sara's Blog: Patterns of Behaviour
January 24, 2008 at 06:11Where will the intersection of visual communication design and emerging media technologies take us?
I have always been passionate about the intersection of visual communication design, new media technologies and audience interaction. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work in a collaborative research environment with engineers, social scientists and artists, where I was exposed to prototypes and ideas that went beyond the screen. These early explorations remind me of the first years of the web - they are not guided by commercial interests and yet offer the thrill of playing with technology, just to see the possibilities. I'm interested in discovering and discussing these projects as a way to visualize the future of interactive media.
Architecture is the ultimate exercise in user-centered design practice. Buildings are designed to guide people through a space with an intimate awareness of their needs and habits. Though, as distant architects and designers, we are often making assumptions about the needs of our audiences which can lead to ineffective designs, and frustrated people. New tracking technologies are changing those assumptions. If we used technology to track an anonymous group of people in a space, what we would learn from their emerging patterns of behaviour?
One art project in Japan has set out to collect environmental data from a public space and then interpret that information into physical architecture. Corpora in Si(gh)te (which means “integration of view”) is an exhibit showing in Chuou Park in Japan. It uses 40 sensors to track information about the surrounding environment, including temperature, light, wind, sound, and the movement of people. The information is then processed dynamically into 3D, creating a virtual "shape" that is constantly moving and shifting. The virtual shapes are beautiful - elaborate patterns emerging from bare concrete slabs and grass - virtual ghosts of the people who were once there. What is interesting is how clear certain patterns, or behavioural trends emerge over time. This is a similar exercise to tracking behaviour online - a topic that Robert is passionate about as well.
Collecting data is one thing but what can we learn from it to make interactive media a better experience? In the future, can technology truly adapt to the ever changing needs of the people using it? To discuss these questions in future posts, I'll bring up examples of biometrics & gaming, wearable computing and online eye tracking. Please feel free to share projects, ideas and comments..
Read more about Corpora in Si(gh)te at Shift.jp.org
