Cyrus has been released from jail after participating in protests of a fraudulent election. He believes social media played a key role but that it alone is not enough for meaningful change. At a meeting with colleagues, Cyrus advocates for involving local residents in designing changes to their neighborhood through an open source online platform and social media to create participatory culture. Later, Cyrus imagines how augmented reality and social media could help document protests and share dissatisfaction. A friend suggests they establish a nonprofit to design an open source social movement system without leaders that reflects citizens' views.

1. GD 573
PARSA BEHESHTI
SPRING 2013
SOCIAL MEDIA
AUGMENTED REALITY
OPEN SOURCE

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Futurecast Essay / 4
New Information Environment Trends
1.Augmented Reality / 9
2.Social media / 12
3.Open Source / 14
Comparative Case Study / 16
Design Method:
Shared Diagnostic Feedback / 18
Reflection / 22

4. 4
Futureca
A day,
a dream

5. 5
ast ESSAY

6. 6 In a gloomy Monday afternoon, Cyrus is re-
leased from jail. He was actively involved in the
protests after a fraudulent presidential election
which led to his arrest. After spending 6 months
behind bars, he is now more decisive in pursu-
ing meaningful changes in society. However,
his thoughts have been transformed and he is
rethinking the way in which to gain sustainable
change in the society; a type of change which
will result in true democracy and further devel-
opment and he wants that route to be peace-
ful. Looking back at the chain of events that
happened during the protest and the unrest,
Cyrus feels truly impressed by the role of social
media. Media had a crucial influence on all that
happened to people and the country in both
positive and negative ways. Later, the brutal
repression of the government convinced Cyrus
that social media will eventually be channeled
to the direction where the suppressors want
and media alone is not enough. He strongly
believes that progress in technology and com-
munication solely was not enough in the past
protests and the process of change needs more
innovation.
A month later, in the meeting room of ARCHE,
the urban design firm in which Cyrus works,
he and his other colleagues are discussing a
new project which is about revitalization of a
neighborhood in the old city of Tehran. There
is debate between Cyrus and other designers
regarding the scope of the project. The debate
is more specifically about the degree to which
residents, as the main stakeholders, could par-
ticipate in the design process and to what ex-
tent those citizens need to know about all the
new changes which will be happening soon in
their neighborhood. “First of all we don’t have
enough resources to do that. Second, why
should we waste our time while we are experts
and know how to solve the problem for them?”
Lily, a college of Cyrus replied to him when she
heard about what Cyrus is insisting on. Cyrus
explicitly expresses the importance of inform-
ing the residents as well as the value of future
participation that the neighborhood could
bring into the upcoming changes. “Well, there
is no obligation for us to do that”said Cyrus.“In
fact, I think there is virtue in their participation
in this process. More important is the fact that
they learn how to be actively involved in what
others are planning for their lives. Imagine the
time when most of the residents are aware of
what is going to happen and share their issues
or even potential solutions with us! Indeed, not
onlywouldresidentsbegivenopportunitytobe
involved in whatever is being planned for them,
this would also give them a greater chance to
experiment democracy and peaceful change
in a very small scale; look at it this way…”
Sarah, another designer continued what Cyrus
started and said, “Despite the fact that our cli-
ent might not care about these issues I think
we can follow our aspiration regarding our soci-
ety. Imagine we have an online system through
which all of the stakeholders can discuss, share
ideas and collaborate in the project. I think de-
signing a system based on an open source plat-
form in addition to the social media will allow
us to reach such participatory culture that Cyrus
mentioned. The open source application would
create an online public sphere in which individ-
uals and groups congregate to discuss matters
of mutual interest regarding their local environ-
mental issues”.
After a busy workday in ARCHE, Cyrus left the
office to go home. He remembered the spark of
happiness in his heart when Sarah supported
him on his concerns. Then he pondered about
A day, a
Fig 2. Experiencing a design prototype through AR application
Source: http://www.darfdesign.com/?cat=24

7. 7Sarah’s idea about open source platform. Cyrus
always walked when he wanted to think about
something seriously; to carry on the custom,
he detoured and went to a quiet street where
the only sound heard were those coming from
his footsteps. While he was walking, he started
thinking on the ways that a system increase
awareness in a community. He thought how
the idea of open source platform associated
with the social media could be generalized into
the larger scale – open source governance.
It was 7:30 pm and he had to go home. So he
headed towards the subway station. Cyrus
watched the people around him from his seat.
Although the wagon was full, everyone was in
absolute silence and barely talked to one an-
other. “Are they satisfied with the current situa-
tions? Are they disappointed? What if I can see
that man’s thoughts?” Cyrus asked himself. He
imagined even more while he was playing with
his eyeglasses and saw it as a AR glass; what if he
and other protesters had an eyeglass equipped
with an augmented reality application which
could allow them to know the approximate
number of people participating in the protest
while they are shown anonymously. What if ev-
eryone in crowd could take a snapshot of the
event and share it in any one of the social me-
dia. This would give a whole new shape to the
silent protest of the people who wanted their
voice to be heard. Cyrus thought why not pre-
senting objections digitally while protesting in
the real places? And he imagined everybody
becoming aware of the amount of satisfaction
or dissatisfaction and agreement and disagree-
ment going on in the places whether through
a smartphone or the AR glasses based on peo-
ple’s posts or share on social media. This will let
us know that some people around us are not
happy with the existing situation. It would be
another way of sharing what we feel of our cir-
cumstance.
At home, like every day, Cyrus reviewed social
media in order to get the recent news. Mean-
while he was very excited about all the ideas
stirring in his mind. He started writing about
his thoughts in his blog and shared with fel-
low designer friends. Shortly, Emil, a close
friend and a designer as well, replied. Emil had
an idea which encouraged Cyrus to follow his
ideas further. Emil suggested that a group of
passionate designer friends, including himself
and Cyrus, establish a nonprofit organization
in which they could follow their own ideas re-
garding social innovation. “What if we design
a system for an open source social movement”
Emil said. A movement that provokes citizens
for civic engagement and doesn’t need a leader
or a supporting party since it is based on an
open source platform. The movement has not
a solid manifesto and seeks everyone’s opinion.
He envisioned a clear system that reflects all of
the dissatisfactions and how every citizen feels
him/herself as part of it and encouraged to par-
ticipate, criticize and enhance the system.
a dream

8. NEW INFORMATION
ENVIRONMENT
TRENDS ////
AUGMENTED REALITY
SOCIAL MEDIA
OPEN-SOURCE

9. “The Cinema of Future” was the first exploration with augmented reality (AR)
back in 1950s by a cinematographer, Morton Heilig. He thought cinema would
have the ability to draw the viewer into the onscreen activity by taking in all the
senses in an effective manner. AR has been around for decades, but the rise of
smartphones with sensors and software capabilities into a mobile platform has
given it momentum. AR has rapidly become a global phenomenon by providing
an impressive and flexible new way to view the world — it redefines the user’s
perception of the real world and our interaction with the environment. Graphic
designers will need to notice this shift that is going to happen in our experi-
ences of the environment since there would be new ways of communication, or,
our spatial cognition may change.
AR overlays virtual computer-generated information onto physical real-world
environments. In doing so, we add a new channel for getting information from
environments or interacting with other people. In other words, our perception
could be extended beyond our five senses. Obviously augmented reality offers
us more ways to sense the world beyond our natural senses organs, We might
be like an imaginary creature that has other eyes through which it is possible to
see things hidden behind the wall or things that even do not exist; or, we might
have another ear for hearing sounds and voices which we cannot hear normally
in the real world. So, how would designers embrace this extended perception?
How would they design experiences and interaction differently?
Another consequence of AR which designers should take into account is that
augmented reality along with other innovations in social media is going to
change the way we communicate and interact with each other. It suggests a
world where people can interact with information directly without requiring
the use of any intermediate device. For example, by using Wikitude, an iPhone
application, we can see what people are tweeting around us or what photos
they are sharing in social networking. Having experienced this kind of interac-
tion with other people, designers might need to rethink of more immediate
communication and interaction which AR offers. In other word, designers may
reduce the intermediate interfaces we currently have in interaction design.
Augmented
Reality
WHY
DESIGNERS
SHOULD
CARE?
Fig 3. AR smart-phone application for navigating in the city
http://smartmobilefactory.com/en/application-develop-
ment/components/augmented-reality.html
Fig 4. A shopper uses augmented reality to explore a Lego
model prior to purchase (Picture courtesy of Lego, Metaio)

10. 10 In the meantime, we need to recognize AR de-
pending on the application and its interface,
located in between of the reality-virtuality con-
tinuum. In other words, despite the fact that AR
is not virtual reality, what we perceive is not real
world; rather, it is a representation of reality and
there is a reduction from real world. Designers
need to recognize the primacy of synesthetic,
embodied perception and the reduction that
happens in AR experiences. Here, it is worth
mentioning that AR is not limited to vision. AR
can potentially apply to all senses, augmenting
smell, touch and hearing as well. Thus, AR has
a potential to affect our experience of the en-
vironment. However, nothing can replace the
real embodied experience of the environment,
regardless of how sophisticated the representa-
tion of real world in medium might appear. In
this light, designers need to be careful in the re-
placement that might happen in our experienc-
es of the environment.The real-time live captur-
ing of a street over layered with virtual objects
we might see in an iPhone screen or even see-
ing it through Google Glass (AR head-mounted
display) are not the same as seeing that physi-
cal space naturally. In this light, with respect to
advances in AR, designers need to thoughtfully
consider the substitution of a purely optical re-
ality for the primary synesthetic reality of our
being in the world.
“History...becomes
present, if we
can see the past
with Augmented
Reality”Clyde
DeSouza
Fig 5. Google Glass
Fig 6. IKEA cataloge uses AR

11. 11While there are various uses for AR, we may
categorize them in five types of applications
1) Marketing and commercial 2) Education 3)
Entertainment 4) Medical 5) Navigation. These
applications might be used in all of three ma-
jor venues of design (built environment, com-
munication and products). For example, a navi-
gation system in a museum exhibition which
uses augmented reality deals with communi-
cation and built environment. In fact, not only
graphic designers but architects, landscape
architects and industrial designers will need to
involve in advancement of these applications.
The AR brochure of IKEA is a good example in
this regard that shows how AR might be used
properly in interior design. By using that bro-
chure user can scan the furniture’s code in the
brochure through the iPhone app and see a vir-
tual 3D model of it in the real space. SARA, the
first AR architecture application, is another ex-
ample with which users can see photos, videos,
models and details of existing building as well
as those from the past and any planned for the
future.
Considering all of the potentials which exist in
AR, it is necessary for designers to take them
into account in order to take advantage of this
technology for solving various problems rang-
ing from big complicated social or urban to
very specific individual experiences in our daily
life. There are several venues through which
designers may enhance our experiences and
interaction such as navigation, museum exhibi-
tion, sightseeing, retail and interior or product
design. In this regard, one of the most impor-
tant aspects of augmented reality is to create
appropriate techniques for intuitive interaction
between the user and the virtual content of AR
applications. There are four main ways of inter-
action in AR applications: tangible AR interfac-
es, collaborative AR interfaces, hybrid AR inter-
faces, and the emerging multimodal interfaces.
Despite the proliferation of AR applications es-
pecially in smart phones, augmented reality is
still new for designers and therefore there are
some issues and obstacles regarding the tech-
nology and user experience design. Problems
such as social acceptance or privacy which de-
mand designers to find thoughtful solutions
for them. In the meantime, there is more focus
on commercial and entertainment applications
while there are demands on education and
medical applications. In that sense, designers
can seek these issues and find innovative solu-
tions for them. Besides, there are various prob-
lems in our world that AR as a new way of inter-
action with environment and data might help
designers to solve.
Fig 7. AR offers new ways of interaction with environment

12. Interaction among people is as old as human language.
Throughout history, the means of interaction has evolved and
consequently the form of our communication has changed.
While our ancestors had books, newspapers, etc. as media for
communication, today, we have internet-based means of inter-
action that let us (co)create, share, discuss and exchange infor-
mation and ideas in virtual communities and networks. With
these highly interactive platforms, known as social media, we
can see substantial and pervasive changes in communication
between individual and various groups of people. Such chang-
es have already happened to the relationship between reader
and author/creator. Considering these changes and new pos-
sibilities, graphic designers need to have an understanding of
what is going to happen in the realm of communication.
There are several advantages in social media that are going to
change our world. There are people who are willing to collabo-
rate to make the world a better and have common values with
like-minded individuals have the same utopian aspirations all
over the world. Social media can help them to find each other.
In this light, social media has some potential that we could take
into account. Today, our world is more transparent with social
media. Transparency brings freedom of speech and confidence
for criticizing governments and these all may result in more de-
mocracy.The role of social networks such as Facebook and twit-
ter in Iranian green movement during 2009 or more recently
“We don’t have a choice on whether
we do social media, the question is
how well we do it?”
Social MediaWHY
DESIGNERS
SHOULD
CARE?
Fig 9. Social Media

13. in Egyptian revolution in 2011 are examples that
show how social media can provide a new and
easy way for people or societies whose public me-
dia have been controlled by a totalitarian govern-
ment to communicate. However, such traditional
forms of media are still dominant and try to shape
our minds based on what governments have in-
tended for their interests. They decide what is im-
portant and what is not. The blackout to the news
about Occupy Wall Street protest in 2011 dem-
onstrated that such control over media happens
even in the United States.
Moreover, social media makes it possible for ev-
eryone to be both author and reader. When ev-
eryone can have a voice in social media, how can
graphic designers help people to be heard? How
could people share their values and make more
awareness in issues like human rights or global
warming? In fact, designers are those who can
find solutions for these problems even if it is a
simple issue in a corner of the world. Youtube as
a content community is a well-known example
through which people from all over the world can
share videos. In recent years, we have seen nu-
merous video clips showing human rights viola-
tions which existed before and we were not aware
of them. In fact, social media helped us to reveal
such problems. In other word, innovations in user
experience design allowed citizens to create mes-
sage about what happens in their environment.
In a critical perspective, however, there are is-
sues in social media about which designers need
to think. Despite the fact that communication is
much easier through social media compared to
traditional media, it becomes more virtual and
we are going to lose our in-person and embodied
interaction in the real world.This may cause some
dissatisfaction due to lack of real embodied inter-
action in our social communication. We may use a
social network like Facebook to discuss a subject
with our friends, certainly, we would have a dif-
ferent experience when we gather in-person and
have eye contact and other physical interactions.
It seems that our communication with others is
expanded on the surface while the communi-
cation structure keeps the conversation at a su-
perficial level and we are still missing the depth.
Apparently, this is an issue of communication in
social media and graphic designers might have
the greatest compact. In fact, issues such as loos-
ing face to face interaction are not entirely design
problems but designers will need to consider
them. Likewise, there are several other problems
such as the issue of privacy, validity of content,
and etc. that are basically somewhat related to
communication in social media and designer
might be interested in and could collaborate for
solving them.
“The beauty of social media is that it
will point out your company’s flaws;
the key questions is how quickly you
address these flaws.” -Erik Qualmann

14. Despite the fact that the term ‘open-source’ originated in soft-
ware programming, the concept of freely sharing technological
information existed long before computers. Open-source is a
philosophy or pragmatic methodology that promotes free dis-
tribution of information. An open-source platform enables self-
enhancing, peer production, sharing and collaboration within
the community of users. The open-source movement generally
promotes transparency and liberty in research and distribution
of knowledge. Consequently this new emerging culture is go-
ing to challenge some notions such as content ownership and
copyright and encourages more participation and sharing in
communities. Since peer collaboration in this new world re-
quires a platform for communication, the role of graphic design-
ers is very important. Similarly, there might be design solutions
for encouraging participatory and free sharing culture. Besides
pros, there are also some cons of open-source such as the issue
of maintenance that might need design solutions. Regardless of
these cons and pros, open-source is going to be an attitude for
designing collaborative systems in which there is more ease of
access to information and users are encouraged to participate
for more improvements.
“How can we encourage users to participate and collaborate in
the process of making data and free redistribution of informa-
tion?” such a question is essentially a design problem. In fact,
participatory culture and peer production are necessary for a
successful open-source application. Therefore, we need plat-
forms that facilitate communication and authorship. As an ex-
ample, Wikipedia is a world-famous open-source encyclopedia.
Despite the fact that it is successful, it is still difficult to partici-
pate. For an ordinary internet user, it is not easy to edit an article
inWikipedia. It has been designed for a specific group of people
who have a basic knowledge of software coding. Wikitravel is
another example of a free database that was designed for shar-
ing information about travel and tourism. In this project also us-
ers who want to participate in developing the information may
Open SourceWHY
DESIGNERS
SHOULD
CARE?

15. 15
face the same problem of editing and authoring with its inter-
face. It seems that the open-source platform has been designed
for two user groups, those who participate in the generating
knowledge and other users that just read them. What if design-
ers change these interfaces and make them easier in a way that
everyone can participate in the project? There might be levels
of user complexity in user experiences. An example in UI design
might be the differences between paint and Photoshop. In both
cases two different user groups, expert and non-expert, both
can use the interface but the latter has more complexity. So in
designing the interface for an open-source platform, designers
might help non-expert user to participate by having a simpler
interface.
Lastly, we need to notice that Open-source as a philosophy
is a broad concept and could be considered in many venues.
Today we can talk about open-source governance (open poli-
tics) that uses internet technologies for getting rapid feedback
or we may utilize it in education. OpenCourse Ware in MIT and
Kahn Academy are great examples of free sharing databases
in education. These are all examples of applying open-source
outside the realm of computer software. Extending this culture
to other realms and moving it beyond the internet is an open
ended process and because it is essential to encourage users
to participate in the system and communicate effectively it de-
mands design thinking approaches and requires designer’s cre-
ativity. Designers may think of this culture as a virtue and want
to creatively apply it elsewhere. Moreover, since open-source
is known mostly in the context of software programming and
digital contents, there might be different issues in applying that
in other realms. Designers might have solutions for conveying
this concept properly to various user groups. Designers also can
design systems that foster participatory culture and facilitate
collaboration.
Fig 10. Some examples of
Open Source platform:
Khahn Academy, WikiVoy-
age, Wikitravel

16. After studying three trends: open-source,
social media, and augmented reality, and
after analyzing the user experiences in
some examples that use these trends, some
commonalities and differences have emerged.
Such similarities help us to find out what is
going to change in our experiences of new
information environments and what the role of
designers is in this regard. However, these three
trends might be applied in different levels.
While open-source is generally an attitude
regarding the distribution of information, social
media refers to the means of interaction among
people and augmented reality is a new way of
interaction with the environment. In this light,
the impact of these trends on the future of
communication design and user experiences
might be realized in a more transparent
information environment in which distribution
of information and interaction among users
would be easier. Moreover, it can expand our
perception of the environment.
One common theme in user experiences in all
of these trends is the notion of transparency.
Through social media and its affordances, net-
works of social interaction are more visible and
are not limited to the physical space. By using
social networks such as Facebook, everyone
would have more interactions with others and
share things which used to be private or un-
seen. Open-source is essentially based on the
philosophy that encourages ease of access and
sharing, and seeks a world in which resources
are not hidden for a particular user group. In
cases such as Khan Academy, not only do us-
ers have access to every single course and its
material, but also what happens in the virtual
classes, whether discussions or assignments, is
accessible for everyone. Likewise, augmented
reality is a way through which various things
that are concealed due to our physical limita-
tions can be virtually revealed. By using Layar,
a smartphone application, a user can see which
apartment is vacant around him just by holding
the smartphone and looking to the street in an
urban neighborhood, or a person wearing the
Comparative
Case Studies
Social Media,
Open-source,
Augmented
Reality

17. 17Google glass can see the weather condition by
looking up at the sky. All in all, these trends pro-
vide such transparency in the environment that
affects the delivery of information in various sys-
tems. In a bigger perspective the more transpar-
ent environment fosters more awareness in the
society and enables individuals to feel themselves
in their contextual environment. Consequently,
we will have new potentials for change in our ex-
periences.
Other common themes which social media and
open-source share are collaboration and contri-
bution. First, through these trends the relation-
ship between user (reader) and creator (author)
has changed in a way that everyone can be a
creator of content and at the same time be a user
in the new information environment. Moreover,
while collaboration has become a part of user ex-
periences in open-source platforms, social media
may facilitate social interaction for such contribu-
tions. For example, in the Kahn Academy as an
open-source education system the interface lets
various user groups such as educators, instruc-
tors, and volunteers collaborate in an educational
project. Meanwhile, a content based social me-
dia like Youtube or Vimeo may facilitate the use
of course materials in such projects or an online
social network service like twitter may help users
to have easier interaction.In all of these examples
we can see how these trends reinforce collabo-
ration through which users are encouraged for
more interactions.
Lack of physical interaction with the environment
and community is a common issue in social me-
dia and augmented reality platforms. Examples of
using both trends could be Wikitude and Junaio.
These are augmented reality iPhone applications
which utilize users’social networks like Instagram
or Twitter. Despite the fact that augmented real-
ity technology shows the location of others, user’s
interaction is still through the screen and there is
no face to face interaction with community. In the
case of Google glass, it seems that the glass is a
barrier for having a natural perception of the envi-
ronment. Regardless of the cons and pros of such
issue, the AR technology is so new and we have to
wait for their results.
The three trends differ in some aspects of their
user experiences. For example, the emotional
moments in open-source projects like Wikipedia
or Wikitravel are less than that of social media
network services or blogs. In other words, despite
the fact that these two trends both are based on
their communities, the level of interaction differs
among them. In this regard, the issue of social
acceptance and trust in user’s experiences need
to be considered in all of these trends. In Fact,
Augmented Reality is going to change some of
our existing premise of space for instance, the in-
door and outdoor places (or private and public)
we use in real world might be experienced totally
different through AR applications. While some
activities in social media, like interacting with
friends in Facebook, have become part of every-
day experiences for many people, experiences in
augmented reality platforms like Wikitude are not
pervasive yet.
Considering the existing potentials in these three
trends, they may offer new affordances for our
environment and communication. In fact, these
trends, despite their existing common user ex-
periences, have the potential of designing new
actions. There are also several complicated prob-
lems in the world that demand designers to solve
them creatively. In this light, the role of designers
is to investigate such affordances and eventually
come up with creative solutions in designing new
user experiences. Designer also needs to be aware
of the consequences of these changes in human
interactions and environment. In other words, be-
sides what they offer for the improvement of our
world, they constrain or influence some of exist-
ing experiences such as face to face chatting with
friends or embodied perception of the physical
environment.Thus, designers need to be aware of
what we acquire and what we lose in this process.
Obviously we gain more ease of interaction and
transparency in the information environment but
we simply loose real and bodily interaction with
other people and the environment.

18. 18
DesignShared
Diagnostic
Feedback

19. 19
Method“When you give
everyone a voice and
give people power, the
system usually ends
up in a really good
place.”
-Mark Zuckerberg,

20. How would you describe it?
Citizens of an urban community can see the fu-
ture changes that are going to happen in their
environments virtually and they can give their
feedback to the designers through online group
discussion. Instead of direct relationship with
individuals, this method fosters communication
and helps users to discuss their opinion in the
online forum and eventually reach consensus in
the community. In this method, designers create
a public sphere based on new information en-
vironment in which users can get a clear sense
about future plans or designs and then share
their opinion with designers.
Why would a designer use it instead of anoth-
er method?
This method allows designers to get more feed-
back from users or stakeholders regarding their
design prototypes. Consequently, given feed-
back, which are based on discussions in the pub-
lic sphere, establish more consensus regarding
the design solutions and will eventually help de-
signers to reach to appropriate design solutions.
What would it enable a designer to find out?
(What level(s) of impact does it operate within?)
Generally, the method allows designer to get
more qualitative feedback from the community
and find assessment about their design proto-
type. While user might propose suggestions in
their feedback or express their overall opinion
about the prototypes, assessment would be the
result of all feedback. Being in an online platform
allows designers to communicate with a larger
group of users and achieve to more comprehen-
sive results. Also, since users in the community
participate through online platform, it would be
easy for designers to categorize users groups in
different ways which eventually enables them to
analyze and drive quantitative data in addition
to qualitative assessment. Since designers need
to know information regarding the needs of dif-
ferent user groups this method for data collec-
tion would allow to get specific information for
designing experiences.
Where would a designer use it? (When is it ap-
propriate?)
This method is appropriate when designers deal
with a community oriented design problem in
which users’ feedback are very important in the
design process and the design outcomes will
affect the whole community or their environ-
ment. In other words, designers would use this
method when the public opinion and feedback
matters rather than that of individuals. Addition-
ally, this method might be used in cases where
designers would raise awareness in the commu-
nity about the environmental impacts that their
solutions might have in the future. For example
in a project for revitalization a neighborhood in a
deprived area the role of community for chang-
ing the environment is essential. In other word,
the goal for revitalization would not be achieved
just by restoration of building or even construct-
ing new building. In such cases the change in the
environment initiated by designer but the com-
munity will eventually realize and sustain it. In
this light, the level of awareness and consensus
in the community about the change is very im-
portant.
DEsign
Method
Shared
Diagnostic
Feedback

21. 21
When in the design process would it be used?
This method would be used in the prototyping
phase of design process (later phases of design
process) when designers generate different vir-
tual model of their concepts and need users
feedback. After sharing them with the commu-
nity and getting feedback from users, designer
will refine the design prototypes. The loop of
prototyping, getting feedback, and refinement
may repeat depending on the scope of project.
Depending on the scope of project designers
might ask specific questions about the proto-
types or ask for general feedback.
What is needed to implement it?
The method needs an open-source platform that
allows users and designers to collaborate in the
design process. Moreover, open source platform
allows all of stakeholders to have access to the
process. The open-source platform also can be
adjusted for different design processes. Also, us-
ers would use social media in order to commu-
nicate online and discuss the design prototypes
regarding their environment. Additionally, the
method needs an augmented reality applica-
tion that allows users to see the presentations
while they are augmented in the real space.
Overall, open source platform enable collabora-
tion among stakeholders, social media lets users
to communicate easily and augmented reality
helps end users to have better perception about
the outcomes.
How does a designer implement it?
Designers will present their design prototypes
in an online platform and users can see those
prototypes whether through an AR application
in the physical space or virtually in the tablet
or smart-phone screen. Every new ideation or
prototype could be added instantly in the sys-
tem and designers will get feedback in the open
source platform or social media. The method has
the following steps:
1. Designers share the design process in an open
source platform in which all of the stakeholder
can collaborate in different ways.
2. Design prototypes would be shared online
and user can review them whether on screen or
through augmented reality application on their
smart-phones or tablets.
3. Community discuss the prototypes in online
forum or in social media
4. All of stakeholders or members of community
give feedback through open source platform.
5. Designers will collect the feedback and derive
final assessment.
6. Designers will refine the design prototypes
based on the given feedback
All of the mentioned steps will be documented
in the open-source platform as open D-process
and stakeholders have access to them. In the
meantime, community is free to participate in
the process and they do not get anything.
What are the foreseeable challenges?
Citizens may not participate in the feedback pro-
cess and group discussion. Designers might set
some gathering sessions or use local institutions
to prompt community for participating.
The feedbacks may be irrelevant to design pro-
cess. However, asking specific question or shar-
ing the feedback for filtering them might help to
get more useful feedback.
In some community –oriented projects private
sectors are involved. Therefore privacy and con-
fidentiality of plans might be an issue depending
on stakeholders’marketing concerns.

22. refle

23. 23Over the course of this semester I gained a reasonable knowledge about
the three trends of new information environment. More important was
the fact that through the process of investigating these trends and writing
the Futurecast and design method I could connect and apply that knowl-
edge in a creative process. Moreover, after studying new information en-
vironment, my approaches to graphic design and design process have
changed. Overall, I think Futurecast was the best section of this course
since I tried to explore the trend’s affordances in my future designs.
Thethreetrendsstudiedbefore–augmentedreality,socialmediaandopen
source, have some common opportunities in different venues of commu-
nication and designing new information environment. The first common-
ality they share is transparency (or clarity) in the human communication
which is obviously a significant concept in all of them. Let’s put it in this
way: with respect to these trends, our environment and the ways we can
communicate have less physical barriers. We now deal with more velocity
of information in the world and our perception of environment is going to
change beyond our physical limitation. Another opportunity these trends
share and offer to us is the degree to which they increase awareness in vari-
ous communities or individuals. In fact, such increment of awareness relies
on ease of access and pervasiveness that these trends offer.
Despite all of the advantages and affordances of these trends,
some possible obstacles still exist for designing future new
information environment. The first foreseeable problem is
the fact that by using such technologies we will be more
emerged in the digital electronic world and consequently
we may lose our natural bodily perception of our physical environment
as well as our social interactions. In other words, our perception of the
world might be through some electronic devices rather than our natural
senses. Second, through new systems, like social media and open source
platforms, users can generate infinite information in which we might be
lost. In other words, organizing such information is an issue. Last problem
we might face in designing new information environment is the issue of
validating data. Obviously, social media and open source specifically deal
with this issue.
Calrity/Transpar-
ency
Awareness
Collaboration
e ctionLosing bodily
interaction
Lost in chaotic data
Validating data