Brief: Create a storytelling tool or method that facilitates heartfelt and engaging communication over time, at distance and at scale.
Designers: Diya, Asli, Emilia, Grania, Karolis, Shanshan Li, Izzy, Jeanne, Mustafa, Rachel, Wanrui
In the first week of our Hive UX project, we explored everything. We conducted literature reviews, and experimented with research methods like writing Love and Break Up Letters. It felt like a productive start which is new ideas were emerging constantly, and our digital board filled up fast with quotes and insights.
(Fig. i) The Literature Review by Macro UX Hive Group (2025)
(Fig. ii) The Love and Break Up Letter by Macro UX Hive Group (2025)
Drawing from the insights gathered through the Love and Breakup Letters, we conducted an analysis and chose to structure our ongoing research around three broad directions: work, education, and entertainment.
(Fig. iii) The Love and Break Up Letter Analysis by Macro UX Hive Group (2025)
In this analysis, I think we captured what people felt, but not how those feelings were situated within a relationship to digital systems. For example, we treated emotional points like inefficient or comfort as isolated islands, rather than parts of an interconnected emotional system. Moreover, we extracted each point without grounding it in a specific context. For instance, with losing a sense of self, we didn’t ask what moment the feeling came from. As a result, we couldn’t identify what kind of people would experience this, which means we couldn’t uncover the users’ real desire, and therefore, couldn’t define a design response.
To better situate our research within a real-world context, I conducted a case study on our collaborative company, &US, as a way to explore and frame two possible research questions.
(Fig. iv) The Case Study for &US by Grania (2025)