Experience Design : Drinking Tea!

One of the things that I really miss from India is the presence of small shops along side a street. The concept of a market is completely different as compared to here. The one reason why the streets look barren here are the absence of these shops.
The experience of going through different shops, finding about different prices and discounts is something that often I miss. Bargaining, which is perhaps very common in India is unheard of here. Atleast I never think of bargaining in Marsh or Kroger or any store for that matter.

In the Monsoon Wedding there is this one scene where the to-be bride and groom go outside the groom’s college tea stall and ask for tea. That set me nostalgic. How I miss having tea at those stalls. I often wonder, what takes us there? The hygiene levels are not at all commendable, but there is something in the stall, or perhaps in the tea that one gets there that makes the experience so wonderful. This is an experience that cannot be found in any Starbucks, or Barista or any coffee shop. For college students, especially back in India, these small tea stalls, have a multi-purpose fucntionality. They are often used for team meetings, sometimes to get stuff, most of the time to just chit chat over one thing and everything under the sun over glasses after glasses of tea and cigarettes.

So coming back to the point of experience design. What is the element that is creating this experience? Is is the tea in the glass? Is it the tea stall location, which is under a tree often? Is it the behavior of the teamaker? The way he presents the tea? The retro music that plays from the old radio..

Of late there has a been a huge rise in the usage of mobile phones across India. And technology is becoming more and more accessible to this class of people. So the point is, how do we as interaction designers, help in creating the same experience and give to these users, in return of the experience of the drinking of tea in his/her stall?

I believe as an interaction designer, now the focus if more experience of an entire system and not just a product or a interface. Its equally important for the designer to know the conditions in which the design will be working.

Oh and by the way, if you are ever visiting India, do make a trip to these stalls, (along with someone reliable of course) and ask for special tea. I am sure you will cherish the experience!