Creating Spatial-Interactive Service Experiences

A framework for designing interactive service spaces

Ting-Han Chen1, Kai-Tzu Lu2 1Royal College of Art, UK, 2XXtraLab Design, Co., Taiwan 1,2www.xxtralab.com [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract. Inspired by the emergence of interactive space design and service design, this paper explores the concept of interactive service space and proposes a framework for designing interactive service space experiences. The framework has been applied in two design projects of successful commercial setting, mojo iCuisine interactive restaurant and Yun-Ching Real Estate VIP Center, as validation of its feasibility and applicability. We believe that this framework is beneficial for designers who have interests in creating service experience with interactive space approach, and for further studies regarding the concept of interactive service space. Keywords. Service design; interaction design; interactive space; interactive exhibit; user experience.

INTRODUCTION Computational media brought into the realm of ar- in stores, as the physical environment plays a critical chitectural design not only changes in design pro- role in the quality of service experiences (Bitner 1992). cesses, methods, and techniques, but also a major Nevertheless, there seems not to be a framework reshaping of our physical environment in the form of for incorporating service thinking in interactive space a movement towards prospects known as Intelligent context. Thus, in line with this physical-digitalization Environment (Droege 1997), Ubiquitous Computing phenomenon, we are motivated to develop an inter- [1] or Ambient Intelligence (Aarts and Marzano 2003). active service space framework in the hope of helping Sensors, interactive touch screens, and a variety of in- designers better create spaces of spatial-interactive terface technologies have been blended into the fab- service experiences. ric of everyday environments, redefining the way we interact with architectural space. EXPLORATIONS Within this trend, interactive spaces have We are motivated to link interactive space to service emerged as a new typology in architectural design design by exploring the concept of interactive service (Huang 2008), and have proven to be stimulating and space to address the following questions: Is it possi- beneficial in commercial application that makes an ble to create service opportunities using an interac- emotional journey of discovery (Lucas 2012). Interac- tive space approach? What is the best approach to tive interfaces and installations also facilitate services designing an interactive service space? How can one inside many public or private service spaces such as incorporate, design, and implement a spatial-interac- train stations, hospitals, or consumer reception areas tive service experience?

Human-Computer Interaction - Volume 2 - eCAADe 30 | 317 To answer these questions, this paper proposes a Additionally, this in turn provides spatial constraints framework for designing interactive service space, and reshapes the form of the space being designed. and discusses how this framework can assist design- Streitz et al. (1998) and Huang and Waldvogel ers in creating spatial-interactive service applica- (2004) have built real interactive environments and tions so as to create service model that works. discussed practical issues in integrating interactive spatial elements into architectural spaces, whilst RELATED WORKS Snibbe and Raffle (2009) summarize valuable design This paper is situated in the intersection between principles for integrating interactive camera/projec- interactive spaces and service design. Relevant works tor systems from their interactive exhibit practices can be grouped into three categories, as elaborated experience. in detail below. Other spatial interactive interfaces applications and technical research can also be found in relevant Application frameworks for interactive conferences, such as ACM Interactive Tabletops and spaces Surfaces [2], which provides practical methods and “Interactive Space” is used as a general term to re- techniques in implementing and integrating spatial fer to the architectural spaces integrated with input/ interactive interfaces into architectural spaces. output devices that interact with people (Winograd 2001, Streitz et al. 2003). Jeng (2003; 2009) proposed Service Design a conceptual framework that integrates interac- Service Design investigates the interactive relation- tion interfaces, sensing technologies, application ship between the service provider and the service control, and human adaptation to provide a design users by planning people, infrastructure, communi- and implementation strategy for interactive spaces. cations, materials and objects (Marc and Jakob 2011). Huang and Waldvogel (2004; 2008) envisioned inter- Service design has emerged as a branch of study active architectural spaces as a novel type of “inhab- in interaction design in recent years, both of which itable media”, and identified key ideas that form the fields share a common interest in creating user- basis for an inhabitable media system. Furthermore, centred experiences (Holmlid 2007). Similarly, Simon Achten and Kopriva (2010) proposed a methodolog- (2011) sees service design as arranging a series of in- ical framework that uses analysis, concept genera- teraction points between customers and the service tion, simulation, and assessment to help designers system through many different touch-points during evaluate and design better interactive architectural the customer journey. spaces. The “customer journey map” is a multi-channel The interactive space frameworks mentioned and time-based method in designing immersive above all centre on human experience, which ori- user-focused service experience (Zomerdijk and ents a significant fundamental understanding for Voss 2010). Similarly, the “service experience blue- designing and implementing interactive architec- print” method, as proposed by Lia et al. (2008), is a tural spaces. user-centered approach that defines the relationship among products, services, people, and their environ- User interfaces for interactive spaces ments and leads users move around different service Spatial interface technologies relate to space design interfaces. both in technical and spatial-ergonomic ways (Ting- Some service design case employs advanced in- Han et al. 2010; Miles 2008). The dimension of the teractive interface as a method to improve user expe- device, environmental lighting, power cord routing, riences in a service space. In a project of redesigning and heat problems could be serious issues when in- ATM experience by BBVA and IDEO [3] demonstrates tegrating a multi-touch screen module into a space. how banking service can be empowered via digital interactive interface in a self-serving banking space.

318 | eCAADe 30 - Volume 2 - Human-Computer Interaction Summary that interactive space composition contains 3 as- According to the reviews above, it is surprising that pects: space, installation, and interface (as shown in very little work discusses service design within inter- Figure 1). active space design context, and the integration of The three levels of the interactive space com- interactive interfaces and service spaces. Hence, this position entail specific respective design consid- paper differentiates itself by bringing service design erations, but collectively they constitute a minimal into the interactive space context and fosters a new basic model for an interactive space. Space-level interactive space genre. design should involve integration issues of installa- tions, and installation-level design should consider TOWARDS AN INTERACTIVE SERVICE the affordance and representational issues of the SPACE FRAMEWORK user interface. There are some similarities between planning a ser- Methods and steps vice and planning an exhibit, such as the focus on This research started by studying relevant works in user experience, and the applicability and flexibility the context of interactive spaces and service design. in integrating interactive media to shape better ex- Then, in order to further the understanding of the periences. Also, both visiting experiences can be de- field, we also empirically studied our previous com- signed as a journey of a user experiencing different mercial works on interactive exhibit space in order interaction touch-points. to assess both the theoretical aspects and the prac- The idea of customer journey map in service de- ticability of designing interactive service spaces. sign resembles the route planning in designing an Secondly, based on the analysis of previous studies, interactive exhibit. Therefore, to further refine the we propose a framework as a hypothesis of this re- framework specifically for interactive service space, search. Finally, we conduct two commercial interac- we employ an interaction design viewpoint for ser- tive service space projects and use the framework to vice design that sees service as a series of interactive map and analyze them to verify and further refine experiences (Simon 2011) by adding a service level the framework. on top of the three levels of the interactive space composition. Thus, the composition becomes a Interactive space compositions 4-level structure: Service, Interface, Installation, and By empirically assessing the design compositions of Space. our previous interactive space projects [4], we found

Figure 1 Basic composition of an interactive space.

Human-Computer Interaction - Volume 2 - eCAADe 30 | 319 Figure 2 The Interactive Service Space framework.

THE FRAMEWORK Service facilitation can then be followed by con- Based on the extraction and refinement of the 4 lev- sidering and specifying each correspondent level: els of interactive service space, we further extract Interaction, Interface, Installation, Location, and In- the framework into a composition of 6 application teractive Service Space. The meaning of each level is levels. The Service level is extended and interpreted explained as follows. into Touch-points level, Interface level to the Interac- Touch-point is where and when a service can be tion level and the Interface level, whilst the Installa- offered, or a situation in which a user meets service. tion level remains the same, and Space level to the A touch-point can be a part of a series of services or Location level and the Interactive Service Space an interaction opportunity that provides relevant in- level. These 6 application levels constitute the body formation for the user. of the framework (Figure 2). Interaction here means the interactive opportu- The framework can be applied by starting with nities that can be created in the context of a service an envisioned service scenario or a revision of a cur- touch-point. It should be defined and developed as rent service workflow, and dividing this into a few specific and clear functions with which users can in- different service touch-points in Touch-point level. teract to obtain the service.

320 | eCAADe 30 - Volume 2 - Human-Computer Interaction Interface is the appropriate user interface tech- The touch-points are transformed into interactions, nology or method that facilitates the interactions the interactions are realized with interfaces, the for users to obtain the service in an intuitive and interfaces are implemented with installations, the comprehensive way. For example, employing multi- installations are arranged and embedded into dif- touch gestures may be more appropriate than using ferent locations within the interactive service space. a computer mouse and keyboard (Ting-Han 2011). Each level, except for the touch-point level and the Installation is the hardware or facility that com- interactive service space level, has a direct inheriting plies with the interfaces, and offers a physical and relationship with its previous level and integration spatial context for the interaction. Installations can issues with its next level. The framework should be be as large as a spatial element or as small as a per- seen from a user-centred viewpoint, designed from sonal mobile device. touch-point level downwards to each level, and re- Location is where the installations are placed sult in the interactive service space level. It should within the space. By connecting different locations be noted that the framework here only expresses of installations with a planned route, the service ex- the relationship between different levels within a perience journey can be created and allocated. single service touch-point context. In an application, Interactive service space should be represented it should be applied in a context of multiple touch- as a whole and enabling users to navigate within points that composes of a sensible spatial service it correctly and effectively. This can sometimes be experience journey. achieved by spatial implication design or guiding graphics.

Figure 3 The mojo iCuisine application example of Interactive Service Space framework.

Human-Computer Interaction - Volume 2 - eCAADe 30 | 321 In design applications, the designer defines the spa- entering the space and ending with them leaving tial interactive service journey compositions involv- the restaurant. The whole journey is designed to ing all levels. The framework serves as a design and occur only within mojo iCuisine, interactive service analytical tool to help designers strategically deploy space, restaurant, which comprises the entrance, spatial and interactive resources to help achieve dining area, and the exit, as revealed in the location service goals at each touch-point along the service level. A projection wall projecting greeting images journey. Nevertheless, although this framework en- and touch dining tables with interactive menus (as courages designers to think in multi-level of design, indicated in the installation level and the interface this does not mean that every touch-point should level) are two installations that are realized the in- be facilitated, specified or intervened with interac- teractive functional components in the interaction tive interfaces or technologies in each correspond- level designed to meet the service touch-points in ing level. the touch-point level.

TWO EXAMPLES Yun-Ching Real Estate VIP Center In this section, we analyze two interactive service This example shows the framework analysis of Yun- space design projects in a successful commercial Ching VIP Centre visiting experience extended from a setting with our framework as contextual demon- 190” multi-touch real estate presentation experience stration. Two examples are mojo iCuisine and Yun- (Lu et al. 2012). The initial idea for the establishment Ching Real Estate VIP Center. of this centre was to develop a presentation system for salespersons in Yun-Ching Real Estate Company mojo iCuisine to present company profiles, products, and relevant This example demonstrates how we develop an real estate information to VIP guests who visit the VIP interactive restaurant by augmenting and expand- Centre. However, to better craft the visiting experi- ing new digital interactive functions on a catering ence, we further develop the system as part of a spa- service experience. The framework analysis of mojo tial interactive service experience and thus result in a iCuisine is shown in Figure 3. design as shown in Figure 4. The restaurant was opened in October 2009 in In this case, the spatial interactive journey is de- Taipei. A total of 22 dining tables in the restaurant fined in a 5-step touch-points scope, starting from are equipped with interactive interfaces via which the customer arriving at the VIP Centre and ending restaurant consumers can browse menus, order up with them making the buying decision. The key dishes/drinks, play games while waiting for the installation incorporated in this project is the 190” meals, view advertisements, fill out customer opin- multi-touch screen, which achieves the functions of ion forms, and pay the bills, as all of the interactive house information detail description and the house dining tables are connected with a database and the selection process in the interaction level by defined accounting system in the restaurant. The colourful multi-touch gestures in an interface level including and flourishing landscape composed of these inter- drag, zoom in/out, mark, delete, and pull. active dining tables is also a catalyst to empower a Unlike the first example, in which the service joyful experience in the restaurant. The overall de- interactions all take place within a single space, the sign and implementation are detailed in Ting-Han et second example involves two spaces, the VIP Cen- al. (2011). tre and the residential house, which demonstrates a Based on the framework of interactive service cross-space design application and planning possi- space of 6 application levels, the whole spatial ser- bility. The second example reserved a lot more rooms vice experience journey is defined and divided into as unspecified, and it shows the opportunities for fu- 7 steps of touch-points, starting with the customer ture facilitations in different levels of design.

322 | eCAADe 30 - Volume 2 - Human-Computer Interaction Figure 4 The Yun-Ching Real Estate VIP Centre application example of Interactive Service Space framework.

DISCUSSIONS Some benefits of the framework The concept of interactive service space offers an op- Our framework achieves certain benefits, as de- tion for designers to develop a service that incorpo- scribed below: rates spatial and interactive resources and features. The framework can be served as a design tool This research proposed a framework and uses two to help designers analyze, develop, or innovate their examples of commercial design practice to validate interactive service space under certain constraints its feasibility. The framework serves as a conceptual in aspects of service touch-points planning, inter- tool to help interactive service space designers think action design, interface design, installation design, in a multi-level fashion when designing a spatial ser- and spatial design. Different levels of design con- vice experience. Nevertheless, the success of the ser- straints ensure the feasibility and applicability of vice quality still relies on the insights and cleverness their design. in deploying service touch-points in a sensible and This framework also provides a practical struc- appropriate context. Some design principle regard- ture for division of labour, as different levels can be ing user experience, user-centred design and service assigned to different professionals. For example, the design thinking could be beneficial in planning the service journey can be planned by service designers. right spatial interactive service scenarios when ap- The following interactive functions can be devel- plying this framework to design. oped by the interaction designers and software pro-

Human-Computer Interaction - Volume 2 - eCAADe 30 | 323 grammer, installations can be designed by hardware points, Interaction, Interface, Installation, Location, engineers, and the spaces can be designed by archi- and Interactive Service Space. We have also dem- tectural interior designers. In a collaborative design onstrated the framework application examples on context such as this, the framework serves as a col- two interactive service space design practice, mojo laborative framework that defines the relationships iCuisine and Yun-Ching VIP Center. Though this between different professions that have mutual framework is an approach rather than a formal and influences and integrity issues between upper and structured method, with application validation, we lower levels of the profession. believe that this framework could potentially bene- The framework can also be used as a tool for cur- fit designers in designing interactive service spaces. rent service renovation. By putting an existing ser- This research is novel in the way that it bridges vice journey into the framework, this framework can service design and interactive spaces. To an extent, help designers think about possibilities of integrat- this paper has approached a new strand of interac- ing interactive and spatial resources to facilitate or tive service space research, but is limited in adopt- enhance the existing service quality or further trans- ing the touch-point journey approach, whilst there form the service into a brand new spatial-interactive are other service design approaches and interpreta- experience. tions of a service. Another limitation of this research is the lack of service quality evaluation, which may Possible impact and implications be an important factor for designing a successful In the last years, design has shifted from a form and service. function paradigm to a multifaceted and complex The next stage for this research is to further re- problem-solving task. A contemporary designer fine and detail the framework and incorporate ser- does not merely deal with form and functional is- vice quality assessment and innovation mechanisms sues in a design, but also digitality, interactions, to make it a useful tool for creating innovative busi- and other design dimensions. The framework this ness by interactive service space design. research proposes suggests a design thinking that goes beyond simply form and function, towards ACKNOWLEDGEMENT the level of service and interaction that is usually The authors would like to thank Shiau-Yuan Du for beyond the scope of an architectural space design. her valuable suggestions to this work. In other words, this research tries to bridge service interaction design and architectural spatial design, REFERENCES and the proposed framework makes the service in- Aarts, E and Marzano, S 2003, The New Everyday: Visions of teraction and spatial design concurrent in design Ambient Intelligence, 010 Publishers. thinking possible, and this offers designers the pos- Achten, H and Kopriva, M 2010, ‘A design methodological sibility of dealing with design problems in more framework for interactive architecture’, Proceedings of complex design dimensions. Designers can design the 28th eCAADe Conference ETH Zurich (Switzerland) not only the space but the service experience within 15-18 September 2010, pp.169-177. the space or even create novel interactive service Bitner, MJ 1992, ‘Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Sur- experience through different levels of interrelated roundings on Customers and Employees’, Journal of and integrated thinking among services, interfaces, Marketing, 562, 1992, pp.56-71. installations, and spaces in parallel. Droege, P (ed.) 1997, Intelligent Environments - Spatial As- pect of the Information Revolution, Oxford: Elsevier. CONCLUSIONS Holmlid, S 2007, ‘Interaction design and service design: Ex- We have proposed a framework of interactive ser- panding a comparison of design disciplines’, Paper pre- vice space that contains 6 application levels: Touch- sented at Nordic Design Research Conference, Nordes 2007.

324 | eCAADe 30 - Volume 2 - Human-Computer Interaction Huang, J and Waldvogel, M 2004, ‘The Swisshouse: An In- Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1370/1998, habitable Interface for Connecting Nations’, Proceeding pp. 4-21. of the 5th Conference on Designing Interactive Systems: Streitz, NA, Thorsten, P, Carsten, R, Daniel, VA, Carsten, M, Processes, Practices, Methods, and Techniques, ACM New Richard, S and Daniela, P 2003, ‘Ambient Displays and York, NY, USA, pp.195-204. Mobile Devices for the Creation of Social Architectural Huang, J and Waldvogel, M 2008, ‘Interactive Spaces’, Spaces’, In Public and Situated Displays: Social and In- Transdisciplinary Digital Art. Sound, Vision and The New teractional Aspects of Shared Display Technologies, K. Screen, Communications in Computer and Information O’Hara et al. (eds.), Kluwer, Dordrecht. Science, vol.7, Part 6, pp.377-391. Ting-Han C 2011, ‘Suggested Considerations on the Design Jeng, T 2009, ‘Toward a Ubiquitous Smart Space Design of Multi-touch Interfaces for Commercial Presentation’, Framework’, Journal of Information Science and Engi- HCI International 2011, vol.174, Part IV, pp.227-231. neering (JISE), vol. 25, no. 3, 2009. Ting-Han C, Hsin-Hou L and Yi-Di Y 2011, ‘mojo iCuisine: Lia, P, Raymond, PF, and João F 2008, ‘Designing Multi-Inter- The Design and Implementation of an Interactive Res- face Service Experiences’, Journal of Services Research, taurant Tabletop Menu’, HCI International 2011, Part III, vol.10, no.4, pp.318-334. LNCS 6763, pp.185-194. Lu, KT, Hsin-Hou, L, Ting-Han, C and Chi-Fa, F 2012, ‘Finding Ting-Han, C, Chi-Huang, L and Chi-Fa, F 2010, ‘Project 6453: the vital houses information using immersive multi- a Multi-touch Interactive Table in a Concept Show- touch interface’, Proceedings of the 17th International room’, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference Conference on CAADRIA / Chennai 25-28 April 2012, on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI pp.379–386. 2010), Jan 25-27, 2010, pp.393-394. Lucas, G 2012, ‘Visitor Attraction: How digital technology Winograd, T 2001, ‘Interaction Spaces for Twenty-First-Cen- is encouraging people back into shops and museums’, tury Computing’, in Human-Computer Interaction in the Creative Review, vol. 5, iss. 32, May 2012, pp.42-47. New Millennium, J. Carroll (ed.), Addison-Wesley, New Marc, S and Jakob, S 2011, This Is Service Design Thinking: Ba- York. sics, Tools, Cases, BIS Publishers, Zomerdijk, L and Voss, C 2010, ‘Service Design for Experi- Mari, H 2010, ‘Exploring Service Design in the Context of ence-centric Services’, Journal of Service Research, 13(1), Architecture’, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 30, iss. pp.67-82. 4, 2010. Miles Kemp, R 2008, ‘Interactive Interfaces in Architecture: [1] http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/SciAmDraft3. The New Spatial Integration of Information, Ges- html ture and Cognitive Control, Silicon + Skin: Biological [2] ACM Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces Processes and Computation’, Proceedings of the 28th [3] http://www.ideo.com/work/redefining-self-service- ACADIA, Minneapolis 16-19 October 2008, pp.422-429. banking-for-bbva/ Simon, C 2011, ‘Interaction Design: Services as a Series of [4] http://www.xxtralab.com Interactions’, in This Is Service Design Thinking, pub- lished by BIS Publishers. Snibbe, SS and Raffle, H 2009, ‘Social Immersive Media: Pur- suing Best Practices for Multi-user Interactive Camera/ Projector Exhibits’, Proceedings of CHI 2009, pp.1447- 1456. Streitz, NA, Geißler, J and Holmer, T 1998, ‘Roomware for Co- operative Buildings: Integrated Design of Architectural Spaces and Information Spaces’, Cooperative Buildings: Integrating Information, Organization, and Architecture,

Human-Computer Interaction - Volume 2 - eCAADe 30 | 325 326 | eCAADe 30 - Volume 2 - Human-Computer Interaction