Co-experience: Understanding user experiences in social interaction

although each does so through their own subjective experience (Dourish 2001:
131–134). Dourish describes the challenges of communicating actions and purpose
in the form and appearance of products as intersubjectivity between designer
and user. When designers claim to be “designing experience”, they have
the first approach in mind, communicating to the user through the design. The
product, whether it is a form, a song, a website or a space, is designed to evoke
particular experiences. To say that the experience has been designed suggests
that the receiving end merely comes into touch with the design and the experience
is delivered to them. Experience is constructive and active (Sanders 1999),
regardless of whether people are sitting still in a cinema, snapping photos or
building a log cabin. Communication is as much about sending as it is about
receiving, and feedback in the form of sales is not necessarily enough to constitute
experience feedback. A product may sell, but for what reason?
Another kind of intersubjectivity is what happens between users as they communicate
with each other using products or systems (Dourish 2001: 131–134).
In evaluating their own experiences people take the role of others to determine
what is relevant and acceptable for sharing and how it should be communicated
Many approaches overlook this process as something worth studying (with the
obvious exception of communication technology studies where using is communicating).
However, by studying the process of sharing experiences designers
can come to know the kinds of experiences people find relevant and how they
share them with others. In doing so they can learn about the product as well as
the story that goes with it. People communicate with each other because they
like to and because they can. This is what is at the heart of co-experience. The
design of a product or system as a context for experience impacts what kinds
of experiences become shareable, how they can be shared and how others can
respond to these shared experiences. Even more interestingly, new technology
products put people into the role of content developers. With new information
and communication technologies all content can be digital, which means that it
can be easily copied, transmitted via cables or wireless to other personal products,
and published for the possible viewing of millions on the Internet.
30 1 INTRODUCTION
1.5 DATA AND METHODS
For the source material on user experience models, frameworks and theories,
this dissertation relies heavily on the review and study of published design
and research work. Although these reports of published work come from many
relevant design conferences and other publishing forums, only a fraction of
design work ever gets represented in this way. The more research-minded com-