Big Props

Using large props, co-designers come up with many ideas for motion or representations of motion that may be required within a technology.

Big Props might be used when designing video games for a Wii or Switch, or for other technology that requires real or representation of motion such as Augmented or Virtual Reality technologies. Big Props exist to encourage children and adults to act out different types of motions that might occur with the final technology. This technique is often used at the same point in the design process that Bags of Stuff might be; however, Big Props can be used when the static or almost static nature of the low-tech prototypes would not adequately convey the types of motion the designers wish to create.

• Supplies: Large, open-ended props that inspire movement such as umbrellas, large hats, pool noodles, balls, blankets, large cardboard boxes, and so on. 

• Each small design group is given a set of Big Props. Due to the nature of Big Props, it is likely that there will not be enough for each group to have a complete set of all of the types of props, so each group should be given a different subset of them. 
• Teams then design for the design prompt, which might be something such as “What would it look like if you were a character exploring the map in the new virtual reality game we are designing? How would you need to move and interact with the environment?”
• Big Props are theatrical prompts that encourage team members to take on different roles and act out what may happen with the technology. Encourage groups to use Big Props to improvise and represent different items and motion.
• It is often helpful to ask designers to come up with a scenario involving or within the technology and act it out. This encourages showing how motion will be used without specifically asking the designers to design a motion, which can be too conceptual.
• Once a small amount of time has passed, have each group act out their ideas for other groups. Unlike a typical co-design session where you would wait until the end and share ideas, for Big Props you should share after each rotation with the props.
• Once each team has shared their first design ideas, rotate the props between groups and repeat the exercise until all groups have used all props.

Walsh, G., Foss, E., Yip, J., and Druin, A. (2013). FACIT PD: A framework for analysis and creation of intergenerational techniques for participatory design. In Proceedings of CHI 2013, 2893 – 2901.