Designing PhenoProbe: An Interview Tool for Inquiring into the Phenological Knowledge of Taiwanese Elders
Zhenchi Lai, Wenn-Chieh Tsai, Rung‐Huei Liang · 2024
With the growing urgency of addressing climate change, HCI and interaction design fields are seeking novel yet practical solutions. Since weather patterns undergo long-term changes, elders’ phenological knowledge and everyday experiences can offer valuable insights. Nonetheless, these insights need to be adequately represented in sustainability discussions. We present the research-through-design process behind PhenoProbe, an interview tool that employs a series of cards inspired by the 24 solar terms. PhenoProbe incorporates Taiwanese seasonal soundscapes with surreal visuals generated through proverb prompts to cultivate meaningful conversations between elders and researchers. The tool is crafted to encourage elders to comfortably engage in and reflect upon their daily weather-related experiences. Our work delivers two main contributions: 1) A tool that engages elders in discussions about phenological patterns and embodied experiences, and 2) An approach that weaves familiar cultural elements into open-ended elicitation materials, fostering the involvement of older adults in the design process.