Natureflect
UX Design + UX Research
Timeline: 3 Months | Team: Cameron Fahsholtz, Patriya Wiesmann, Sabrina Zhu, Joe Jang
Introduction
In the UX of Climate Change research group, I designed a game to foster emotional connections between people and Western Red Cedars. These trees play a critical environmental and cultural role, especially for many indigenous communities. Sadly, Western Red Cedars are dying across the region, likely due to climate change.
What is Natureflect?
Natureflect is a card game that reframes the players’ focus from the welfare of humanity to the welfare of the non-human. The game aids humans in evaluating their place in the natural world by connecting human empathy and human characteristics to trees. Playing Natureflect will provide players an opportunity to reflect on the welfare of the natural environment and inspire them to help Forest Health Watch track Western Red Cedars.
How do humans form connections with and care for non-human entities?
We Conducted Nine Interviews
Findings from Tribal Community
Time is non-linear. It is experienced and measured uniquely by different organisms and cultures.
Differences in Western and Tribal languages contributes to perception of nature.
The tribal community is often left out of the conversation in regards to the Western Red Cedar even though it has a strong significance in their community.
Our directed research group does not have enough time or resources to build the trusting relationships necessary to properly design with tribal communities.
Findings from Novices and Experts
Trees exist in endless ecosystems of differing scales and dependencies.
Family and upbringing influences outdoor experiences.
Exploitation comes before conservation.
The methods used to empathize and design for marginalized groups can be applied to trees.
To better the community of life systems, we must shift our focus from human welfare to non-human welfare through critical reflection, time-developmental content, and storytelling.
Humans form connections with trees through rituals and gift giving.
"Tree Novices" Craft Care Packages For Trees
A care package for your child to understand how to care for this tree.
A care package for your tree’s funeral or wake, and write your tree a eulogy.
A care package to convince a tree to be your friend.
Participant Response to ‘Craft a care package for your tree’s funeral or wake.’
Value scenario mapping revealed that, due to our lack of time and resources to build the necessary trust, we should not include tribal knowledge in our designs.
Technology and ideas to consider in the design
Possible value scenario situations
Identifying indirect and direct stakeholders
Possible Consequences
Values created from consequences
We designed a card game with action and question cards that encourage players to personify trees.
Design Decision
Research Insights
Action cards in the deck prompt players to perform behaviors that encourage empathy between trees and people.
Personifying trees helps humans better connect to nature.
Our card deck poses questions that evoke similar connection for trees as our care package research method.
Care packages acted as a vessel to shift participants’ relationship with nature.
Our card game includes three sub-decks that parallel the human life cycle, prompting players to consider tree time and history through a relatable lens.
Research Insights
Family and childhood reflection can be used to better understand time and history and help relate how we care for humans in every stage of life to how we care for trees.
Design Decision
The reflection card deck is broken into stages that parallel the human life cycle, prompting players to consider tree time and history through a relatable lens.
We can empathize with trees through recognizing the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the importance of respecting non-human life.
Player Takeaways
Humans are not the center of the ecosystem.
Trees exist in endless ecosystems of differing scales and dependencies.
Non-human beings should be respected and seen as more than resources for human consumption.
Reflection
My takeaways from designing this card game were very similar to those of the players. I am proud of my team’s research based design. We made thoughtful decisions about how to incorporate marginalized stakeholders in our design without exploitation.