Through a pair of Google Glass, or a Narrative Clip camera clipped on their shirt, or a GoPro mounted on their bike helmet, we can explore and collect an infinite amount of qualitative data from our target audience and the people we design for. Wearable technologies have a profound impact on the way we conduct ethnographic research. But how will it disrupt our research workflow? What are the effects on the researcher and their subject? How do we distill the data and gain valuable insights?

2. Welcome to ‘Being John Malkovich - the future of research with wearable technology’.
This is a workshop is part of Sydney Design 2014.

3. We come from an independent consulting company called the Ripple Effect Group.
We’re specialised in helping company communicate
and collaborate effectively using technology.
www.rippleffectgroup.com

4. We share a common interest in understanding human behaviours and new technology
trends, such as wearable tech.
Anthropology User Experience
a
Wearable tech
We would like you to leave the workshop with some interesting take aways around the
value of research, and how to use emerging technology such as wearables to
conduct research effectively and creatively.

5. Research = Quantitative + Qualitative

6. You may reach different conclusions from analysing this infographic
on the Average American diet…

7. …than you would by drawing insights by looking at these fridges.
Source: Mark Menjivar’s ‘You Are What You Eat’ photography project http://www.markmenjivar.com/projects/you_are_what_you_eat

8. Activity 1: Match the fridge with its owner
College Students|
Waco, TX | 3-Person
Household | Drummer
for death metal band.
Retired Emergency
Room Nurse | DeBary,
Florida | 1-Person
Household | Saved
the life of next door
neighbor during
medical emergency.
Competitive Food Eaters
| New York, New York |
3-Person Household |
Holds records for eating
most burritos, cannolis,
buffet food, green beans,
sushi, pancakes, ramen
noodles, tamales, tiramisu
and sweet corn.
Midwife/Middle
School Science
Teacher | San
Antonio, TX | 3-Person
Household (including
dog) | First week after
deciding to eat all
local produce.

9. Would a fridge in Texas look different to one in New York?
!
How do the economic trends of a city influence the fridges of
individual families?
!
Which day of the week was the photo taken?
!
Can I tell who owns the fridge from the way they organise the
shelves?

10. Challenge assumptions

11. Develop empathy

12. Spark insights

13. Anthropology User Experience
a
Wearable tech

14. + +
biosensor
Wearable(s)
noun: easy to wear computing hardware
designed to respond to our environment

15. Not a new concept
An abacus ring, made in China
during the 17th century
Source: Abacus Ring image http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2584437/Is-wearable-computer-300-year-old-Chinese-abacus-ring-used-Qing-Dynasty-help-traders.html

16. Emotiv headband
Dash Smart In-Ear Headphones
Google Glass
Narrative Clip
Smart watch
Google contact lens
NFC ring
FitBit Flex
Lecha shoes
Omsignal
Current state
For more information, take a look at ZDNet’s ‘History of Wearable Tech: http://www.zdnet.com/the-history-of-wearable-technology-a-timeline-7000030090/

17. Healthcare Fitness
Where else do you think are emerging areas
as application of wearable tech?

18. Wearables allow us to layer quantitative data with qualitative data to develop insights.

19. "Fitbit is missing when you got married or bought a car. That context is
missing and these events have such a huge impact on your activity."
Nicholas Felton, Co-founder Reporter App & Daytum

20. Grandma’s diary in 1942
When Kitty Ireland stumbled upon her grandmother’s
diaries and started to explore the daily entries, she
was struck by similarities with her own life and habits.
Reading the diaries, Kitty saw that her grandmother
used her daily entries as logs – tracking the details of
where she went, what she ate, even the boys she
kissed. She transcribed her diary and tracked the
name of the boys grandma mentioned in her diary in
this graph below…
Lifelogging is not new….
…but technology makes it
easier.
Source: http://quantifiedself.com/2013/11/kitty-ireland-grandma-lifelogger/

21. Feltron’s Annual Reports
For more on Nicholas Felton’s life logging reports visit http://feltron.com

22. Activity 2: Design a wearable tech to help you research one of the following subject
Olympic diver
Foreign
correspondent in Iran
Sex worker
in Sydney
Parkinson’s
disease sufferer

23. What data will your wearable device collect?
Where is it worn?
Why does it fit your research subject?

25. Winning team

26. FUTURE
How will you use wearable tech to
conduct research effectively and creatively?

27. Thank you
Jess Erhart
Digital Consultant
@JErhart
Nhung Nguyen
User Experience Designer
@nhungphnguyen