Celeste
Jhala
Celeste Jhala is a graduate of the Wilson School of Design’s Product Design program, and an interdisciplinary designer who is passionate about social impact and environmental sustainability. A systems thinker and a detailed-doer, Celeste uses design as a lens to improve the human experience for this lifetime and generations to come.
Space Between
Space Between is a series of public interactive installations inspiring climate action for Vancouver’s young adults. With nearly 40% of carbon pollution generated from burning gasoline and diesel to power vehicles, a shift is needed in the way citizens think about and use transportation.
The city has set aggressive goals to decrease the use of fossil fuel-run vehicles by 66% by the year 2030. To contribute to the cultural and behavioural shift needed to meet these targets, this research asks the question: how might we empower young Vancouverites to make sustainable transportation choices using curiosity, awareness, and play?
This thesis employs principles of social psychology and behavioural science to create a playful and interactive experience where young adults build the foundation necessary for behaviour change, with the long-term goal of adopting active and multi-modal transport.
In order to build awareness and spark dialogue around their transportation habits, users are asked a series of gamified and tactile questions in a series of four interactive installations set in a publicly accessible space. Over time, the activations gather the public’s desires, limitations, and commitments to transportation. This experiential approach captures socially rich qualitative and quantitative data that is reported cyclically to the City of Vancouver to continually inform their Climate Emergency Action Plan.