MDGR
A Mahjong Decompression Game Room
2022
Individual Project
#Service Design #Brand Design #UI Design
In modern society, people are under a lot of stress, which can be harmful to their physical and mental health if not relieved in a timely manner, so people are experimenting with a variety of novel ways to relieve stress. Of the many ways to relieve stress, I have chosen to use the extremely social aspect of mahjong as a theme
I wanted to combine such a rich and interesting traditional culture with the design of a service to help young people relieve stress in their lives and to promote the traditional mahjong culture of China
Background
With the development and progress of society and the hustle and bustle of urban society, they are burdened with multiple pressures from school, career and other areas, resulting in people in dire need of effective ways and spaces to relieve it. The "funeral culture", "suicidal singleness", "airy relationships" "these "hot" buzzwords all reflect people's innermost anxieties in some way
Desk Research
01 Stress can have a subtle effect on a person
In today's society, there are many sources of human stress, which are mainly divided into internal and external sources. Stress accumulates rapidly over time and can gradually have many damaging effects on our bodies and minds
02 Analysis of stress relief methods
The fast-paced and fragmented life has left them with fewer and fewer opportunities to meet with friends, and most of the time they have to rely on self-relaxation and comfort. People in a state of "high pressure" are no longer satisfied with static stress relief, they prefer to vent their emotions through cathartic activities in order to obtain physical stimulation and pleasure
These are some examples of available forms of stress relief
03 What are the ways to relieve stress?
Mind Mapping
User Research
I conducted a study on the current situation of heavy stress in Beijing and distributed 100 questionnaires among young people for visualization
Persona & User Journey Map
How Might We?
- How might we help young people relieve stress by combining stress relief with a mahjong game room?
- How might we promote our traditional mahjong culture to young people by creating a mahjong branded game room?
Affinity Diagram
Ecosystem Map
Stakeholders
Ideation
Brand Visual Design
/Inspiration
The shape of mahjong
Each tile of mahjong is a rectangular block of the same size, the right size for people to catch and lose tiles, and also for the placement and collection of mahjong
Mahjong tile design
Derived from ancient Chinese philosophical thought, the pattern of each tile implies the requirements of a particular traditional Chinese culture
Take 'flower tiles' for example, people usually use plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum as motifs. The design of the flower tiles in mahjong is a natural outflow and expression of the unique aesthetic thinking of the Chinese
The colour scheme of mahjong
The overall use of the classic emerald green and white, the color design of the sign face varies in different regions. But most of them are still mainly red, green, black and white
The simplification of the patterns, the extraction of the characteristics of mahjong and the brighter colour scheme emphasise the relief of stress
/My Brand Logo
Mahjong is a great way to relieve stress, and a blank white board is like stress made blank. I have combined the characteristic white board of mahjong with the local language of Beijing, R-ending Retroflexion, as the conceptual theme of the brand
/Sketch
/Brand Peripheral Design
Story Board
Final Outcome
Reflection
In terms of location, I have designed the mahjong relief hall to be on the ground floor to save floor space
If this project is successful, I hope it will be a real stress reliever where people can enjoy, be entertained, experience all the services and learn interesting mahjong culture and knowledge
If the project can be improved, it should consider how to integrate the mahjong element more closely with the services offered in the relief hall, to make some of the games more interactive and to increase brand awareness
