Tintelzinnen

Abstract

This graduation project started off as an explorative project towards understanding sexuality and intimacy in later life. At first, a literature study was performed in order to set the basis for further research. A context mapping session was performed with both men and women to get a sense of the dreams and values older people have regarding intimacy and sexuality. By using the output of the research phase, a multitude of ideas was generated. In order to test the effect of the concepts, two evolution tests were performed. In these tests, audio was discovered as a medium to evoke specific emotions and feelings. Based upon these insights a design goal was defined: “I want to design an audio experience that stimulates the fantasy of elderly women through which they can explore their sexual identity. The intended experience is defined as intimate, ambiguous and dreamy.” The final design Tintelzinnen is an application that consists of different audio stories the user can listen to, to explore various aspects of her sexual identity. Each storyline answers to a different form of intimacy. Through this, the listener can discover how she relates towards the different aspects of intimacy. One audio story is written and recorded. It is designed to both immerse the listener into the story, while at the same time giving space to the listener to fill in the details by using their imagination and memories. The application is designed using ambiguous illustrations to immerse the listener into the audio experience and to guide the user into an attentive listening position. To evaluate both the audio story and the browsing experience of the application a prototype was built. This prototype was evaluated with three participants, all women around the age of 70. Each participant experienced listening to the story differently. The prototype evoked different feelings and memories based upon the background of the participant. The audio story had the right balance between immersion and interpretation of the listener. Browsing through the screens of the application was experienced as a dreamy and the ambiguous illustration of the audio story contributed to the listening experience. Other insights serve as recommendations. More testing is needed in the future to understand the impact of the design on an older person’s sexual development.