reading_tasks

Circles and Props Making Unknown Technology

How do designers imagine technologies that do not exist yet? How can you imagine something without knowing how to make it? Does our imagination have a direct correlation to our own personal desires? The OWL Project is aiming to answer these questions through the process of OWL Circles. The Circles are attempting to block our immediate answers, ideas and concepts.
Replacing these with less predictable, unselfconscious decisions and therefore making what did not previously exist.

The workshops are conducted with twelve participants and two workshop facilitators. The format of the very short two hour session is split up like so:
1. Introduction - The participants are welcomed and the quotes by Arthur C Clarke and Meno
are read aloud.
2. The Desires - A list of desires are provided and the participants select one without knowing
anything about it. Two examples of the desires presented are 'Acceptance, the need for
approval' and 'Idealism, the need for social justice'. These are provocative, but I like how it comes down to the perception of each participant. Each will likely choose something different for reasons that they might only subconsciously know.
3. Transfer to the body - Here they transform the chosen desire to a part of the body. This makes the process less abstract and guides the participants in their inventiveness.
4. The material switch - The decisions made here are not reasonable and arise from each persons personal visual and textual desires.
5. Thinking with your hands - The building begins, all the previous steps have taken place in less than fifteen minutes and I think this is perfect for allowing the participants to let go and not take time to reason their decisions. But they still don't know what they are about to make.
6. Being Done - This section I find fascinating most of all. How do you know when you're done, even when you don't know what you're making?
7. Description - Each participant explains to a camera what they have made and what it does. Little interference is made at this point to allow the participant to become introverted.
8. Debrief - A short final debrief is carried out to complete the workshop and the OWL process.

This article taken from Interactions Magazine seems to ask more questions than it answers. We don't receive in-depth detail about what was created apart from a few pictures with brief descriptions. What I like about this article is that groups are made up of various people from different backgrounds and ages.The fact that a grown adult is standing next to a child may allow them to let go and become a child again by physically making things. These OWL Workshops have taken place in Tokyo and Sydney and some were specifically targeting particular social groups. For example The article states: artists with disabilities and their caretakers, young children, performing artists and librarians were targeted and I think it would be interesting to compare the products produced and why they were made.

I think this process could be relevant in some product design situations and indeed in the field of digital media. It may be a wild card for a company to adopt, but the idea of creating 'a bubble in which we are allowed to physically build what did previously not exist' may produce a worthwhile product. It may not always be affective as in this article, it references a child who invents 'stilts' that allow him to'jump really high and blast off to the moon'. Nevertheless the opportunity to open up new areas of research could arise as well as creating new problems and concepts to natural abstract desires.

Task 1 - Circles and Props Making Unknown Technology

Task 5 - New Media, New Craft?

New Media, New Craft?

This article in my opinion tries to draw comparisons with traditional craft and coding in digital media and interaction design. Although this article feels dragged out and over formal, I agree with the points being made along with the final conclusion authored by Andrew Richardson.

Craft according to dictionary.com is 'an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, specially manual skill'. Throughout this article comparisons are made that find a common-ground between traditional craftsman and coders. Both indeed have a particular skill set and knowledge with their materials whether it be physical or digital. The materials may change but the underlying craft-like ethos and attitudes remain the same. Coding still allows the designer to take an abstract idea, transform it into a final visual form through a 'blank canvas'. Through this process there is still a craftsman-like process where the designer has to understand his material and master the inner, more invisible workings of his design through code.

Richardson makes parallels between the crafts movement and the new 'digital craft', reading this piece changed my thwarted outlook on the basis of craft. I believe it comes down to the individual perception of the word 'craft'. In the sense of traditional crafts is the making of tactile objects from such materials as wood, clay or metal. The crafts movement made use of
the new and available materials at the time, so surely isn't the use of code and computers making use of the available materials of our time?

I think this is an appropriate piece that is relevant for our course, it allows us to take a step back and reflect, to see how we may be perceived in the wider world. The same ethos and attitudes apply but the material is virtual and can't be touched. In conclusion, I believe craft isn't so much traditional in it's dated sense, it applies to new media, digital media and
interactive media respectfully.

Task 6 - Distinguishing Concepts - Lexicons of Interactive Art and Architecture

Distinguishing Concepts - Lexicons of Interactive Art and Architecture

This paper looks at current and past language of interactive art, architecture, design and technology. It also allows us to step back, to assess these initial meanings and how they have changed over time.

There was no such thing as Interactive Design or Interactive Art fifty or so years ago (although this piece references the argument that 'all art is interactive'). The term itself is fairly new and has come about from numerous disciplines. The author states that the original concept that lie behind words such as 'Interactive' have been lost. I think this is an interesting point, perhaps the words have become so generalised that they are being used in different ways.But this can be said for many words across the English language and is certainly not exclusive to this discipline.

The author continues to explain that words and practices have become even more intermingled causing this issue to perplex. For example, 'Interactive' and 'Responsive'
I believe this is because the corporate world have taken the word interactive and have used it as a selling tool. Therefore applying it to anything you can touch. Whereas the original meaning of interactive: 'A person is able to dynamically affect the input and output criteria and how they are processed'; this is still how I understand interactive and is not only the output criteria that is altered.

Words come and go, language changes all the time because of advancements in technology. Something that's new needs to be named or grouped under characteristics. An example of this (not referred to in the article) would be 'palmtop'. A computer small enough and light enough to be held in one hand. This word doesn't appear to exist in the modern world any more and has been taken over by words such as 'handset', 'smart phone' and 'tablet'.

This author attempts to make interesting points but fails to keep it that way. In my opinion the article is a page or two too long and many of the points being made don't stick and drifted over my head. The author re-iterates the point that he's not writing this article to bring back the meanings, but to make us aware of the initial concepts behind the lexicons. Then why write about it at all?

Task 3 - Taking Our Sweet Time To Search

Taking Our Sweet Time To Search

Slowness in search is certainly a relevant topic to our course and therefore I found this article to be the most thought-provoking thus far. It's relevant not only in a digital media sense but as a research tool in any discipline. Within this article Marian Dork, Peter Bennett and Rosamund Davies communicate their proposal for a slower search which contrasts the popular fast fact-based searches we commonly see today. By slowing down search, making it longer, maybe more ludic; there is a higher chance of serendipitous discovery which could conform a more lateral approach to research.

I agree that the intimacy and experience that was common when searching for a book in a library is not allied with a 'Google Search'. The opportunity to learn something new, something extra was present and was a more human fulfilment, especially when you didn't know what you were exactly looking for. But at the same time there is a place for question and answer or fact, fast based searches. This is noted within the article and I agree. Problems such as "When will the film start?" or "How much is the ticket?" are answers we want rapidly because there is a definitive answer. Research though, this I feel is where slow search could appear. The internet is 'a sea of information' and I believe it's often difficult to actually find decent results with actual useful content. Search engine results don't often deliver on the most useful information. Developers and designers of various sites compete for higher rankings to drive sales revenues.

The idea of a serendipitous, a slower, a much calmer search experience allows us to take a step back and process the information and act upon any discoveries. In a design context, I am not so sure how this would be achieved. I like the proposed idea of a 'journal of journeys'. Slow searches just as a search in a library doesn't always have a purpose or goal. So perhaps the ability to mark waypoints within sites and back-track to valuable information or collect material would be useful.

To conclude, this piece is well structured, under easy to read sections and doesn't go into too much depth than necessary. The article is certainly an interesting area and one that may become more important as time and technology moves on. Where fast searches still have it's place in the information age, sometimes we need to slow, pause for a moment and reflect.

Task 2 - Annotated Portfolios

Annotated Portfolios

Annotated Portfolios isn't something new to me, so at first I didn't see the reason for this article, reiterating a common practice already undertaken in our field. The introduction as indeed the full article felt dragged out and peppered with verbose language.

The beginning of the paper asks rhetorically whether design counts as research or is it simply turned into research by others. The authors Bill Gaver and John Bowers point out that this has been a problem in the industry especially with Human Computer Interaction (HCI) projects. I believe a design without annotations doesn't embody the theory for why that artefact was designed. It's simply a visual mock-up of aesthetics and often functionality which not until after, raises questions, concerns and perhaps reasoning. So is this research in reverse? Methodology to me is surely an integral part of designing, it brings reason and promises rigor. But I think what this article is asking is wheatear or not this blocks inventiveness and 'comes at the expense of design'.

Alternatively combining the physicality of design and the untangibility of theory together presents us with Annotated Portfolios. This allows us to understand the underlying aesthetic and socio-political values of an artefact, pointing out important values within the design. Within this article the notion is illustrated with a body of work created at Goldsmiths over the last decade, at which point this text became more appealing to me. Presented in image form and discussed in the text are the products produced such as the 'photostroller'. This product created for a care home with various abilities streams photographs from the web. The idea is that this trolley shows a slideshow of photographs taken from the web, using a controller to select a category and level of 'semantic drift'. The product sparked discussions
and contemplation within the home. The annotations displayed with the Photostroller are brief and attempt to bridge the gap between the artefact, issues of concern and research. Annotations show the designers thought process, it's a summary that allows you to review and improve any weaknesses. It could also suggest new areas of research to be conducted. What I hadn't seen before was the combinations of products being annotated in one. This allows the comparison of artefacts and considerations of parallels between products.

The products, although appear simple, look practical and pleasantly designed (inspiration from Dieter Ram's work for Braun). The photos make you want to know how the artefacts work. This is reinforced with photographs in situation. Combining the images of the user's experience of the product with brief annotations, deepens any perception and makes the product feel 'more real'. I liked this approach it helps you understand the less tangible underlying theory behind the products such as the 'Prayer Companion'.

As I progressed through this article I understood why it was written. It's not always simply enough to present a design and believe that it will speak for itself. Each person would likely perceive it differently. Applying annotation and thus building an annotated portfolio through a body of work, guides the account of the design style along with theoretical concepts. They
can shape how artefacts are appreciated and understood by others. This article certainly had a more appealing middle and end, but felt dragged out. Last week’s 'OWL Circles' was indeed more stimulating. Nevertheless this was a useful read as it conveyed to me that there is more than one way to annotate and I will bare this in mind in future. It combines research, design, theory and aesthetics, which I could utilize within my Digital Media projects.

Kristina Andersen, Danielle Wilde. Interactions Magazine, Volume 19, Number 3 (2012), Pages 60-65 DOI: 10.1145/2168931.2168944.

Gaver, B., & Bowers, J. (2012). Annotated portfolios. Interactions, 19(4), 40. doi:10.1145/2212877.2212889

Dörk, M., Bennett, P., & Davies, R. (2013). Taking our sweet time to search. CHI 2013 Workshop on Changing Perspectives of Time

Richardson, A. (1998). New Media , New Craft ? Electronic Art and Animation Calalogue, 157–159.

Haque, U. (2007). Distinguishing concepts: Lexicons of interactive art and architecture. Architectural Design, 77(4), 24–31. doi:10.1002/ad.484

Task 4 - Overcoming Procrastination with ReMind

Overcoming Procrastination with ReMind

Procrastination is defined as deliberately delaying the beginning or the completion of an intended action. According to this article procrastination is very common, '85%-95% of collage students procrastinate now and again'. Procrastination is ironic as although you know you're doing it, you carry on nevertheless. This article presents ReMind a tool for overcoming procrastination.

ReMind is a tangible artefact which takes a different approach to conventional calendar or to-do list apps. Although digital applications may be useful for some; this article insists they lack an understanding of procrastination and the number of tasks should be limited rather than unlimited. ReMind is in fact a wooden ring with ten magnetic pucks fitted with 'post-it' blocks. These blocks each represent a task and are therefore placed upon the ring. The ring is split into 31 sections (31 days), this provides a visual time scale which I certainly favour. Each day the ring turns, when the goal reaches the intended completion day it will fall. I like this concept as it's not only visual but also physical.

Of course the possibility of cheating the tool is available, but as the user stated in the user case study: she felt she could cheat ReMind, but she couldn’t cheat herself. This is because moving a puck back a few places or picking it up and returning it to the ring will play on your mind. I certainly feel this would be a useful tool, it's tangible and confrontational. The
user also admitted not only did she get more tasks done whilst using the object, she also now thinks differently after using it.

I enjoyed reading this article, the language was straight forward and the subject is something I can relate to. I would buy a ReMind!

Take a look at ReMind in action in the short video below.
Source: https://vimeo.com/38991886

Laschke, M., Hassenzahl, M., & Brechmann, J. (2013). Overcoming Procrastination with ReMind. Proc. DPPI 2013, 77–85. doi:10.1145/2513506.2513515

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Task 7 - Theories and Practice of Design for Information Systems

Theories and Practice of Design for Information Systems:
Eight Design Perspectives in Ten Short Weeks

This is certainly a lengthy and profuse article which examines a ten week course which looks at the theories and perspectives of design. At the beginning of the article I was interested; the course sounded informative and exploratory, certainly an area I would have liked to study. But as the article continued I found myself becoming disengaged from the context. The article certainly goes in depth and there are a few areas I liked.

I like how the course is only 10 weeks long and crams in as much information whatever your background. It's practical and theoretical and allows you to build upon your knowledge to think more like a designer. I specifically liked the concept of reading and reflective writing along with the proceeding reflection. It allows the students to prepare for that class and re-enforces what they may have just learnt within that new design perspective. It reminded me of the reading tasks I have been set in Web Design Studio and the process of reflection. This is certainly a relevant article to the subject but also the learning process within WDS.