Transcendhance” game
! Elaborate selected ideas — spin-offs
! Explore potential scenarios & people’s responses —
design fiction
! Evoke impressions & feelings — design poetry
What’s next??

83. “Transcendhance” board game
! Draws on fun, play, and embodiment
! Uses concepts from my grounded theory of TUX
! Focuses on experience more than on technology
! Can be played by designers & others (a mix is good)
! Encourages players to be fanciful
Come and play! C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Sigma_Estimate_171159_trancendhance_board_A1.pdf 1 17/05/2017 10:21
Transcendhance forms part of the Wednesday/
Thursday workshops with Alastair Somerville and me

84. Design Fiction
“the deliberate use of diegetic prototypes
to suspend disbelief about change”
– Bruce Sterling, SF author
and design fictioneer
Diegesis involves
! narrative
! characters
! props
! other elements of story
i.e., elements that make the storytelling possible

85. @ebuie
Design fictions from design ideas
Design fictions are stories that illustrate concept
designs and how people might use and react to them

86. @ebuie
Design fictions from design ideas
Design fictions are stories that illustrate concept
designs and how people might use and react to them
“…to suspend disbelief about change” –Bruce Sterling

87. @ebuie
Design fictions from design ideas
Design fictions are stories that illustrate concept
designs and how people might use and react to them
“…to suspend disbelief about change” –Bruce Sterling
“Design fiction can also help designers
suspend our own disbelief about the
beliefs and practices of people and
communities for whom we are
designing”
–Elizabeth Buie

88. Design poetry
! Takes advantage of metaphor and oblique language
! Aims to convey impressions and feelings of
ineffable experience
! Can be a design tool for giving a flavor of the kind
of experience we hope to support
I’m still working on this and would value some collaborative
camaraderie.
@ebuie

89. An illustration: Showerfall
! Elicited during
Transcendhance
game play
! Integrates nature
impressions into
daily life
! Projects images of
water falling onto
stones while the
person showers
! Came from a non-
designer
participant drawing

90. @ebuie
Elaborations (spin-offs)
! Other types of precipitation (e.g., snowfall)
! Seasonally appropriate precipitation
! Sounds, scents, colors
! Images of vegetation, wildlife
! Other contexts

91. @ebuie
Explore design fictions
! Imaginary abstract: testing Showerfall as originally
envisioned, with busy London professionals
! Imaginary abstract: testing it with cancer patients in
a chemotherapy treatment facility
! What other environments might we imagine for it?
! What effects can we imagine it might have in
different circumstances and with different features?

92. Evoke impressions/feelings
! Design poetry can take many forms
! I tried limerick and haiku
! Limerick doesn’t work well — too irreverent
! Perhaps longer poetic forms might be suitable
@ebuie
On the other hand…

93. @ebuie
Haiku seems perfect.
’Midst soundless snowflakes
I breathe winter’s fragrant depths,
Showerfalling free.