As Halloween approaches, and the veil between worlds grows wan, threadbare, and permeable, Cooper realizes that we can serve the spirit, spook, and creature population better if we understand them from a Goal-Directed perspective. In service of this we present a short series of Halloween personas. Today’s personas are Antone and Vladimir.
Antone D’Entremont, tortured soul
Background:
Antone grew up in southern Louisiana in the late 1700s,
the son of a wealthy landowner. After his childhood
sweetheart died, he gave up all hope for life. He told his
troubles to a young gentleman who came through town,
who promised him an end to Antone’s misery. Instead,
he was turned to a vampire, and forced to live a life of
eternal suffering, unable to visit his family ever again. Today he broods away his evenings in his family’s decaying plantation.
Challenges with technology:
- Preferring the quill and ink of his childhood, Antone has
never gotten the knack of using a keyboard.
How we can help Antone:
- Provide a social interface for finding like-minded
souls - Offer an intuitive interface that does not require
calls to tech support (he can’t really call during
normal business hours) - Automatic alerts when his loved ones are in
harm’s way
Vladimir Korzha, bloodthirsty bat
Background:
Vladimir, known as “Vlad” to his vampire offspring, grew up as
a Romanian prince in the early 1400’s. After the tragic killing of
his entire family by vengeful serfs, he vowed to devote his
life to avenge their death. Vlad was turned to a vampire by a
Romani witch during one of his bloody killing sprees. He was
thrilled when he realized that his new powers would allow
him to continue his killing spree through time immemorial. Today he works as a night watchman in a hospital.
Challenges with technology:
- Vlad gives in to his passions quickly, which takes him away from technology. Any interface must offer quick hits and just-in-time, glanceable information.
How we can help Vladimir:
- Provide a locational interface for locating “willing” prey
- Offer a non-reflective screen, so his co-workers will not
realize he has no reflection - A small, portable interface that fits underwing and
works in low light conditions
Next persona Zombie, Zombie, & Emily
Prior persona Romulus: North American Woodland Ape
Unwilling victims: Jim Dibble and Greg Schuler.
Special thanks to Flickr user craigCloutier for the CC use of this image
and to Flickr user Alex Holzknecht for the CC use of this image
