Using Technology to Unlock Human Connection

I wrote this blog post as a course requirement for my Demystifying Media journalism course. Demystifying Media explores current changes within the media landscape and features a series of guest speakers from whom students gain industry knowledge and career advice for navigating the ever-changing media world. These blog posts feature my key takeaways from guest speakers as well as industry news analysis.

To view my other Demystifying Media blog posts visit my WordPress blog.

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Google cubby wall, crafted by Uncorked Studios, creates a personalized welcome for guests participating in Google BrandLab workshops at the San Bruno, California headquarters. The simple concept of a storage unit for personal belongings, now evolved into a user-friendly intersection within the digital and physical world of design.

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“No matter who you’re working with, there are humans behind the scenes,” explains David Ewald, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Uncorked Studios in Portland, Oregon.

Uncorked Studios is a product design company with a unique approach to the design process, a “design studio that connects people, technology and context to create change“. One of the key takeaways I observed from Ewald’s presentation, is Uncorked Studios’ focus on creating a humanized experience for their client’s audience. Their clients range from large international companies and startups to non-profit organizations. Despite the various scales of projects these clients require, Uncorked Studios is focused on the experience they’re creating for the audience.

“You have to get behind the scenes and think about how people will experience it,” Ewald describes.

After learning more about Uncorked Studios’ seemingly “human” approach to design,  I think the formula for effective design is: efficiency + humanized experience.

The collaboration between Google BrandLab and Uncorked Studios, epitomizes this formula.

For workshop attendees to have a fully engaged experience, the cubby wall offers individual slots within a wall, “cubbies”, where one can charge their electronic devices and store other personal belongings. What makes this wall unique? The exterior of each cubby features a digital screen. Guests are welcomed by their designated cubby screen displaying their name in personaliszed colors and asking the guests questions pertaining to their trip to the headquarters.

This digital interaction creates a personal experience for each guest. Efficient in storage design, and creates a humanized experience through individualized interactions, Google BrandLab is able to tell a story about human connection with this product design.

After David Ewald’s presentation, I’ve observed that across the media landscape, creating  a “humanized” experience seems key to storytelling. For instance, compare investigative journalism to product design. Both desire to engage the audience to help elicit change. In doing so, one must make a human connection in their storytelling.

Good storytelling drives humans to change.