Ruby - Exploring Playful Personality in a CUI for Young Adults
My Role: Context Research & Ideation, User Research, Planning & Scope Definition, Sketches, Lo-Fi prototypes, High-Fidelity prototypes, Documentation
Conversational Interfaces (CUIs) are becoming increasingly common; however, most of them lack a true personality, which could enhance empathy and trust. This project explores the personality and visual interface of a CUI specifically designed for young adults. The aim is to encourage critical thinking about concerns related to privacy and transparency and, more importantly, to envision how human-computer communication can evolve naturally, without abdicating quirky and fun details that make interactions between humans unique.
Client: NC State University Studio
Deliverables: Initial Studies, Diagram of States, Mockups, & Prototypes
Advisor: Helen Armstrong
I was particularly interested in adding personality to CUIs to make human-computer interaction more organic and fluid. This theme emerged after exploring existing mobile chatbots and realizing they are simply sequences of zeros and ones—essentially, machines. Without a visual representation of the "entity" I'm interacting with, a voice that aligns with my expectations, and more intuitive communication methods than just sending countless links, these bots fail to evoke any empathy from users. According to specialists in human-computer interaction, empathy is crucial for building trust.
Initial studies
Basic CUI stages & visual interface:
I began by creating three visual studies with different moods and styles to explore how my CUI could be designed. After a critique session, I chose the third study, as it received a generally positive first impression from the other designers present (around 30 young professionals).
Unlike the first two studies, participants expressed excitement about how this "red cute" character would sound and interact with them in various situations, simply because it "looked so friendly."
Originally, I intended the character for children, but research revealed that it sparked a sense of nostalgia among young adults, reminding them of familiar emotions from their childhood. The designers present quickly demonstrated empathy toward the idea of this CUI existing in their own lives.
Then, I outlined how the chosen CUI study (above) would behave in various situations, considering the most commonly recognized basic facial expressions to enhance user recognition. I shifted my target audience from children to Western young adults who value efficiency and automation in their daily lives. This change would also enable me to better explore complex topics such as security and transparency.
Lastly, I gave the CUI a short, simple, and friendly name, intending to expand human empathy towards it: Ruby.
Diagram of states mapping out the graphic indicators of conversation
Final Studies
Users can verbally call Ruby (CUI) to show up at any moment using speech recognition:
Ruby visually shows she can hear the user talking to her
Ruby shows comprehension of user's verbal request
Ruby verbally replies to user
Users can also easily view and request to remove all non-essential user data kept by CUI such as social media use, health stats, browsing history, & passwords:
Ruby shows the user all the kinds of data she keeps in order to best serve their needs
Ruby shows the user a detailed summary of their most visited browsing topics
Ruby shows user it has successfully deleted all browsing information previously stored
Below are visualizations developed
to respond the following question:
When the user wants to see all the info their CUI has access to, how can they view all that content in digestible, understandable pieces? What would the inside of Ruby's brain look like?
The graphic shows all kinds of information the CUI has access to
Groupings of information within the same category
deleting information in that category
confirmation that the information has been deleted
In the last study, the user is at home, she just watched a Ted Talk about the privacy issues in technology and is concerned she is always being watched by her CUI.
She decides to verify immediately:
In conclusion, the outcome of this study is the study itself. The interfaces developed, the scenarios created, and the personalities explored aim to ignite critical discussions about a potential evolution of human-computer interactions. Additionally, I am left with several questions to explore at a later time:
How can designers create an experience that is organic and filled with pleasant discoveries, while also addressing concerns about personal information security and transparency? In what ways can a computer user interface (CUI) empathize with users, and how can this empathy help build trust with newer generations? To what extent can we simplify complex concepts without sacrificing transparency? Additionally, how can we make the entire experience more inclusive and seamless?
Thank you!