Feixue is a designer with enthusiasm for various design genres. Her areas of interest are games, user experience, jewelry and daily object making. With a strong interest in exploring playful physical interactions through tangible objects, Her work often includes different materials and media to expand the possibilities of playfulness in interactions. The psychological and cultural reasons behind some behaviour-related phenomena are also a focused part of her design process. By designing for, with, and through playfulness, she seeks to enquire questions, raise awareness and make an impact on topics that she cares about.
Feixue Song
I enjoy exploring the reasons behind human behaviours and designing for them in a playful way, especially those commonly seen yet peculiar or paradoxical when thinking carefully. My areas of interest are physical interactions through tangible media, games, user experience, and craft-making. New and unfamiliar methods of designing and making have always been added to my projects in order to get myself exposed and learn more diversely.
My recent work has been around "slacking off" at work. By making a series of half functional/half dramatic, half covert/half attention-grabbing office objects that help employees take breaks more easily, my previous project demonstrated my understanding of slacking off at work and my attitude towards it.
And by designing a workshop game for the employer and employees to play together in the office, this project seeks to create communication between the employers and the employees on how to define “a valid break”, and it enquires whether the attitude towards breaks in current work environment needs to be reconsidered and changed.
LOGO of the game –
The LOGO is an abstract image of a person resting their chin in their hand.
Mode Cards –
There are 2 modes in the card set: Work Mode & Rest Mode. In both modes, a detailed scenario & instruction is written on each card non-repetitively.
The game starts with each employee player draws a card from the “Mode Cards” stack.
Slackersweeping Game Set –
The Game Set consists of a "Slackersweeping" board, a set of "Mode Cards", multiple "Punch-card Machines" and "Message Boards"(according to how many people play).
Slackersweeping Board –
The Slackersweeping Board is for the employer player to use in the game.
After every employee player chose whether to use the Message Board prop and sent their mode to this board, it shows an approximate area of people who are in the "rest mode", as a hint for the employer player to narrow down the range of people who could be "slacking".
Punch-card Machine & Message Board –
After everyone reads their cards if anyone reckons the content on it describes a “valid break” instead of a “slacking behaviour”, they need to put the Message Board on their desk.
After everyone is ready, all employees insert their cards into the Punch-card Machine to send their work/rest mode, and the game starts officially.
Slackersweeping Board
Punch-card Machine
SLACKERSWEEPING Game Intro Video
SLACKERSWEEPING is a workshop game designed for the employer and employees to play together in the office. The game components are a "Slackersweeping" board, a set of "Mode Cards", multiple "Punch-card Machines" and "Message Boards"(according to how many people play).
Situated in the context that "Burning Out" at work has become a global issue and taking breaks is not encouraged in some work environments, this game seeks to create communication between the employers and the employees on what counts as "a valid break” versus what is "slacking off". And it enquires whether the attitude towards breaks in the current work environment needs to be reconsidered and changed.
Medium:
Mixed medium: MDF, Acrylic, Card, Arduino
Manifesto of New Work Ethics –
A critical manifesto of New Work Ethics, compared with traditional work ethics that only value and highlight working and overlook rest and breaks.
Flip Sticky Note –
A notice/declaration of both work and rest mode — The blur of work/rest status makes it more difficult to take a break, a clarification may be helpful and needed.
Shortcut Accessory –
A wearable hand accessory/tool that can be used for desk decoration, hand jewelery & one-fingure shortcut tool.
Interaction of Flip Sticky Note –
The bright colour and the interaction of "flipping" both intend to imitate how we use sticky notes, as it is a symbol of reminder and highlighting.
Interaction of Shortcut Accessory - 1 –
One-finger gesture that can press Ctrl + W/ Ctrl + Shift + W simultaneously to allow a quicker way to close web windows/browser.
Slacking Off Manual 2022 –
A manual that gives useful advice on how to "slack off" more easily in an office.
Interaction of Shortcut Accessory - 2 –
One-finger gesture that can press Ctrl + H simultaneously to allow a quicker way to hide windows.
SLACKER MANIFESTO consists of a series of half covert/half attention-grabbing office objects, a manual and a manifesto. This project aims to help employees take breaks more easily at work. By unpacking the scenarios when employees feel guilty to take breaks openly in the office environment, it questions how the traditional work ethic "WORKING HARD IS A VIRTUE" and "BREAKS ARE FOR THE SLACKERS" has formed and whether the current attitude towards work and breaks need to be reconsidered.