What Has Changed Since the First Prototype
After creating the first prototype, I added more pages:
- pages for song recommendations, including the title, artist, who recommended it, and why I love this song so much
- a cover
- interactive pages to fill out together
The interactive pages are meant for people to fill out togehter. They are placed in a horizontal layout so both persons can write at the same time. Person A fills out the spread about person B based on assumptions and person B does the same thing for person A. After that they can compare if what they thought was true. This allows them to get to know each other on a fun and playful base and start a follow up conversation about it if they want to engage with each other even more. This interface facilitates the interaction on several levels: Not only is the barrier to approaching a stranger very low, but the interaction also has a clear beginning and end, which makes it more manageable and predictable. In addition, in my experience, people are generally curious to know what others think of them, and they enjoy observing others and coming up with stories and assumptions about them. What could potentially have a negative impact on the experience are negative stereotypes and prejudices, which might be hurtful to some people. I believe it’s essential to emphasize respectful behavior in the instructions for the interactive pages.
I decided to expand the first prototype rather than redesign it completely because the core concept had already proven to be working. The initial prototype adressed one of the main challenges I had identified: lowering the barrier to approaching strangers on long-distance train journeys. Instead of starting from scratch, I wanted to build on this and explore how the experience could become more engaging.
