CommonGround
The Problem.
In defining the design challenge we wanted to tackle in our class on diversity, we looked at the wide spectrum of challenges that exist in today’s society.
We wanted to focus on a topic that would be broad enough to allow for sufficient brainstorming, and narrow enough that we had a clear path forward in our initial research and interviews. We also wanted to choose a design challenge that was interesting to the group, and one that we had not studied before.
Ultimately, our group chose to move forward with the design challenge of the siloing effects in politics. We knew this topic was vast, so we refined further as we moved into identifying target users and conducting observations.
The Process.
Our initial research involved interviews with voters. People noted that their political views were closely aligned with their close acquaintances’, and that the posts they saw on social media were usually aligned with their current views. Most people inform themselves about political topics by reading news articles, but many only read articles from sources whose political leanings are similar to their own. Additionally, many interviewees were not consciously aware of the biases of their news preferences or social media posts.
The findings from our interviews suggest that people are extremely siloed in their political beliefs. For the most part, people engage with acquaintances and news sources that share their same beliefs. Because of this phenomenon, people rarely encounter or interact with opposing political viewpoints, and if they do, they dismiss these viewpoints as invalid or incorrect.
Extensive brainstorming sessions led to our initial prototype: a political reality TV show that fosters dialogue for both participants and viewers. We tested this prototype on potential viewers, and improved it for the final iteration.
The Solution.
Our final prototype included snapshots of sample scenes and an accompanying video to promote the show.
