This weeks readings were very interesting, not only because they served as a great inspiration for my final project but at the same time made me think more deeply about my designs and projects.
Starting of from the Physical Computing reading, I really resonated with the sentence that says that everything is already done and we can not just imagine or make something new. Those type of moments happen very often, where you think that whatever you want to invent has already been made and there is no point in copying it but we can always add a personal twist. Let’s look at some examples:
- Pi’s midterm game: Has a game ever been played on an Instrument: Yes. Has a game ever been made with p5.js: A ton of them. Was Pi’s midterm projects something unique and fascinating: TOTALLY! By adding some personal elements and experiences Pi actually made a great game which he controlled by a guitar which is a huge part of his personality.
- Interactive dolls and pets are mentioned, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the project from Thecla Schiphorst called Soft(n). More info bellow:https://www.sfu.ca/~tschipho/softn/index.html. The thing about this projects is so unique and it only comes from a simple concept: You hug one pillow, and another pillow gets that information and gives the feeling of being hugged to a different user.
As we can see, creativity has no limits and we can all mix match and invent something interesting as well as add a personal element to it.
As for the second reading, we are once again getting back to simple and most important PROPER Design. As the reading says, if an artist needs to talk for hours and hours explaining and introducing the users on how to use or interact with his exhibition, then he has not done a good job. A very well designed exhibition should be obvious to the users but at the same time add a level of discoverability so that the user can feel more “in-touch” or resonate with it. That is why we as artists or creators have an obligation to really think about how our users or viewers will interact with our creations and really make the process as smooth and fun as possible.