Dearest …
A shared journal set that supports and improves the emotional bond between left-behind children and their migrant parents in China over a long period of time.
Master graduation project
The challenge
Chinese left-behind children (LBC) are children of migrant workers, who are not able to move with their parents to the new location, therefore they often live with relatives in their home town/village. Reportedly, there are about 61 Million left-behind children in China, which makes up to 22% of all Chinese children.
My role
This was my Master graduation project. From research to the final design I worked on all stages myself.
Research & exploration
In order to properly understand the children and their problems and desires, research has been am important part of the project. Literature study was helpful to understand the foundation of the issue, while questionnaires could give direct and personal insights of the children. Later on in the process, user observation and diary studies in China helped to further learn about children’s desires, as well as continuously test the different design iterations right away.
Analysis & synthesis
Analysis of the research data was an important part of the project to fully understand the children’s needs and the scope of the project as well. Creating an infographic about the origin of the left-behind children phenomenon gave me a solid guideline throughout the design stage.
Prototyping
A first prototype of the diary itself. The design was adapted after testing it with the children.
A testing prototype of the connected light to understand the interaction and usability.
Final design
“Dearest...” consists of an instruction set, a journal book, a journal board and a lamp, called moonlight. After the child writes down a meaningful memory of the day into the journal, the board “recognises” that the memory has been recorded and a gentle moving yellow light pattern appears on the parents’ moonlight, indicated that their child has a story to tell. Seeing this, they have the choice to either pick up the phone and talk to their child, or note down a meaningful memory of their day onto their personal journal book, light up their child’s moonlight and showing it that they are thinking about it too.
Impact
“Dearest…” was a project inspired by personal experience and history. I wanted to u