DESIGNING INTERACTIVE CARPET AND EVALUATING THE ARTIFACT WITHIN ACTIVITY THEORY

Abstract: When people are stressed, they are likely to walk faster. Research indicates that walking speed is an indicator of pace of life, with a faster walking speed in urban areas. Based on empirical data, I designed and developed a prototype of an interactive carpet for encouraging users on the carpet to slow down and thus to relax more. I evaluated the interactive carpet with user interviews, and two different experiments, where one of the experiments was conducted in an exhibition environment. My findings indicate users feel more relaxed in the interaction when they are informed about how to operate the prototype, as opposed to users who are not informed before they use the prototype and thus have a learning phase in which they have to figure out how the prototype works. Like earlier research, my finding assures that the usability problem should be prioritized over improving the system for user experience (UX). In addition, I discuss applicability of the Activity theory framework to my studies and propose an extension of the activity checklist, namely to take user intention into account for a more holistic analysis.