1.1 The assumptions I had about expats in the first place didn’t change that much. I think my assumptions from the first assignment were more stereotype based, there was a truth in it but my view on expats now is a bit watered down. Like the fact that they earn above average and don’t really integrate are confirmed since doing our research. But my assumptions about being rich, driving a nice car and doesn’t have a lot of hobbies are a bit debunked due to the fact that this is a really general stereotype and these things can be different for every expat.

1.2 My personal interest mainly goes out to the fact that expats move to another country to work. This is also a bit of my goal, since I would really like to move to another county to live and work there when I’m done with my study. For expats this is different of course considering the fact that most expats only stay for a short period of time. My curiosity towards expats is mainly about how they feel working and living in a country where they don’t really know the culture, language and people. Do they feel homesick? How do they stay in contact with friends/family? Is it worth it to work here?

2.1 The existing stereotypes I have found about my user group are that the group expats mostly consist out of white men, who come from a European county. That they’re mainly focussed on making money, due to the fact that they agreed to leave their native county with the reason to make more money. That they’re constantly busy and on the phone, own expensive products like nice cars, expensive laptops, designer clothes etc. And mostly that they don’t like/want to integrate in the new county since they only will be staying there temporary.

2.2 I mostly found the products that expats are stereotyped with online, on google images and sites like Pinterest. These sources often show stock-photos when you’re searching for a specific word.I think that stock-photos are kind of the visualization of stereotypical assumptions since these photos are always really staged, they don’t show the real life but an exaggerated version of it.

3.1 The media mainly shows white middle aged men/women when searching for the word expat, I think that is because the media stereotyped this person as an expat. When in reality an expat can be any kind of person from any race. In some articles I even read that the word ‘’expat’’ itself is created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. ‘’Expat’’ is a term reserved exclusively for western white people going to work abroad, where for example all asian, African and Arab people will be called immigrants.

3.2 See the text above.

08/04 Mapping self and the other

My assumptions:
- Rich
- Right winged politics
- From the EU
- Has probably a family/partner
- Dressed decent
- Focussed on money
- Multilingual
- Lots of connections and business
partners
- Does not integrate much
- Drives a nice car
- Explore new area
- Extra bonussen
- Works as multinational business
- Probably doesn't speak the language
of the country they're staying in.
- Has not a lot of hobbies

My curiosity/questions
- Which country are you from?
- For what reason are you an expat?
- How is it to not see your friends/family for a long time?
- How are the living conditions here different to the ones in your country?
- How long are you staying?
- What kind of things are you interested in to see in the new country?
- What do you do to take a break/relax from work?
- How do you stay in contact with
friends/family?
- Do you feel welcome in this new country?
- What kind of transportation do you mainly use?
- Are you interested in the history/culture of
the new county?
- Would you like to meet new people from the
new county you're staying in?

06/04 Kickoff

A - Nature routes for expats

My first impression of this subject was a bit boring and I thought it would be focussed on old people/people from outside my daily circle.

My group and I later decided that this could be interesting to research and make a fun and interesting interface for something that seems boring at first.

B - Web archive for gamers

This one would also not be my first choice because the user group gamers is far from my interest, but the web archive sparked my interest. I like the fact that it can work as a kind of ''time machine''

C - Art in the public space for creatures of the night

In the first place this subject would be my first choice. I initially thought of things like nightlife, street art, colored lights, clubs, groups of people etc. I would like to work with those things but after some thinking we thought it would maybe be too much in our comfort zone, and we liked the fact that most people would pick this one.

13/04 Stereotypes

- Always on the phone / Always connected

- Only focussed on making money

- Really smart / Highly educated person

- Is bad at integrating and making connections in the new county

- Speaks multiple languages

20/04 Answers from Mark's class

16/04 Userflow sketch

This userflow of Google Translate is based on a situation I think an expat could be in. For example when they want to interact or make friends with another person who is in this case is speaking Spanish.

Feedback/forward of tutors (Rogerio & Mark)

This was a well and clear structured presentation, that shows a good overview. Even though, your collection of images was primarilybased onstock-photos, you were able to make the given theory your own. You are aware that your point of view is influenced by differentlevelsof subjectivity. This results in a formula and by a thorough analysis on a first level, it moves your assumptions into curiosities, that show the ambition to perceive the user on a more human and empathic level.In the research of the collection, the categories try to do the same but in the execution are more judgemental. For instance, be aware of the difference between words like ‘alone’ vs ‘lonely’. If we consider the aesthetics of your presentation, as a first proposal of an interface aesthetics, it seems to be more generic that empathic. Try to finda visual language that is part of the world your user lives in.Your research provides a rich and fertile ground for the next phase. We see a great power in your approach of the user and the collection. Being empathic is a wonderful ambition. Incorporate this empathy on all levels of your project and design-practice. Go all the way in your being empathic: both as a visual language and narrative and in going in depth critically. Stay critical on your findings.

My insights from the feedback:

- I will focus more on the visual language that is suitable, appealing but also fun for our user group. But through the visual language make it clear that the interface its goal is to explore nature and meet new people (not business related).
- The goal of my interface will be to make the expats who are feeling alone get into contact with others to maybe reduce this feeling. Something that will be available for every kind of expat but I will not focus on the 'alone' or 'isolated' part in the interface itself.