OUGD405 - Study Task 01 - Research Video

https://vimeo.com/192773990

Our video aimed to record how members of the public move through and interact with a public space through the medium of video. One of our interventions involved placing blue arrows pointing to two cash machines and leaving one without. We aimed to see if this would make the public pause or stop so to only use the two machines that involve the arrows. Only using the arrow heads meant these symbols largely resembled triangles, which are typically used in road signs to suggest 'to wait'. This worked in some instances, for example, the video stills in figs. 1 and 2 below show one woman waiting in line to use the next available cash machine, not realising that the third is perfectly well to use. Eventually she realises and moves over. Despite this specific interaction, people largely paid no attention to the arrows.

Fig. 1. Aim one: make someone pause or stop.

Fig. 2. Aim one: make someone pause or stop.

Another of our interventions involved the use of two yellow squares placed towards the opposite walls of an underpass. The aim of this intervention was to block off these two areas of the path to create a narrow pathway between the two in the hope that this would create a new connection. This connection would be that where people are avoiding the blocked areas of path, they would be forced into the smaller pathway which would therefore force conversations between strangers who are trying to get past at the same time. This would show a new interaction or connection between members of the public created as a result of our sign system.
Unfortunately, we did not witness a large enough group of people passing by for this to be effective. However, individual members of the public still interacted with this system by swerving slightly to avoid walking through the squares, shown in fig. 4. I feel this would have been more effective had there been a large enough group of people passing through and if the squares were closer together to create an even narrower path that would have only allowed a single person through at one time. These squares also needed a sign to support them which may have suggested those areas are out of bounds.

Fig. 3. Aim two: create a new connection.

Fig. 4. Aim two: create a new connection.

The last of our interventions involved the use of a red square with a cross through the middle. The square as a symbol is boundaried which shows intention and gives the feeling of a floor or protection, in this sense used to suggest there is something needing to be done in this area. In doing so, we hoped this would create a diversion, with people changing their course of direction so to avoid walking over it. This turned out to be the most unsuccessful of all three interventions with people paying virtually no attention to the symbol. A select few noticed the intervention, however reacted in the opposite way to which we intended by walking directly over the square as if they are more drawn towards it rather than towards avoiding it.

Fig. 5. Aim three: create a diversion.

Fig. 6. Aim three: create a diversion.