by felix.prinz -

Shifting Focus to EV Charging Station Experience

After some reflection I realized my original idea (How to design an Elevator for a 1000-Story Building) was a bit unrealistic obviously. Instead, I am now focusing on the user experience at Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations, a practical and urgent issue. Charging is widely reported as a major pain point for EV drivers (info from literature -> pdf footnote). For example, one study notes that EV owners often complain about broken chargers, long charging times, confusing locations and high costs. These issues make charging frustrating. This topic matters because as EV adoption grows, smooth charging experiences are essential to keep drivers confident and satisfied.

I should note I don’t own an EV myself, but I have tried charging one a couple of times, in fact the dad of my girldriend owns one. I remember fumbling with the cable and wondering, how do I actually start charging? When it didn’t begin at first, I panicked a bit. There were also other issues with the paying method because you have like 4 different cards to pay at the station which is really confusing. In Austria there are more then 8 different types of Charging Stations all designed differently from different company’s.
Talking to other EV users confirmed my gut feeling: nearly everyone has stories of confusing chargers or unexpected problems. Many complained about chargers not starting properly and so on. Hearing these firsthand, common pain points jumped out: unclear signage, cables that are too short or heavy, crowded stations, and unfamiliar payment apps. These conversations have only made me more eager to dive into this problem.
When I talk about cables that are too short I once experienced this exact situatuion. This frustrating experience was when I had to wait around 10 minutes because both cables at the station were in use. When one car finally left, I parked and got ready to charge—but then realized the cable didn’t reach my car’s charging port. It was simply too short. The port was on the right side of the car, and there was no way to reposition it to make it work. Luckily, there was another cable available that did reach, but this situation felt like a clear UX fail. I took a photo afterward to remember it.

To deepen my understanding, I’m planning some field research. I’ll visit a few public EV charging stations in person, watching how real users plug in and charge their cars. I’ll sit nearby and take notes (from a respectful distance), then do short interviews with drivers. I have a list of questions ready: How do you find this station? Did everything work as expected? What (if anything) was frustrating about the screen, cable, or payment process? By observing and asking, I hope to catch issues I might not have thought of alone. (For instance, reviews often mention problems categorized as “Finding a charger” or “Starting a charge” like inaccurate locations or broken components, I’ll see if these come up in real life.)

I’m also thinking a lot about accessibility and inclusion. A WebExpo talk on inclusive design reminded me that about one in six people has some form of disability and even temporary injuries or age can affect how someone uses technology. Charging stations aren’t just digital screens, they are physical setups too. So I’ll pay attention to questions like: Are the screens and plugs at a good height? Is text large and clear enough? Is there space for a wheelchair or a stroller? I’m not there yet, but it’s exciting to consider how this research could eventually help all users.

Next steps in the design process: I’m laying out a clear path forward.

  • Research: Finish the site visits and interviews to gather real pain points. I’ll compare my findings to published research (for example, a thesis on first-time EV users confirms that “charging and range” are where beginners struggle the mostfile-vtpiq6sngdvzfiz8n25kdp).
  • Define Problems: Make a list of the key issues we’ve uncovered (e.g. broken hardware, confusing UIs, long wait timesfile-hum5jgwhy7zfzamxlwtuf6file-hum5jgwhy7zfzamxlwtuf6, and any accessibility gaps).
  • Ideation: Brainstorm solutions with sketches and discussion. This might include simple ideas like clearer signage or better instructions, or more novel ones like an app that shows available chargers and reserves a spot to avoid wait linesecharge4drivers.eu.
  • Prototyping: Build quick, low-fidelity models. For digital screens I’ll draw wireframes. For the physical station itself I might use cardboard or LEGO to mock up the layout. Sometimes a little hands-on model sparks insights you don’t get on paper. I’ll also consider user-friendly features suggested by others, like large integrated info screens that guide you “before, during and after” chargingecharge4drivers.eu, plug-and-charge authentication, and multiple plug types for different vehiclesecharge4drivers.eu.

I’ve leaned on three helpful documents to guide this direction. The first highlights that new EV drivers often “struggle with learning about charging”. The second (a deep review analysis) categorizes common charger pain points, things like chargers that are offline or blocked, slow charging, and poor safety/comfort (dark, dirty areas). The third (an EU project report) emphasizes making charging user-friendly: offering varied plug types and levels, large info displays, and even booking features to minimize wait times. These insights support focusing on the actual charging experience and informed my plans.

All in all, this has become a bit of a learning adventure for me. I’m curious and reflective about each step. And of course, this direction may still evolve as I gather more feedback. New insights could shift the focus again, for now, though, understanding real users frustrations at charging stations feels like a solid, people-centered research path.

Bibliography:

Martin Treiber and Arne Kesting, User Experience at EV Charging Stations: Empirical Findings and Design Recommendations (Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 2023), PDF

Steffen Lepa, Understanding the EV Charging Journey: A Multi-Method Study of First-Time Users (Social Science Research Network, 2024), PDF

eCharge4Drivers Consortium, Apriori Users Concerns and Expectations Relevant to EV Charging (2021), PDF

by victoria.bremer -

WebExpo Conference Talk #2 – Digital Intimacy: Feeling Human in an Artificial World

I have identified „Digital Intimacy-Feeling Human in an Artificial World“ as the second talk I want to discuss here because I have previously worked on two projects during my bachelors degree that dealt with the same topic and similar questions as the ones Lutz Schmitt presented at the Expo. Especially in one of my projects about long distance relationships my team and I asked ourselves how we could create a sense of closeness through media and technology. Closeness especially meaning emotional intimacy – through rituals shared experiences and time spent doing things together, but also asked ourselves if we should mimic physical intimacy and proximity in some way and more importantly how to do that with technology. 



Lutz Schmitt’s talk investigates how feelings of closeness and connection can be created in digital and artificial contexts (through robots, AI-driven systems, or designed experiences). He explores whether digital interactions can offer a genuine sense of intimacy and how we can distinguish meaningful connection from simulation. He brings up key questions: Can people form real emotional bonds with non-human objects? What role do trust and vulnerability play in creating such connections? And what ethical responsibilities arise when we design digital interactions?


From a UX and interaction design perspective, this talk is very relevant. In both projects I worked on, we looked into creating interfaces that go beyond typical communication(tools). Ones that encourage presence and emotional involvement. For example, instead of simply allowing users to send messages, we explored designing rituals: synchronized activities, and interfaces that created a sense of “co-being” rather than just „back and forth“ communication. These approaches align with Schmitt’s idea that intimacy is not just about frequency of contact, but about quality of interaction and the emotional context.

He also challenges the trend of creating frictionless, overly polished digital experiences. In reality, human relationships are full of imperfection and effort. Transferring that to UI/UX means intentionally designing for slowness and emotional nuance which is something we often avoid in tech but is deeply engrained in us and an inherent part of the human experience. For example, what if the interface was affected by emotional tone? Or what if moments of silence or waiting became part of the interaction, signaling care or presence instead of emptiness?

What I also found to be a really interesting and relevant aspect he brought up in his talk, was the consideration of privacy. This is much harder to maintain when introducing a technological component/product into a situation, since it’s almost impossible to not have a third party involved. It raises the ethical question of how to handle the very private data that is collected responsibly. As someone who designs these kinds of products this is something I hadn’t given much thought before but really need to take into consideration.

In conclusion the talk reminded me that designing for emotional intimacy is not just about what technology to use but a much deeper emotional and ethical problem that requires understanding the essence of human intimacy and how technology can support that, instead of substituting or mimicking it. It’s a complex but deeply relevant area for interaction design, that requires sensitivity, creativity, and critical thinking.

by victoria.bremer -

WebExpo Conference Talk #1 – Data Visualization

As someone who is very interested in visual design, data visualization and interdisciplinary topics, mixing design and science or values and aesthetics, I was really curious about Nadieh Bremers talk „Creating an Effective & Beautiful Data Visualisation from Scratch”. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I have found that „beautiful data visualization“ often just means clear and structured, but I was more that positively surprised to see how much artistic creativity she was able to incorporate into her visualizations while still maintaining the data to communicate. What I was also surprised by and really broadened my view on the topic was her approach and angle to how she creates her visualizations. I had never heard of the tool she uses (coding it in D3.js) and thought it was so cool to create truly interactive pieces with the actual data in the background instead of using visual tools like Illustrator, which I was more used to when it comes to creatively visualizing data.

What I also thought was a great starting point was her emphasis on storytelling through data. Rather than beginning with tools or templates, she encouraged designers to start with the narrative: what is the data trying to say? This approach really aligns with interaction design principles, where the goal is not just functionality but clarity, emotion, and user connection. Sketching ideas before coding is sort of like prototyping in UX or any other visually creative field, reminding us that visual thinking is critical to problem solving. I really enjoyed that she considered aesthetic and emotional engagement. I feel like many visualizations aim for neutrality or objectivity, but in her case the work also aims to be expressive, and fun. She challenged the idea that beauty is just decoration. Instead, she argued that beauty and clarity are not mutually exclusive, and that well-designed visuals can help users stay curious, linger longer, and feel more connected to the data. This view aligns with interaction design’s attention to emotional and engaging user experiences and human centered design.

As mentioned her use of D3.js was also very interesting for me. By building a data visualization from scratch in a live coding session, she nicely demonstrated what a workflow can look like, which I found really helpful. What made this talk especially valuable was watching her iterative process. Trying something to see what happens, then continuing from there, changing things along the way and making mistakes. Her process reminded me of the iterative prototyping cycles in interaction design: test, tweak, refine. Even a small change in data structure or layout can significantly shift the meaning of a visualization. It was a really eyeopening creative process and a reminder that you don’t need a perfect or exact vision to start and then go through with, but rather develop an idea of what works along the way. This process also showed me how D3 (and coding in general) can empower designers to go beyond their visual tools and create more immersive and interactive experiences while still maintaining the aesthetics.

by elina.dorzhieva -

WebExpo Conference. 12 Core Design Skills Every Designer Should Master

At this year’s WebExpo, Jan Řezáč delivered a compelling and structured talk titled “12 Core Design Skills” that reframed what it means to be a complete designer today. Drawing from real-world challenges in UX, CX, and product design, he warned against common traps and laid out a roadmap for how designers can escape it by growing beyond just creativity or aesthetics.

Here are the 12 essential skills he outlined, along with some key takeaways from each:

1. Design Process

Design is not art. It’s intentional problem-solving. Whether you’re improving conversion rates or building a new service, a structured and goal-oriented design process is critical.

2. Business Thinking

To be taken seriously, designers must speak the language of business. This means understanding value chains, profit models, and being fluent in spreadsheets, metrics, and strategic frameworks.

3. Workshop Facilitation

Good workshops don’t happen by accident. Designers need to know how to listen actively, manage group dynamics, and facilitate decision-making sessions that are productive—not just fun.

4. Customer Research

From interviews to analytics, understanding what people say vs. what they do is vital. Tactical empathy—listening well, reading nonverbal cues, and avoiding judgment—is just as important as choosing the right method.

5. Sense-making

It’s not enough to gather data—you must extract meaning from it. Tools like journey maps, affinity diagrams, or concept maps help designers (alone or in teams) make strategic sense of what they learn.

6. Strategy

Designers influence business outcomes. Strategic thinking involves more than goals—it’s about choosing the right battles and methods. Familiarity with tools like Wardley Maps or Cynefin helps designers navigate complexity.

7. Stakeholder Management

This is a social skill, not a soft skill. Designers must persuade, negotiate, and manage conflict—often while handling governance and aligning teams. The higher you go, the more this matters.

8. Ideation

Great designers generate many ideas. Juniors tend to fixate on the first; seniors create, oppose, remix, and improve. With AI in the mix, idea generation becomes a hybrid of human insight and computational creativity.

9. Rapid Prototyping

Prototypes aren’t just sketches—they’re experiments. From static screens to AI-driven tools, being fast and iterative is essential. Tools like Replit, Firebase Studio, and Glitch are part of the modern prototyper’s stack.

10. Testing Business Ideas

Borrowing from lean startup methods, this skill is about de-risking innovation. You don’t need to build to test—you need fake doors, landing pages, concierge tests, and more.

11. Design Operations

The backstage of design: automation, documentation, tooling, and workflows. Understanding APIs, JSON, prompt engineering, and how to use AI tools well is increasingly part of the designer’s toolkit.

12. Project Management

Designers who can’t manage time, people, and dependencies get stuck. As you grow, you must manage not only yourself, but also others—and your boss. That means mastering risks, gantt charts, and even meetings.

Final Thought: Avoid the Second Diamond Trap

One of the most resonant warnings from Řezáč was about the “Second Diamond Trap”—the tendency to over-invest in ideation and exploration without ever delivering results. To rise above that, designers must develop both creative and operational muscles.

If you’re a junior, mid-level, or senior designer, this list isn’t just a checklist—it’s a map. And in a world where 95% of new products fail, becoming fluent in these 12 areas might just make the difference between launching something forgettable… or something that lasts.

by elina.dorzhieva -

WebExpo Conference. Survival kit for the Advertising Jungle

At WebExpo Prague, one standout talk compared the world of advertising to a jungle. A dangerous, chaotic, yet exciting terrain where only the smart and strategic make it out alive. The speakers laid out a vivid survival guide with 10 essential rules for brands trying to cut through the noise and thrive. Here’s what I took away.

1. Know What’s in Your Survival Kit
Every successful campaign starts with knowing the basics: who you are, what you’re selling, and who you’re talking to. Your brand, product, and target audience form your survival gear. Without a clear identity and focus, you’re setting off without a map or a compass.

2. Enter with Courage
Surviving the advertising jungle takes guts. You need the courage to invest, often heavily and the courage to be different. Playing it safe means blending in. True bravery lies in trying new approaches, breaking norms, and not fearing bold decisions.

3. Hunt One Animal
Don’t try to chase everything at once. Focus your efforts on one clear objective and communicate one strong message. Klarna’s “smooth payments” campaign succeeded not because it was extraordinary, but because it was simple, focused, and consistent.

4. Stay on the Path
Consistency and integration are what keep a campaign strong over time. An integrated campaign is 31% more effective, and consistent brands earn 28% more profit. That means sticking to your story, your values, and your visual language across every platform.

5. Take a Buddy
Your buddy in the jungle could be a mascot or a recurring character, what’s called a fluent device. Most brands play it safe with friendly figures, but the bold ones dare to go rogue. Think of the chaotic Duolingo owl or the famously grumpy “Never Say No to Panda.” A strong character gives your brand a recognizable, repeatable voice.

6. Climb the Tree for Perspective
Survival sometimes means stopping to get a better view. In creative terms, that means finding unusual angles, new interpretations, or breaking common patterns. Great ideas often come from looking at the ordinary in unexpected ways.

7. Follow the River
Trends are like rivers: fast-moving, powerful, and unpredictable. Tapping into them can give your brand momentum. Think of Heineken’s “The Flipper” or the viral explosion of “Brat summer.” These cultural waves don’t last long, but when timed right, they carry you far.

8. Cooperate with the Indigenous People
In the jungle, locals know the terrain. In advertising, that means working with credible people who already have trust and reach like influencers, actors, or community figures. But the influencer cannot be the idea itself. Calvin Klein’s campaign with Jeremy Allen White had cultural fit; Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad did not. Authenticity is key.

9. Turn Obstacles into Opportunities
Barriers don’t have to stop you they can inspire creativity. When a brand faced “consumer blindness” to prices, it made the price tag the visual identity. When beer ads were banned from football kits, they got players to shave beer logos into their hair. Restrictions can become your creative fuel.

10. Celebrate at the End
Surviving the jungle is no small feat. When the campaign ends, take time to reflect, share what you learned, and celebrate the journey. The best brands don’t just move on—they take their wins, analyze their failures, and build smarter strategies for next time.

Final Thought
In the end, advertising isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about preparing wisely, taking risks, collaborating meaningfully, and adapting fast. The jungle is wild but with the right survival kit, your brand might not just survive. It might lead the way.

by genovefa.zourkou -

WebExpo Conference 2025 Day 2: “Digital Intimacy – Feeling Human in an Artificial World” by Lutz Schmitt

One of the most thought-provoking talks I attended at this year’s WebExpo Conference was by Lutz Schmitt, titled “Digital Intimacy: Feeling Human in an Artificial World.” It made me reflect on how we approach emotional connection in digital design, something that often gets overlooked when we’re focused on functionality or aesthetics.

The Main Message: Making Technology Feel More Human

Lutz Schmitt’s talk focused on an important point: even though digital tools are getting better at copying how people behave, they don’t always create real emotional connections. He warned that we often design for speed, accuracy, and logic, but real human feelings are often slow, messy, and complicated. Just because a chatbot answers quickly doesn’t mean it feels caring. Just because a dating app matches people doesn’t mean it builds real connections. This really made me think. It reminded me that designing how things work isn’t enough. We need to ask: Does this feel human? Schmitt suggested a new way to think about emotional design. Instead of adding emotions as a last step, it should be part of the main design process. He gave examples like adding pauses in conversations, using less perfect language, or choosing a warm tone to make people feel like they are talking to a real person, not a machine. The goal isn’t to copy humans exactly but to understand what makes people feel seen and cared for, and design for that feeling. Emotional design needs attention and care, just like any other part of good design.

What Was Helpful for My Work

This talk was especially meaningful for me as someone working at the intersection of physical and digital experiences. Schmitt’s perspective made me reflect on how emotional connection often gets lost when we focus too much on the technical side of digital design.

In projects where I blend physical materials with digital interactions, whether it’s sensors, projections, or screen-based interfaces, it’s easy to prioritize what the technology can do over what it feels like to use. Schmitt’s talk reminded me that technology should serve the emotional goals of an experience, not just the functional ones.

He challenged me to think more critically about how digital responses, like lighting, sound, or interface feedback, can be designed to feel more human, warm, or even vulnerable. It’s not just about impressing users with innovation, but about creating a moment that feels real and meaningful. That mindset shift will definitely shape how I approach future projects that aim to engage people on both a sensory and emotional level.

Final Thoughts

This talk didn’t introduce any new technologies or visual trends, but it provided something more profound: a reminder that effective digital design is experienced emotionally, not just visually. To create experiences that resonate with people, we must go beyond mere logic and efficiency. We need to design with emotional intention.

by jakob.schnurrer -

13 Adding UDP/OSC to Arduino

If you have read my previous blog post, the next step comes pretty natural. Just having one device creating and displaying morse code, defeats the purpose of this early way of communication. So I sat down, to set up a network communication between the Arduino and my laptop, which sounded easier than it was.

Since I had used OSC messages in countless classes before, I wanted to come up with a sketch, that could send those messages. Searching for a possibility to send this messages over WiFi, I started by looking at the examples, that were already provided by Arduino and I found something! Part of the WifiS3 library, there was a sketch, that showed how to send & receive UDP messages. Great! I uploaded the sketch and tried sending a message to the Arduino, using a simple Max patch. The message was received, although the response message wasn’t.

As you can see on the screenshot above, Max received a message, but it wouldn’t display its contents, since I had no idea what went wrong, I tried to adjust the message, so it would be a multiple of four, just like Max asked. But I just got another error message:

Still no idea what this error message was supposed to mean, but I kept trying. I reduced the length of the “message name string”, but without any success. I still got the same error message, as before, even though an even shorter message name wouldn’t have made any sense.

Defeated, I went to class the next day and talked about my problem with a fellow student. He brought to my attention, that Daniel Fabry had shared an example for the same thing last semester, which I knew worked, since I tried it in class, I just had forgotten about it. So I took a look at his sketch, which used an entirely different library. The code syntax was early identical, but the library was different. With my new knowledge, I adapted my code again and this time, it worked!

Now my Max patch could receive strings from the Arduino, great! As a next step, I updated my patch to actually replay the received morse code message. And my new version was done! Now messages could actually be sent wirelessly to other devices making actual communication possible.

This little detour into OSC & WiFi with Arduino really got me interested to explore this topic further. I am excited to find out the things that are possible using this technology.

Instructions

For the second version, you need:

  • an Arduino (capable of using Modulinos)
  • the three button Modulino
  • a Laptop with Max
MorseUdpDownload

Before uploading the sketch to the Arduino, you need to go into the “secrets.h” tab and enter your WiFi SSID (Name) and password. After this, go to the “sendIP” variable and change the Ip Address, to target your laptop. After applying these changes, upload the patch & build a simple UDP receive logic in Max, similar to the one you can see on my screenshots.

by jakob.schnurrer -

Jobs To Be Done (Workshop) – WebExpo Day 2

On day one, I visited a lot of different talks, one of them was “What is the ‘Jobs To Be Done’ framework and why should you care?” by Martina Klimesová. Looking back, this was a pretty biased talk about this framework, for beginners, still a great way to get to know the framework better. It actually got me so interested, that I joined her short workshop the next day, to try working with Jobs To Be Done myself.

In short, what is JTBD? The framework is based on the assumption, that people don’t simply buy products. They hire them, to get a job done, for example: People don’t want a drill, they want to hang a picture. The goal is to stop focusing on solutions. Depending, on the scope and context, there is hundreds of different jobs, a person wants or needs to do, to achieve a certain goal. But how do you get there?

The JTBD framework consists of five steps:

  1. Define the focus/scope of your project (start small)
  2. Talk to users – conduct interviews
  3. Analyse & Cluster your insight
  4. Define Jobs
  5. Create a Job Map

Defining the focus/ scope – During the workshop we focused on a small coffee stand, in front of a huge office building. The end goal was, to raise the profits of said stands to do that, we needed to conduct some research, to find out which jobs people need to do, on their way to work. Assuming, they would pass the coffee stand on their way to the office. So our focus was set, we wanted to analyse peoples “get to work routine”, from the moment they get up, to when they start work. In reality, you would base that decision, on business requirements, collected data or just gut feel.

Conducting Interviews – Next is to interview between six to twelve people, or better yet until you can see certain patterns repeating themselves. The focus of those interviews are the feeling of people, in a certain situation and their processes they go through, to achieve their end goal, in this case, getting form home to their workplace. Martina advised us, to take notes of our insights on sticky notes, since they were easy to rearrange in the later stages of the process. One Insight per sticky note. She even handed out a cheat sheet, to help with the process.

Analysis & Clustering – After conducting your interviews, you should end up with a bunch of sticky notes, with a lot of insights. The next step, is to cluster those insights in different groups, try to find a headline for each of the groups. For the coffee stand example those groups were: How people commute to work, what they eat, when they have their first coffee, how they deal with the weather and a few more, I can’t remember. Try to keep the clusters small and separate them into smaller groups, if they get too big.

Defining Jobs – After clustering your insights, try to find job statements for each cluster, this could be just one or multiple. The statements can be very specific like “Buying a coffee” to very abstract like “not feeling sleepy”. This is the hardest part of the process and it will take a while to get all the jobs down.

Creating a Job Map – This is the last part of the process and probably the most fun. After creating job statements and writing them down on sticky notes, now you put it all together. The goal is to create a timeline of jobs, people need to do to reach their end goal. The time line can be separated into multiple milestones, like “leaving the house”, “commuting to work” & “sitting down in the office”- You put down the sticky notes according to the point in time, the users have to fulfil them. Additionally you should separate abstract from specific jobs, you could create a scale, having the most abstract jobs at the top and the very specific ones at the bottom. This map should then be shared with your whole team.

If you want to know more, here is a link to the book Martina kept recommending (both during the workshop & her talk): https://www.amazon.com/Jobs-Be-Done-Playbook-Organization/dp/1933820683

by Selina Allerstorfer -

WebExpo – Digital intimacy: Feeling human in an artificial world

Last semester, I explored how interaction design can combat loneliness – or more optimistically, how it can foster meaningful connection. With that in mind, I was particularly looking forward to the talk “Digital Intimacy: Feeling Human in an Artificial World” by Lutz Schmitt. It turned out to be a deeply thought-provoking session that challenged not only how I think about technology and intimacy, but also how I view my role as a designer.

Schmitt began by unpacking the idea of intimacy. Often, we associate intimacy with physical closeness or romantic relationships, but he broadened the concept: intimacy is really about emotional presence, trust, and vulnerability. With that foundation, he posed a compelling question: how can we design for that kind of closeness when people are physically apart?

To answer this, Schmitt presented a range of tools aimed at bridging emotional distance. These included connected sex toys, wearable devices like vibrating wristbands that signal touch or presence, and products like PillowTalk, which lets you hear your partner’s heartbeat remotely. What struck me was the emphasis on “small intimacies” – a gentle reminder that sometimes it’s the subtle gestures, that carry the deepest emotional weight.

One of the most impactful moments was Schmitt’s discussion of the “privacy paradox.” He pointed out that while these technologies can feel deeply personal, they also involve the sharing of incredibly sensitive data. In our pursuit of emotional closeness through digital means, we may be compromising privacy in ways we don’t fully understand. As designers, it’s tempting to focus on what’s emotionally compelling without fully considering the ethical implications. Schmitt’s reminder was clear: emotional design isn’t just about connection – it’s about responsibility.

A particularly complex and concerning topic was the growing use of AI companions. Schmitt described how people, especially those feeling isolated, are increasingly forming bonds with AI agents such as Replika. These tools are designed to feel responsive, empathetic, and emotionally supportive – and in many cases, users begin to treat them as if they were real relationships. While this might provide short-term comfort or serve as a form of accessible mental health support, I find this trend deeply problematic. These interactions can lead to a kind of emotional dependency, where users withdraw from real-world relationships and instead engage with systems that at the end of the day serve corporate interests, not human well-being.

What I appreciated most was the balanced tone of the talk and its honesty. Schmitt didn’t romanticize technology, but he didn’t dismiss it either. Instead, he encouraged us to reflect more deeply: how do our tools make people feel – not just functionally, but emotionally, physically, and psychologically? For me, the talk was both inspiring and unsettling. It highlighted the immense power designers have to shape human connection, while also reminding us of the ethical terrain we’re navigating. In short, “Digital Intimacy” wasn’t just about tools or interfaces – it was a call to design with empathy, with care, and with a clear-eyed view of the trade-offs we ask users to make.

by dorota.bicarova -

Blog Post 2: Benchmarking the Present

What’s Missing in Today’s Digital Photo Storage Solutions?

When we talk about preserving photos, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is the cloud. Services like Google Photos or iCloud have normalized the idea that our memories “live in the cloud”, ready to be accessed from anywhere. But if we look a little closer, the current ecosystem of digital photo storage and display solutions reveals clear limitations, particularly for long-term preservation and privacy-focused users.

As part of my thesis, I explored what’s already available. From cloud apps and smart frames to DIY storage setups, to identify what works, what doesn’t, and where there’s room to innovate. This post serves as a benchmark analysis of the digital photo management landscape.

🌩️ 1. Cloud-Based Photo Management: Convenient but Risky

Google Photos, iCloud, OneDrive, and similar platforms dominate the photo storage market. Their main selling points are ease of access, automatic backup, and AI-powered features like face recognition, object tagging, and timeline browsing.

But these services come with major trade-offs:

  • Privacy and data ownership: Cloud platforms often reserve the right to analyze or process your data for commercial purposes.
  • Subscription creep: Many services have moved to paid tiers (e.g., Google Photos removed free unlimited storage in 2021).
  • Vendor lock-in: Exporting your photo library (with metadata and organization intact) is complex and prone to errors.
  • Service dependency: If a company changes direction, increases prices, or shuts down, users risk losing access or control.

🖼️ 2. Smart Digital Frames: Great Display, Weak Storage

Another growing product category is the digital photo frame, with brands like Nixplay, Aura, and Skylight leading the way. These devices offer:

  • Slideshow functionality
  • Remote syncing via Wi-Fi or app
  • Elegant design for home display

However, when tested against archival and user control criteria, they fall short:

  • Limited internal memory (usually 8–16 GB)
  • Cloud dependency for most features
  • No archival formats or exportable backups
  • Often lack file organization tools or metadata support

User reviews often point out that these frames work best when connected to the internet and linked to a cloud account , which limits their usefulness as standalone, secure archives.

🗃️ 3. DIY NAS & Storage Solutions: Powerful but Not for Everyone

Communities like r/DataHoarder show how some users take long-term storage into their own hands. Popular tools include:

  • NAS (Network Attached Storage) with RAID configurations
  • External SSDs or HDDs
  • Archival-grade optical media like M-DISCs

These solutions can offer:

  • High redundancy
  • Offline access
  • Better privacy and control

But they also come with real limitations for the average user:

  • Complex setup and maintenance (network configuration, disk formatting, firmware)
  • No built-in media interface for photo viewing
  • Not designed for curation or memory-based interaction (like galleries, captions, albums)

Moreover, storage failure is still a concern. Research by Google found that even enterprise-grade hard drives show increasing failure rates after just a few years of operation: “The first year is the most reliable; after year 4, the failure rate of hard disks increases significantly, especially in high-use environments.”
📘 Pinheiro, E., et al. (2007). Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population, Google Research

Where My Concept Fits: Bridging Gaps

Let’s visualize how current solutions compare with the needs of a long-term photo preservation system:

My thesis system proposes a hybrid solution:

  • It uses a tablet or embedded screen as a digital gallery.
  • Allows direct transfer from smartphones without the cloud.
  • Offers storage to NAS for access, and M-DISC for deep archiving.
  • Is designed with a user-friendly interface that doesn’t require technical skills.

Key Challenges Ahead

Designing a non-cloud digital photo archive brings several real-world challenges:

  • Ensuring compatibility across different smartphone systems (iOS, Android)
  • Supporting M-DISC hardware and long-term storage standards
  • Creating a truly simple and intuitive user experience
  • Avoiding ongoing maintenance, updates, or cloud dependencies
  • Helping users manage photo clutter and organize meaningful memories

I’ll explore these challenges and how to solve them in more detail in the next blog posts.