Pollen: promoting the exchange of meaningful objects

One of the most trying aspects of growing old is the loss of loved ones. Older people often experience depression as a result of this reality. Without regular contact from friends and family to amend this loneliness, a gap may exist in the individual's social welfare. Through a unique combination of Industrial Design and Interaction Design methods, we have formed a process that allows us to explore the contextual background of a problem as well as a physical product solution. By using this process, we were able to create Pollen, an affordable product that provides companionship through the exchange of meaningful artifacts. This paper describes both the process taken to create this unique product as well as the product itself. ACM Classification Keywords H.5.1 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Multimedia Information Systems

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Stefanie Danhope-Smith, Payaal Patel
• Keywords: ACM Classification Keywords, CHI 2005, Human Computer Interaction, Physical Product Solution, Unique Product