This project was a collaboration between the KEIO Media Design and Stanford Learning, Design and Technology Master’s programs. Four students from each university were selected through internal portfolio reviews and interviews. The exchange began with the KEIO team visiting Stanford in Palo Alto for two weeks, where two project groups were formed and final topics were chosen. This was followed by a month of remote collaboration, and concluded with the Stanford team visiting Tokyo for two weeks. During the final phase, both teams developed and presented prototypes to faculty.
The exchange aimed to strengthen multicultural collaboration by combining team-based work with cultural and professional experiences. Participants explored the Bay Area and Tokyo Metropolitan Area, visited exhibitions and future-focused businesses, and met inspiring individuals shaping tomorrow’s world.
I was part of the "Communiteam," which focused on improving how individuals connect with communities that share their interests.
Communiteam members:
Since the topic of the project was unrestricted, after forming the group we decided to look for the common intrests. Our group arrived at the topic of community and having a sense of belonging. Reaching a shared vision proved challenging, as we wanted each team member to feel fulfilled by the end of the project. To ease the initial tension, we began by envisioning what we hoped to create and defining the roles we wanted to play within the team. This approach helped us align our goals and move forward collaboratively.
We kicked off the ideation process by exploring ways to foster community and a sense of belonging. Most of us found these through shared interests, so we examined various interest groups we could design for. Eventually, we narrowed our focus to conferences — a setting where such groups naturally come together. Reflecting on our own experiences at conferences, we identified a specific problem to address. We found it hard to inititate conversations and choosing the right person to talk to.
We applied the Framework for Belonging from Stanford d.school’s Design for Belonging guide by Susie Wise, analyzing its phases and focusing on the "entering" and "participating" stages. Additionally, we prioritized the aspects of "space" and "grouping" as key factors in fostering a sense of belonging within a community. We conducted the interviews and mapped out a user's journey.
Our design questions:
We went through three interations of prototyping an app that shows participant's interests in a form of a colour gradient. The steps of the experience were as follows:
1. Leverage the survey participants fill in at the start of the conference about their interests.
2. They get assigned a circle with gradient representing their interests.
3. When they enter a room they see a live map on the wall with every person in the room’s interests represented by a circle. They’re also able to tap into the room to view the map on their phone.
4. Gradients make it easier to start a conversation based on common/opposite interests.
I'm grateful to have been part of this exchange program. I met many inspiring people and learned a lot from them. It was my first time visiting the U.S., and while I experienced both highs and lows, the experience helped me grow — not only as a designer, but also as a teammember more capable of collaborating in an international, multicultural environment.
We were also fortunate to test a modified version of our prototype in a real-world setting, which was incredibly rewarding. We tested our Spark app during an ice-breaking event organized for the new cohort of KMD students in April 2024. The event brought together new and current students, as well as faculty members. The app helped facilitate friendly conversations, addtionally easing the language barrier between Japanese and non-Japanese participants.
Summary of the feedback from test sessions:
