RITUALS
2016
Semester Project
UX|UI Design
Context
How may the daily ritual of reading and writing emails, receiving and sending be translated into a safe and pleasant application, that can be experienced as such?
Confidential messages are increasingly sent as emails in private, as well as in professional day to day life. 85% of Germans communicate this way without any form of encryption. This is partially because of the lack of knowledge, that messages may be read and manipulated by third parties, but also due to ignorance in setting up encryption. In inboxes, messages of personal value end up next to newsletters and confirmation emails. Important emails are treated the same way as irrelevant messages and are rarely filtered out.
Private Mail
creates a secure and personal space, in which valuable messages are received, sent and saved in encrypted form. Through a direct connection with a hardware product these virtually recorded dialogs regain a haptic relation. The tool may be used as a touch input device. Furthermore two-factor authentication results in a heightened technical security, which may be experienced physically through the opening and closing of the device.
With the help of a graphical interface, the message is brought to the foreground and is assigned a higher value. The optional addition of control elements for managing and editing the emails, enables to focus the users attention on the task at hand. Through defined touch gestures the messages can be “folded together” before they are sent. This may be perceived as a symbol for the encryption process and a safe transmission of the message.
