TIMELINE:
2 WEEKS
RESEARCH METHODS:
BODYSTORMING, DIRECTED STORYTELLING
TEAM:
VIBHOOTI • AISHWARYA • DIYA • DRISHTI • ERYUE • LUIS • WALEED
brief.
"Design an experience that amplifies the qualities/customs of whispering."
week 1.
Visiting Physical Spaces
I explored what whispering meant and felt like to me by visiting Saint Paul's Cathedral. Exploring nearby surroundings revealed the Whispers sculpture by Zeita, that invites people to engage with ideas, whether softly or in whispers, and not just sit passively.
A personal moment of calm and introspection in the prayer room.
This Whispers sculpture made a semi-private space on the street.
While sitting on this sculpture, you could feel the "whispers" of the cars and city.
Brainstorming
We started with brainstorming and looking more with the WH-family. A mindmap helped us with organising our thoughts.
Analysis
Analysis of the questions 8 broad themes, and we decided to focus on how whispering creates space.
Directed Storytelling
Directed storytelling helped us look into:
Where is whispering happening?
Woozle effect (information is misrepresented or misinterpreted as it spreads)
When do people do it?
How does whispering make people feel?
It affirmed our initial brainstorming assumptions and personal experiences. However, it did end up revealing an underlying power aspect and how there’s always an “other” not being involved.
Bodystorming
We explored by:
Sitting in small spaces
Table top whisper discussions where an individual isn't included
Creating groups while whispering with the help of cardboard boxes
Sitting inside a small space to affirm if it leads us to whisper.
We were able to hear ourselves and each other really loud, and consequently led us to whisper.
Whispering as a group and excluding one person (left).
The left out individuals reported feeling anxious or curious about the whisper.
Closed group whispering.
Intruding a group that was whispering.
Knocking and asking permission to join the group.
Feedback
The cardboard box with holes worked the most closely with our concept. Feedback we explored next week was:
Where is the box situated?
What is the impact of whispering and not whispering?
Does a knock feel natural in a quiet setting?
How else would you ask for permission to be included?
Take the box outside
week 2.
Prototyping
Much of our time this week went into testing various prototypes and body storming various scenarios. We experimented with materials such as cardboard, wire, cloth, film, and boxes to explore the discomfort, intimacy, privacy, space and other aspects with whispering.
Proximity and Discomfort
This prototype explores creating forced proximity with wires. Participants cannot see each other while whispering.
The wires were pre-bent to accommodate heads.
Adding a cloth on top made the experience feel more private and slightly more uncomfortable.
Whisper Train
This prototype explores creating closed groups through head-sized cutouts in cardboard. It makes a group instead of a line (as explored in the prototype above).
Quick sketch to depict someone holding cardboard with holes.
Another quick sketch depicted by Luis.
The whisper train can be bent to form a small group.
Completely closed Whisper Train.
Revisiting the box
We revisited our bodystorming last week with the box. We pushed the holes closer together to see if it has a different experience.
Testing holes in the box that were close and face-to-face.
The experience was extremely uncomfortable as you could feel the breath and the eye contact was very close.
Testing the Gossip Box
Through continuous testing:
Distance between faces but keeping them face-to-face is the most comfortable.
Excluded participants were curious about what was being discussed inside.
Adding a warm light in the box made it feel more comfortable.
Participants inside the box were prompted to gossip. This allowed natural conversation and avoided 'what should I do now?'.
Box with holes at the bottom being tested.
Participants trying to eavesdrop on the conversation happening inside.
Exploring lighting to make the box feel more comfortable.
Creating interest through boredom
To bring more attention to the Gossip Box, we made our presentation deliberately boring by:
Keeping it greyscale
Using poor text formatting and styles
Lowering text and background contrast
Talking in a monotone and soft voice
Some slides from our presentation deck.
Gossip Box - Final Outcome
Since people were excluded from the conversation in the box, they felt curious and walked up to the box.
We did not explain anything about the box intentionally, the power dynamic added to curiosity about the project.
Close-up of the final outcome.
Presentation in class.
Feedback
The presentation's performative aspect worked really well, but it can be pushed even further with lower opacity text, smaller text size, poor contrast etc.
People were confused about the box, they would have liked a bit more context about it in the presentation.
They liked how we didn’t tell them anything and held on to the power.
Most people got that the presentation looks really boring, and many were looking at the box as well (especially with the whispering noise and giggles).
reflection.
Through this project, we prototyped and tested rapidly. We were able to express underlying nuances in whispering, such as space, power, and comfort. As most of the discussion and brainstorming was done digitally, it is much easier to organise and read.
Looking back, there is space for improvement:
Though the images of the prototypes is a significant improvement compared with my previous projects, it can certainly be pushed further.
Some videos and images still have a lot of background noise.
Taking the box outdoors could have given us more insights.
references.
St. Paul's Cathedral Whispering Gallery
Zeita (2025) Whispers
Available at: https://www.zieta.pl/en/special-projects/57/whispers
