Finding Human: Recapturing Experiential Values from the Pandemic

Nine months into the COVID19 pandemic, the global community continues to experience  disruptions and limitations in daily life. Perhaps the most significant change in our experience of this  ‘New Normal’ is how public realms have entered private spaces, and how physical and social experiences have entered the digital world. While these transitioned experiences began as a temporary replacement for what we lost socially, they have also inspired a new appreciation of human experiences and values such as spontaneity, serendipity, exploration, and openness which we previously took for granted. What other experiential values can we observe from our collective situation, and can we recapture this experience in envisioning and shaping our digitally connected virtual experiences? What other possible futures can we imagine?

D.Fluence is working with Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture to further investigate this topic. As part of five teams selected from the WTA (What is to be Asked) - Beyond COVID/Open Call, Yihyun and Bumjin will conduct 45-day research and share results along the way via WTA platform.

We want to approach this in principle rather than choosing a specific topic. To uncover human experiential values, emotions, concerns and needs stemming from people’s pandemic experiences, we have been listening to people from Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Through the Open Call opportunity, we’d like to expand our lens and explore other ‘places’ and ‘user groups,’ places with varied urban density, regional cultural settings, and different demographics. Our collection of pandemic stories - of how people have creatively adapted and discovered  new ways to fulfill missed opportunities - will provide us a repository of insights  which we hope to make available to the design community to translate into the design of human-focused and value-driven experiences in both the physical and digital spaces.