URBAN SCREENS
HELSINKI DESIGN CAPITAL 2012 - PALVELUMUOTOILU KAUPUNKIMEDIASSA
(SERVICE DESIGN IN URBAN MEDIA)
4.3.2010

HELLO
TEPPO KOTIRINTA
CO-FOUNDER / PRINCIPAL, INTERACTION DESIGN / NORDKAPP

WE ARE A GROUP OF POST-DISCIPLINARY
DESIGNERS, STRATEGISTS AND
TECHNOLOGISTS.
We are a fast-growing interactive design consultancy with 8 people and extensive network of freelancers in
Finland and within EU. In few weeks we’ll be 10 people.

OUR MISSION IS TO DESIGN
MEANINGFUL PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL
DRIVEN WORLD.

WE BELIEVE THE SUCCESS
STORIES ARE BUILT ON
UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOUR.
At the core of our work are the people themselves. Building success today is all about listening and understanding
real people and how they behave.

URBAN SCREENS
Urban screens can be many things: shopping mall guide screens, screens in the subways and trams etc.
This presentation concentrates on the large displays already in the streets of Helsinki.

These ones.
Few people know that these 46” screens are actually single touch touchscreens!
(We at Nordkapp have done the current non-interactive map implementation. Sadly interactive design was not possible
at the time.)

So the project has stalled a little, and now these screens are only used for one-way advertising.

POSSIBILITIES
However, it's easy to see this medium could be so much more. They could provide actual services for the people of the
city, instead of just fighting for their attention in the commercial sense.
So what to do with them? Sometime ago we at Nordkapp headed to the streets of Helsinki to find out.

RESEARCH
HELSINKI INFO
We heard that a standard visiting time in Helsinki is just one day. For this reason the Info people have designed
brochures that concentrate on a certain topic and also a Helsinki Visitors Guide. This guide was mentioned as a really
good guide by many tourists later on by the way.

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS
HELSINKI INFO
The info personnel struggle with other stuff though. They often have to look for accommodation for tourists and the
systems they use are limited in features. They also don't have up-to-date restaurant information to offer.

NOT JUST THE CITY
Interesting fact was that people very often ask directions to areas outside Helsinki. These include the beautiful city of
Porvoo, and IKEA in Vantaa.

THE LOCALS
Inhabitants of Helsinki are like in any other city. They get used to their daily patterns and commuting choices.
Exceptions are rare.

EXCEPTIONS
Sometimes exceptions do happen though. These could be anything like going to a new client's place, friends house
warming or any of the many events and festivals in Helsinki nowadays.
Much of the information is absorbed from radio, TV, internet and news papers at home. Mobile technology provides
possibilities for realtime updates, but they are still not a broadcast way to reach these masses of people.

THE TOURISTS
We also interviewed people from country side Finland, Japan, Austria, etc.
Tourists seemed to be most interested in using the screens, just a static map pulls them to using the screen.

SIGHTS AND SHOPPING
Tourists go sightseeing in the morning and spend the evenings in restaurants and other amusements.
Finnish tourists look more for events and exhibitions while foreign tourists seek specialty shopping, markets and design
items.

TRAMS
Tourists transport themselves by walking and by trams. Busses not so much.
Most of them considered the "web" as their main (transport) information source. They mostly referenced
www.helsinki.fi, but didn't know www.reittiopas.fi for example.

NO REALTIME
They have mobile phones, but don't use them for news or navigation because of the fear of expensive fees (and don't
really know about the correct websites anyway).

PATTERNS AND
COMMONALITIES
We found patterns and commonalities between locals and tourists.

WALKING TIME
Both groups would like to have easy access to walking distances visualized in time and, ..

TRANSPORT
... visualizations of alternative routes of walking, and walking versus public transportation, (and the time difference
between them).

ACTIVITY
Urbanmobs.fr
The map should also show "now": where are the people, whereʼs the action, what is happening. This can be events,
groups of people or important news happening just around the bend.
Both expressed much interest in knowing what is happening right now, where are all other people, where's the action
and what are the current events.
This can be done by publishing mobile operatorsʼ network usage data. (Example from France)

DESIGN TARGETS FOR
URBAN SCREENS
Next: Few things that started to rise as possible design solutions, requirements and design targets for the system.

ACTIONABLE MAPS
Basis of the system needs to be a map as it is easily understood way of showing context in the city. As said before, we
observed the map being a powerful visual cue that pulled people into using the device.
A new map style can be designed to accommodate user selectable fluid layers of varying information.
Any item in the map needs to actionable: user must be able to save, share, plan routes and do other things with them.

VISUALIZATIONS
Here and There
by BERG London
New ways of visualizing maps and data on them can be used to spark interest in the device and enable new ways of
interacting with this huge amount of data.
Example: Here and There by BERG London

WITH HUMAN TOUCH
* Crowd source
* Start the transition towards trusted, practical and reliable source of information.
* Show where the information comes from.
* Make it accessible for all/most people.
* Utilize the social nature, but still respect privacy.
* Be transparent, be honest.

CONTEXT IN THE CITY
The system and its maps should understand the use case and fit the context: when walking past some information can
be provided at a glance, a person planning a journey at a bus stop needs detailed information, and bar hoppers need
quick entertainment choices while shoppers in the design district need shopping advice. (Extra: Think also about
guides for Helsingin Juhlaviikot, Madonna concert, bus driversʼ strike!)

FULL SCALE CITY SEARCH
Think of a full scale city search with emphasis on time and the physical location of the device.
A single search box that would tap into every service imaginable: restaurants, street construction, traffic jams, festival
timetables, everything.

DESIGN FOR CONVERGENCE
Mobile devices are becoming the main device for digital interaction, identity and access to cloud storage. At the same
time, web browsers are coming to your tv, touch screen and other devices around your home.
This leads to multiple ideas: For example, why not let people plan their trip at home, identify themselves in the city and
access their information. Or plan on the device and grab the information seamlessly to oneʼs mobile device.
Technologies such as bluetooth, RFID or even SMS can achieve this.

SUPER POWERS FOR
EVERYMAN (AKA AR)
The screen could provide a window to the real world with extra information. It could give the user Super Powers to see
what happening next, nearby, and when. People could see around the corner, or THROUGH the corner!
Think of augmented vision about trams timetables, night busses and where which one is going. (And super imposing
this data as graphics on top of a photo or live video feed.)

UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
Urban screen will be part of ubiquitous computing too. They can act as a information gathering, display and relay
nodes in a networked city.
They can be used as means to tap into the information grid and perhaps volunteer information back into it too!

CAN THIS BE DONE, YOU SAY?
Pretty much all of the building blocks are already present. The devices are on the streets, they have single touch
capability on one side and they can be connected to internet for updates through WIFI or 3G technology.
These are things that we Finns can easily build if given the chance. And what's a better opportunity than the world
watching Helsinki as the Design Capital in 2012?
[PICTURE: impossible like licking your elbow?]

CC
THIS PRESENTATION IS CC ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHARE ALIKE 2.0 GENERIC
TEPPO KOTIRINTA / NORDKAPP
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This presentation is CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Teppo Kotirinta / Nordkapp

Thank You!
Teppo Kotirinta
Teppo@nordkapp.fi
@teppo
+358 40 762 4009
INNOVATION, INTERACTION, IMPACT