This project was made in conjunction with Laura and Yi-Lin.
Moving overseas can be a stressful and daunting experience. Everything is unfamiliar; the landscape, food, people, values, customs and communication. As well as being placed in a completely new environment, social support systems can be lost or challenged. These factors can all influence wellbeing and add unnecessary stress. What if there was a way we could help ease the process?
Twalker is an audio guide app that gives you access to authentic stories within a new city, which are recorded by locals and other travellers. Twalker encourages new-comers to get out and explore.
This project addressed the 5 ways to wellbeing: Connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give.
We have added an element of a game within our app through our interactive map. The map reveals the roads around you and the story pins near you as you walk and explore. To listen to the stories found at the pin, you will have to get close enough for the pin to change colour. Once you’ve revealed the stories and the area, it will now stay revealed,
encouraging you to be active and continue to reveal the rest.
Through our research we found that many people feel more comfortable, less alone and less stressed when listening to audio through headphones. These are only a few reasons why we chose to incorporate audio into our project. Being able to actually listen to someone speak rather, than read about what they have to say, allows the user to relate to the storyteller more and gain a more authentic experience.
Twalker offers two channels for communication; direct messaging and commenting on stories. Users have the freedom to choose whether or not they want to be social, as there is no obligation or pressure to use the features.
Direct messaging enables the user to get in contact with whoever left the story to find out more. This offers not only a way for the user to learn more about the area, but also offers a way to make new friends and feel more at home. Commenting allows the user to express how they are feeling about a story through freedom of speech. Both direct messaging and commenting have flag options, enabling the user to report content if they feel it’s inappropriate.