Monthly Archives: January 2017

Research

Thoughts on Thoughtful Interaction Design | week 3

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This week’s reading is chapter 1 of Thoughtful Interaction Design: A Design Perspective on Information Technology (MIT Press) by Jonas Löwgren and Erik Stolterman. For part 1 of this week’s assignment, click here!

Löwgren and Stolterman have presented a convincing and comprehensive argument for the need to be a thoughtful and reflective designer. Although they are writing specifically about how users interact with digital artefacts, we can apply their key principles to other types of design.

Although they may not have articulated and categorised the process as Löwgren and Stolterman have done, I do believe all creators and designers have an intrinsic understanding of the design process and situation. When approaching a problem, good designers would ask themselves similar questions along the way; how will users interact with it? What skills do the target users possess? How will my design alter user behaviour? Nonetheless, having the design process, motivations and effects analysed and verbalised is helpful as it quantifies the importance of good design.

I enjoyed the idea of design as knowledge construction. Designers do not just create products, services or experiences, but instead creating new behaviour and perspectives, which we internalise, and then use to interact with other people and artefacts. Löwgren and Stolterman highlight the influence of design and its power in shaping our behaviour, our lives and our future. It brings to mind digital features such as emojis that may have seemed alien or niche in the past but are now ubiquitous and an integral part of our communication norms. These tiny yellow faces have managed to classify a large range of our human emotions, forever altering our mode of written communication 🙂 😮 😉 😀

“A designer’s most important task is to develop her judgement, by critically and independently formulating her own assumptions and beliefs.”

After some deliberation, Löwgren and Stolterman do not conclude what makes good design. More than technical skills and qualities (which can be developed with time and practice), they stress the need for highly developed judgement skills. I’ve understood this as developing a good eye for design and user interaction. How does one achieve this? By continuous, conscious perception and reflection.

To clarify, seeing is not the same as perceiving! Seeing allows us to obtain visual and formal information such as shape or colour without understanding the needs the product fulfils, and what it requires from us as users. Instead we must constantly look at products, artefacts and behaviour, and reflect why it is good or lacking. However, developing good taste alone would make us good critics, but not designers or artists. While training our eye, we must also hone our craft by practicing, producing and learning from our mistakes.

“The thoughtful designer dares to challenge her own thinking and assumptions as a way to develop her competence and design ability.”

Lastly, I appreciate this disclaimer at the end of the section. Especially in our present era, where knowledge and tools are rapidly developing and ever-changing, it is important to keep improving and not be stagnant. After developing critical design judgement, we must then be open to breaking these set beliefs if they become limiting.

3 thoughtfully designed interactive experiences

Before I Die (2011) by Candy Chang
Before I Die (2011) by Candy Chang

Before I Die by Candy Chang is a thoughtful interactive design experience. Chang repurposed an abandon building in her city of New Orleans, painted a wall with chalkboard paint and stencilled on the prompt ‘Before I die I want to _______.’ The premise is simple but effective in inspiring participation and community spirit. Although formed by many individual sentiments, the collaborative work comes together as a coherent image of a community. The interface is just enough for the intended outcome and the work also recognises the influence of good design on a social level.

Ototo by the the Japanese sound artist Yuri Suzuki is another instance of a thoughtfully designed interactive experience that potentially revolutionises our way of learning music.

Ototo by Yuri Suzuki
Ototo by Yuri Suzuki

It is a music kit that transforms day to day objects into instruments. Although it has limitations and is not a replacement for traditional music making, it has reimagined our interactions with everyday objects and our definition of musical instruments. It presents a possible future, and can be a complementary tool for music education (especially for people who are intimidated by music-making).

Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time by William Forsythe
Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time by William Forsythe

Lastly, another example would be William Forsythe’s ‘choreographic objects’ installation Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time, No.2 (2013). This series of  interactive installations consist of hundreds of pendulums swinging simultaneously. The piece invites participants to manoeuvre around the swinging pendulums, inevitably making dance-like movements as they try to avoid them. The experience is physically engaging, fascinating and encourages a playful art experience in the typically solemn museum setting.

 

Research

Please Change Beliefs | Research Critique

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Jenny Holzer’s work largely revolves around text in public spaces. Her iconic Truisms (1978-87) have been displayed in public spaces through a variety of means such as photocopied posters, storefronts, billboards, electronic signs and even T-shirts.

List of truisms from Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer
List of truisms from Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer

 

Jenny Holzer 'Truism' printed shirts from Uniqlo & MoMA
Jenny Holzer ‘Truism’ printed shirts from Uniqlo & MoMA


Please Change Beliefs (1997) is a development of Holzer’s earlier work in physical public spaces. She sets up her truisms in a publicly accessible virtual space where visibility is not limited by geographical locations or proximity, demonstrating the “collapse of the local and remote into a networked space or ‘third space’.”[i]

Holzer further expands on this idea of accessibility, which is intrinsic to open source, by allowing anyone to alter and add to the work. The title itself is an invitation to reconsider and rewrite these notions of truth. The altered truisms are a mix bag of insightful, ludicrous, dark, humorous, skeptical and optimistic. We inevitably identify with some of these appended truisms, destabilizing the seemingly fixed and timeless definition of ‘truth’. 

Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer
Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer


Although it is facilitated by Holzer, the work moves away from the conventional ‘artist-audience’ model to the “collaborative, many-to-many systems of writing [and] media-making”.[i] By partaking in this editing of truisms, the users are converted from audience to participant to contributor. Furthermore, the work functions as an expanding database of collective thoughts and ideas. It exemplifies the notion of a collective narrative created with a potentially infinite number of minds, coming together in a single ‘third space’.

Screenshot of entry for Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer
Screenshot of entry for Please Change Beliefs (1997) by Jenny Holzer
Text as Medium

As highlighted by Galloway and Rabinowitz, the “virtual space creates social situations without traditional rules of etiquette [and] diminishes our fears of interaction”.[ii] Contributors can proclaim these truisms, without attaching authorship or receiving backlash. Furthermore, the use of text instead of image makes it less intimidating as anyone connected to the web has an equal say. 

This, coupled with the sense of anonymity, are important factors in maintaining the rawness and authenticity of these altered personal ‘truisms’. Overall, I believe that Holzer’s work is effective in writing a global collective narrative, and does illustrate the following concept:

“This dramatically alters the act of writing and narrative, from the singular activity of a very personal form of individual expression, to a collective activity that is highly collaborative: all publishable instantaneously to a global audience.”

— Randall Packer, from “Collective Narrative” in the essay Open Source Studio (2015)

References

[i] Randall Packer (2015). “Collective Narrative” from the essay Open Source Studio.

[ii] Galloway, K. & Rabinowitz, S. “Welcome to Electronic Café International,” (1992) in Packer, R., & Jordan, K. (Eds.). Multimedia : from Wagner to Virtual Reality ([Expanded ed.). New York: Norton, 2002.

 

Micro Project

Bus to Ballarat | Blog Narrative

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We left our service apartment in a hurry, lacing up our boots in the lift. My friend, Lin, and I were making a day trip to a wildlife park in a Ballarat, a town 110 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. We arrived at Southern Cross station, only to find out that the train service had been disrupted, and we had two minutes to catch the only outbound bus to Ballarat. Thankfully, we did.

View from our bus window on the way to Ballarat, Victoria
View from our bus window on the way to Ballarat, Victoria

Our journey to the west was very pleasant. We passed pastoral scenes of cows, trees, hills and farms. Lin and I were beaming with anticipation about meeting kangaroos up close.

Two hours later, we arrived in the town of Ballarat which looked particularly empty that day. Having dozed off on the ride, we were the last of five passengers to alight. As we walked toward the rustic station doors, we heard a low voice call out from behind in Aussie-inflected Mandarin:

The man's first question in Mandarin
The man’s first question in Mandarin

Surprised, we turned around and saw a man in his early 30s. Before we could squeak out a response, he shot another question, this time in English: “Where are you from? Beijing? Shen Zhen?”

We courteously replied, Singapore. “Oh, Singapore,” he said, walking toward us and speaking enthusiastically about how lovely he thought our country was, except for our strict gum laws.

“Don’t people get caned for chewin’ gum?” he asked again. This seemed to be a common misconception so we assured him that chewing gum is allowed. However, selling gum might land one a hefty fine or a staycation at Changi prison.

“If you guys don’t chew gum, how d’you keep your teeth so white?” he asked with a deep smile.

“Dentists,” I replied, with a look of caution.

By then he had sat himself down on the bench by the station doors, closer than necessary, and we noticed that he had bandages on his right fist and forearm. While we were bundled up as thick as sheep in layers of fleece and wool, he was wearing nothing more than a shirt, bermuda shorts, socks and sandals. He continued his questioning, asking about our ages and what we were doing back home. Being a pair of non-confrontational Asian girls, we obliged, and he seemed a tad too happy upon hearing we were 21.

“So, what are you girls doing in Ballarat?” he asked, staring intently. With growing hesitation, we explained that we were on a day trip from Melbourne to visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park.

“I have a wildlife park. In my home.”

He replied in a serious tone. He proceeded to roll up his shorts, exposing even more of his legs to the chilly winter wind. Are crazy people usually climate-resistant? Lin glanced at me, trying to convey with her eyes that we should make an exit, however the man continued,

“You girls ought to be careful. There are many bad people in Ballarat… Why don’t you come to my place. I’m on the way to pick up my car.”

Upon hearing this proposition, we thanked him, declined and excused ourselves, insisting that we were late for our bus and were only in town to visit the (real) wildlife park. We left the station, debating the man’s intentions till we stopped at a map signboard outside, trying to orientate ourselves using our trusty Google Maps application. Panic set in when we noticed a lightly dressed sandalled figure approaching us from the periphery.

Google Street View of Ballarat Station with added notes
Google Street View of Ballarat Station

The man from the station had reappeared. “I’m going to pick up my car now, so I can show you around.” Gesturing at my mobile phone, he ordered, “Take down my number. O, FOUR, FOUR…”

Stunned, I only managed a vague “umm…” for a comeback before he continued, “Go on, O, FOUR, FOUR, TWO, SIX, TWO — ”

I interrupted him, maintaining that we were late. We thanked him, said a curt goodbye, and walked as fast as our short legs could take us without looking too obviously like we were running away. We glanced behind and saw that he was following us.

Born and raised catholic, my faith miraculously grows in proportion to fear. Barely religious, I started mumbling Hail Marys and making the sign of the cross every road junction.

I like to think that it was due to our masterful manoeuvring through side roads and alleys that he lost our trail. But, more likely, he got bored of following us after several blocks.

Despite getting lost once more, the Ballarat Wildlife Park was thoroughly enjoyable. At dusk, we left the town with two discoveries — firstly, kangaroos had surprisingly sharp genitalia; and secondly, perhaps we shouldn’t speak to strangers so indiscriminately.

Kangaroo basking at the Ballarat Wildlife Park
Kangaroo basking at the Ballarat Wildlife Park
Research

thoughts on goal-directed design | week 2

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This week’s reading is Goal-directed Product and Service Design (Chapter 1 of Designing for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin).

Goodwin has broken down and presented to us a step-by-step methodology for effective project planning and execution. Although she writes in the context of design and business, we can extract many useful learning points that are applicable to other types of creative projects, even if they are non-commercial and lean closer towards art than design.

Goodwin expands on the common definition and scope of design. She goes beyond functional products and rightly includes services and experiences. Perhaps, all kinds of design should be viewed not as standalone products, but more broadly as experiences. When we think of a product, the hardware becomes a little irrelevant. Instead, we recall the memory and the good feelings associated with its use.

One of the models which Goodwin encourages brings to life the old saying ‘to walk in another’s shoes’. By thinking of how another user would view the same product, service or artwork, with a different set of memories, associations and skill set, we would gain a deeper understanding of what is lacking from our initial prototypes and proposals. For example, how would someone in a wheelchair, or someone with limited knowledge of technology interact with our art installation, service or game? Tweaking the experience for different types of users would make the work more accessible and inclusive.

Furthermore, interaction should influence design and functionality. Ideally, core ideas and interaction should not be compromised for ease of execution. Goodwin proposes a broad to narrow approach to design and ideation which I find very helpful. When starting on a new project idea, I often get bogged down by details and practical limitations. While these considerations are good, taking them into account in the early stages of the ideation process can be self-limiting and overwhelming, and may stomp out potential ideas. Instead, she suggests starting on a higher and broader level to work out a clear and simple core concept before banging out the details and execution.

After ideation, Goodwin also distinguishes and explains the three different design frameworks (interaction, visual and industrial design) and how they influence one another. This was very interesting as I often use a singular approach when designing devices and experiences (i.e. I try to make a ‘good’ experience without stating clearly what ‘good’ is or what factors make it ‘good’). However, dissecting this into distinct frameworks seems like a more holistic way to think of the same problem from different angles, ultimately creating a comprehensive view of our design goals and the intended user experience.

Some food for thought

Q1. Besides thinking about design and interaction from the perspective of different personas, what other models can we use specifically to create interactive art works?

Q2. Goodwin explains the goal-directed design process in the context of larger-scale projects with multiple stakeholders. How can we synthesise and streamline the goal-directed process to smaller projects?

 

Research

You and I, Horizontal | WHAT IS NOT VISIBLE IS NOT INVISIBLE | week 3 update

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WHAT IS NOT VISIBLE IS NOT INVISIBLE is an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore featuring works from the French Regional Collections of Contemporary Art (FRAC). The space is set up as a black box and presents 34 works by 32 French and international artists. The exhibition is titled after Julien Discrit’s work What is not Visible is not Invisible (2008) which is strategically displayed in front of the exhibition entrance.

What is not visible is not invisible (2008), Julien Discrit
What is not visible is not invisible (2008), Julien Discrit

The exhibition features a diverse body of video, sculptural, immersive and interactive installations. For example, Martin Creed’s Work No. 262, Half the Air in a Given Space (2001) is a room filled with large green balloons till waist-level. From Here To Ear (2008) by Celeste Boursier-Mougenot and Ariane Michel shows the video documentation of an interactive installation where songbirds ‘play’ music on electric guitars. The selected works are very accessible, in terms of content and as a visual spectacle, making the exhibition a great introduction for viewers who are new to interactive art.

The work that most inspired me in the exhibition is You and I, Horizontal (2005) by Anthony McCall. I first encountered a similar work by McCall, titled You and I, Horizontal II (2006), last summer at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, Australia. I was mesmerised by it then and am thankful to be able to experience his work once more in person.

The installation setup is relatively uncomplicated and comprises a computer, computer script, a video projector and haze machine set in a very dark room. The video projector on one end of the room projects white curved lines onto a blank wall. The curve patterns slowly morph between ‘S’-shaped curves, full circles and colliding lines (visualised from math equations) in 50 minute cycles. A curtain is installed at the entrance to block out external light, creating an intensely dark environment.

You and I, Horizontal (2005), Anthony McCall
You and I, Horizontal (2005), Anthony McCall

The hazey atmosphere (due to the smoke machine) sharpens the projected light beams and forms an ephemeral membrane-like space. The darkness further distorts our sense of space and we likely perceive the room to be much larger than it actually is.

Starting out as an experimental filmmaker in the 1970s, McCall is known for his iconic ‘Solid Light’ installations which combine installation, sculpture and the moving image. I think these works are brilliant as although they use relatively simple materials and methods of intervention, they are impactful and compelling. The space naturally encourages interaction and participants would try to tests the limit and boundary of this artificial space.

These immersive ‘Solid Light’ installations seem contradictory; they present the sculptural potential of light and its ability to create and define space, despite being intangible. The experience is also very sensuous and engages our senses of sight, touch, smell and time.

Week 3 updates: Installation setup & similar works

Installation setup
Installation setup
Spatial requirements
  • You and I, Horizontal is setup in an enclosed ‘blackbox’ space. The size of the room may vary depending on the gallery, but should be approximately 6 – 9 metres long to allow ample projection space.
  • The space should be extremely dark and only illuminated by the projection itself. A heavy curtain should be installed over the entrance to block out external light.
  • The vents of the projector also emit residual light which can be distracting in a dark room. Hence, the projector body should be covered up either using a plinth and box, or behind a hoarding wall with an opening for the lens as seen in the diagram above. This may vary depending on the layout of the room.
  • A smoke machine is used to reinforce the light beams. It should be placed on the floor in the far corner to prevent participants from accidentally tripping over it.
  • The wall opposite the projector is the projection surface. It should be blank and primed so the projected image will be crisp.
Comparison with other interactive light installations

Assmeblance (2014) by Umbrellium is a collaborative and interactive light installation. It is similar to McCall’s work in its sculptural use of light to create space. Created by the participants’ gestures, the boundaries are more fluid as they can be built up or disrupted by the interaction between participants.

Test Pattern (100 metre) by Ryoji Ikeda
Test Pattern (100 metre) by Ryoji Ikeda
Test Pattern (100 metre) by Ryoji Ikeda
Test Pattern (100 metre) by Ryoji Ikeda

Similarly, Test Pattern (2008) by Ryoji Ikeda is an audio-visual installation that visualises data into black and white barcode patterns. The flickering images react to a soundtrack and change at rapid speed. The largest edition of this work has been installed in a large 100 metre runway space.

Although both McCall’s and Ikeda’s works are immersive, the latter engages our auditory and visual senses more intensely due to its highly-synchronised soundscape and rapidly changing contrasting projections. However, McCall’s work is arguably more intimate as the participant’s interactions have greater influence over the space as they move within the projection. The large expanse of Ikeda’s Test Pattern creates a very different atmosphere and instead makes viewers feel smaller and thoroughly immersed in a fast-paced artificial environment.

Research

Week 1 essay | Open Source and the Artist

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Not unlike the Dada performances at the Cabaret Voltaire during the early 20th century which revolutionised the roles of artist and institution, the open source system is our highly-connected and technologically-fuelled era’s retelling of this art historical narrative of intervention and opposition. Open source shifts the dynamics of art-making from vertical to lateral; anyone can be an artist, curator, participant and critic. It is an inclusive platform, not limited by space or traditional tastemakers.

Open source extends the social aspect of art-making further. Creators, netizens and our peers can provide constructive feedback and contribute to the creative process and product. The open source system can also be a channel of inspiration and learning as it heightens our awareness of contemporary issues and concerns, and allows us to witness ongoing projects by our contemporaries as they develop. This grants us insights into their creative process and methods which are equally, if not more valuable than the finished product.

Our school’s Open Source Studio (OSS) has helped cultivate this practice of sharing, collaboration and openness which are crucial today. Furthermore, OSS offers a comprehensive view of our practice. It does not separate or privilege finished works over ideation, work-in-progress, inspirations or potential projects. Instead, the OSS platform is an integrated reflection of our practice that serves as a portfolio, process log and archive simultaneously, all while remaining accessible to employers, our peers and practitioners all over the world.

Process

an impactful intervention | OSS workshop

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Maria Anwander‘s The Kiss is a performance art piece and intervention at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Entering as a visitor, Anwander ‘donated’ the work to MoMA without its authorisation by passionately kissing a gallery wall and mounting a fake wall label (which imitated official MoMA labels) next to it.

Despite starting out as a subversive intervention, it can be argued that the piece has become recognised and accepted by the museum as a work of art and not vandalism. Though humorous, this work engages with pertinent contemporary issues such as the artist’s role in the museum as well as the fetishization and authority of the institution.

Here are some other art interventions at the MoMA over the years!

Process

Exercise 1 | Connecting people; Creating spaces

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We set up this week’s exercise as a group at both indoor and outdoor locations and observed the user behaviour. We experimented with three different objects to emulate a new space; a flexible tube, a robe with adjustable loops at each end, and a rope shaped into a ring on the floor. Each time, two participants would interact with the object.

exercise 1 materials

Reactions, interactions and takeaways

Most participants were unsure of the situation and showed varying levels of comfort. Especially when pairing strangers together, participants either started conversations (they said talking helped to make it more natural) or called out the awkwardness of the situation. Some continued what they were doing beforehand. Ideally, the interaction should be seamless and natural so participants don’t feel uncomfortable or confused (unless intended).

At first we weren’t sure how much to tell participants when we asked them to take part in the exercise. The amount of details we gave likely influenced their behaviour (“please stand in the circle” vs. “here you go”). We need to find a balance between instruction and organic response when framing these works. It should be subtle and not too explicit, yet it shouldn’t be too open (this potentially doesn’t capture interest, maybe due to a lack of specifics/context, and confuses the participants). Environmental factors (i.e. indoors with aircon or hot sun) could also influence user behaviour.

We also tried telling some participants to interact with the objects in whatever way they felt was most natural, for however long they wanted. Some participants took the initiative to test the limits of the space and objects such as untying the laid out ropes etc. These active participants enhance the space by introducing unexpected interactions.