Cultural Probes

href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cultural probes (or design probes) is a technique used to inspire ideas in a design process. It serves as a means of gathering inspirational data about people's lives, values, and thoughts.

• Use materials such as postcards, journals, cameras, text, and imagery to gather personal insights from participants.
• Provocations are designed to inspire people to thoughtfully consider personal context and circumstance and respond in unique, creative ways.
• Materials should be varied and imaginative to elicit responses that are relevant to the design inquiry.
• Probes are flexible, open-ended, and intentionally subjective, collecting inspirational data to stimulate design imagination.
• Design probes support empathic understanding through information gathering over a prolonged period, where the researcher cannot be present.
• Probe kits are combined with other research methods such as observations, site visits, and interviews.
• Probes should be thoughtful in aesthetic craft, message, and delivery and be created to inspire delight and respect, response, and return.