As the entertainment industry shifts toward creating more meaningful experiences, the need for effective assessment methods has become increasingly important. This project explores how immersive multimedia experiences, such as those designed by Cocolab - our client - can be syste
...
As the entertainment industry shifts toward creating more meaningful experiences, the need for effective assessment methods has become increasingly important. This project explores how immersive multimedia experiences, such as those designed by Cocolab - our client - can be systematically evaluated for their meaningfulness. While existing frameworks focus on visitor satisfaction and commercial success, they fail to capture this deeper psychological and emotional impact of an experience.
Drawing from research in psychology, philosophy, and design, this study defines meaningfulness through Martela and Steger’s (2016) trichotomic framework - coherence, purpose, and significance. Building on this, Duerden’s (2025) Sources of Meaning in Life framework is introduced to assess how experiential insights connect to personal relevance. To measure this connection, we incorporate the SOLO Taxonomy and Contextual Personal Value Profiles, evaluating both the generation of insights and their alignment with an individual’s sources of meaning in life. Following a Double Diamond design process, the project integrates desk research, expert interviews, and field studies to develop EXPLORA - a structured assessment method and platform.
EXPLORA evaluates meaningfulness based on two core criteria: the generation of insights and their connection to an individual’s sources of meaning in life. It balances structured assessment sequences with flexible implementation, which ensures adaptability across diverse immersive experiences while maintaining consistent data. This is achieved through modular Building Blocks, allowing customization while preserving assessment integrity.
Through iterative prototyping and real-world testing, EXPLORA offers an adaptable, scalable, and data-driven approach to assessing meaningfulness in experiences. This research contributes to the broader field of experience design by providing a method that not only enhances Cocolab’s understanding of its impact but also establishes a framework for industry-wide assessment of meaningfulness.
