Interaction Design WORK IN PROGRESS Show

The students had to work with mobile phone operator Orange to come up with ideas for their call-centres.

Tania Fox made a Keyboard Emergency Airbag to help workers deal with abusive customers. If a caller gets nasty and the worker finds it increasingly difficult to being nice, s/he can activate the airbag and just take a moment to relax, hoping that the customer will chill out a little.

Tania also designed the “chair that lies“, a simple system for workers who hate it when their colleagues borrow their chair. You just take off one of the wheels and locks it back in place when you’re back from lunch or whatever.