ProRail project team, reporting in.
ProRail project team, reporting in.
Oh, my. This place! Studio HvA looks amazing. Designed by hand by the people that inhabit it, it’s a place surging with young energy. We have ACE working here, diligently crafting their new businesses and Urban Management, solving the cities’ problems one at a time. And then there’s us: MediaLAB. Sitting behind our shiny new iMacs, we’re working on even shinier new media projects. The next few months are looking good.
The last few weeks have been a blast. We have been working on a project to improve the waiting time experience of people on railway platforms. ProRail is putting up screens on platforms in a few large cities in the Netherlands, and has asked us to research the possibilities for these screens. We are in the middle of our research right now, working many hours looking into literature, doing market research and thinking of ways to integrate these different fields. While one of us is looking up the effects of the emotion felt while waiting, the other is looking up some of the coolest urban screens projects there are to be found. While one is researching the multimedialization (yes, that’s a word now) of screens in public places, the other is looking up how screens may effect perceived waiting time.
When we’re not at the studio, we’re out doing interviews and meeting new, interesting people. Some are involved in the project, giving us insight in the dynamics of current events, others have presented us with great articles and other sources of information. Next Thursday we’ve got another appointment with Marco van Hout, who has done extensive research in platform waiting experience. It’s a brainstorm session to look forward to.
Meanwhile, when we’re not doing all of these things, we’re doing prototyping workshops on a loud boat in the canals of Amsterdam, we’re actively participating in the platform experience by getting out at a wrong train station in Hilversum while on our way to a meeting, we’re ordering Surinam food at 21.00 hours at the studio, we’re visiting new media festivals, and we’re anticipating the arrival of our new team member, Gionata Fronduti.
Next week we’re presenting ProRail the total of our findings, after a series of peer presentations and feedback sessions. We’re looking forward to giving everyone an insight in our findings, since there is a lot to be told. The next few days will be filled with the gathering of information and the finalization of our research report. As long as the coffee machine doesn’t break down again, we’re good to go. We’ll keep you posted!
Sanne and Steven