2 Interactive Information by BenGilpin

INFORMATION EXPLORATION

What is a interactive experience? What is an interactive experience used for? This book explores what an animate is and follows the journey as I attempt to design and film my own while applying it to a context. A student on the BA Graphic Design Programme, this book holds my ideas, thoughts and views on interactive experiences. While it shows my skills, design and abilities in attempting to create one of my own.

THE BRIEF Upon reading this brief it was clearn to se that I was being instructed to research into a specific subject area. Then with this research I was to create an innovatitive, interactive experience in which a audience can discover the subject area I explored into. Image 1 - The Types/ Dynamics Installation found at the Stedelijk Musum Amsterdam. It os an example of creativity applied to interaction, combining new technology with information exploration.

I was being asked to to think of medern, creative was into which I could bring new technology to create a contempory mode of communication. A large area that I would have to take into consideration is the interactivity of my project, I needed to create an immersive experienece with whic an audience can see and play with the information that is before there eyes. I felt this brief spoke to m as I hade produced a project from my previous term with similar aspects. So I liked the idea of once again designeing a experience where an adience at key stages could interact with the design. My audience would be a influencial aspect of this project as I felt I would have to investigate and reasearch into immersive experiences. Thus allowing me to see how to invlolve and audience and have them hooked on using the experience.

Above Image 2 - A photograph showing two designers creating and setting up the Wishing Wall Instalment. Right Image 3 - You can see the instalment called Contact, beign tested by the creator on a table.

RESEARCH With this brief I first started by researching into interative design and what is needed to make a experience gripping and immersive. I did this by looking at art instalmnets, where an audience has the ability to play with and use the experience.

Above Image 4 - This is a still from a piece of abstract art, created by user at the Generative Art instalment experience.

There were 3 interactive experiences that I researched into, these were all indorsed be Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Devart and had the purpose of being art instalments. The first art instalment was called Wishing Wall, It was a piece where you would write down a wish. Then the program would take your wish and put it into the image of a butterfly and release it. The next instalment was called Generative Art Mining, it was a interactive tool that would allow people to explore the generation of abstract art. This allows user to explore the variations that can be created of an object. Finally the last art Instalment I looked at was called Contact. It allows people to interact with and visualise sounds that would be able to be produced on a wooden surface.

Below Image 5 - A notebook page showing my trail of though as I wrote down what I felt was differnet and similar between each human. Right Image 6 - This is a notebook page , that shows what is good about my topic idea. Bottom Right Image 7 Human connectivity has been a theory for many years. This image shows the theory known as six degrees of seperation.

What followed was my discovering ideas the I could potentially create an immersive expeirence for. You can see by looking at the note book pages my trail of thought, this is shown by looking at the spider diagram and seeing the ideas the noted down. There were certain ideas which I felt were stonger than the others, to highlight this I circled them show that they are more important. These 3 topics were the connectivity of people, I felt these 3 topics were stronger because they were the most broad, this meant that there would be multiple apllications that I could apply them to. By chooisng one of these 3 I would have multiple ways in which I would be able to take my immersive and interactive design.

The topic that I decided to proceed with was the connectivity of people. This was because I was going to design the experience for people to use. So I thought why not create an immersive experinec around the topic of humans. I believe this would allow the audience to discover things about each other and themselves in which they did not know.

Next in my research I was trying to come up with ways in which I believe the human population was all connected. I was looking into ways in which we all shared similarities and differnece among us personally and our day to day lives. While I was writing numbers down in which we are all connected, the one that kept on apprearing is a person date of birth. This number is shared by all of us because everyone has one, however we are all differnet because its hard to find someone who is born on the same day and time as you. Right Image 9 - This is a page from a tutorial that is showing other ways I could possibly look at the numbers and what they could signify.

My rationale for the project I was going to under take was that I believed everyone is connected through their date of birth. This is shown becasue everyone has one, so everyone is similar in that way. However we are all differnet becasue it is hard to find someone who has the same date of birth and time as you thus making you an indivivdual again. It was this trait of a human being that made me believe we are all connected through the process of numbers.

TOPIC IDEAS After deciding that my idea was going to be based around the topic of human connectivity and peoples Dates of Birthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. I proceded with trying to come up with immersive experinces that would work for my topic. Right Image 10 - A notebook page that shows the idea I had put into a few contexts that would allow an audience to view it.

I started to jot down contexts in which I feel I could apply my work to. This would allow people to discover information and connectivity through date of births. On the page you can see that I have written down three art instalments that I feel would work for displaying my idea. Each idea is unique and has its own apporach to showing connectivity through date of births. The idea that stuck out the most to me is circled in my notes. I felt this is the strongest idea as my design style would compliment the idea and that final outocme would be artistic, modern and clean. Those are the reasons that I progressed with that context for my idea. It would be an interactive art instalment where someone would enter their date of birth. Then it would add to the number already shown, each time someone added their date of birth the number would increase by the amount of the date of birth. It would be a slow process, but after a large number of people have visited the expedition the number would stretch alla round the expedition room.

The next step was to visualise the design and digitalise it so that when I take it to a turtorial I can show the tutors and its more clear for them to see what I am talking about. I created a digital mock up for what the expedition room would look like and that is shown above. There would be a thin number stretching around the expedition room. It would increase when someone enters their date of birth in using the interface in the middle of the exhibition room.

Below Image 11 - This is a digital mock up of how I feel the exhibition room should look like.

After this I did a quick animation to show the number increasing and the simplistic visual system that I would implement. I would like a minamilsitic, modern and sleek design style as I believe it would look artistic. I also feel that the minamilstic approach and clean look would be an attracting feature as people walk past the exhibition they are drawn in to look.

Below Image 12 This video shows the animation mock up I produced to show the change in numbers that would occur in the interactive art instalment.

I went to a tutorial with Alice Stevens and I showed her the work that I had digtalised. We discussed the idea that I had persued and the visual system that I had implemented into my design style. Upon speaking to Alice we both felt that the underlying attraction of the topic for the exhibition was not strong enother to gain a wide enough audience. We felt that keeping the idea of connectivity, but applying it to a differnet topic would be be better at attracting a bigger audeince.

Left Image 13 - A tutorial sheet that has all the feedback I recieved from having a discussion with Alice Stevens.

We spoke about topics that we believe people would want to find out about one another, to try and stay away from an encyclopedic apporach. I felt that an idea that is unknowkn about other people, however is fun and controversial would be a great way of attracting more people to the exhibition to view my interactive experience.

FURTHER DESIGN As Alice and I agreed the topic I had chosen was not strong enough to draw in a large audience. I went about trying to descide what to do as the topic for my new interactive art instalment in an exhibition room. I liked the idea of how people are connected throuhg one another or one single entitiy. So I wnet about tryring to think of a subject matter that everyone would be interested in knowing about one another. I felt the idea would have to be something you dont talk about eveyday and a person would keep quite or to themsleves.

Top Right Image 14 - A list of questions that the user interacting with expedition will be asked . Bottom RIght Image 15 - A notebook page that shows the explanation I produced for chosing the subject matter that I did.

The topic idea that I came up with was sex and how we are all connected through the activitys we do in the bedroom. My explanantion for the topic choice is that: becasue it is an unxpected topic. Yet now our days is one people are open to talking about. I feel the general population area nosey bunch and would like to know the comings and goings of what happened in the bedroom. This exhibition would allow the user to see the visiting populations sexual experiences but allows you to keep your privacy as you would just be contributing to numbers.

Below Image 16 - Here is a design of what I would want the interactive art instalment interface to look like, along with how it would operate. Top Right Image 17 - This is a diagram that shows how I would like the exhibition room to look like if I was to build one.

With this new topic chosen I went about producing a new exhibition mock up to show what the increasing numbers would look like. When the interactive interface is used by a visiter, while answering the question that wold be given to them. In this section I went about desigining the interface that the user would answer questions on. I had created a visual system, that when I apply it to the exhibition design and interactive interface they will have the same visual design. The interactive interface would be placed into the centre of the exhibition room where people will answer the questions. Thus creating the the first section of interactivity with in the art instalment.

The interactive interface would consist of an iPad with yes and no questions that you would answer by pressing on them. If ou click yes the corresponding number for that question would increase by 1. However if you clicked no the number would stay still and not increase at all.

The next task that I had to do was mock up how the exhibition room would look and how it would be layed out. It would be a clean white walled room, in which the projection of the art instalment can be projected on to the walls for people to go up to and interacte with. By looking at the mock up and the interactive interface for the exhibition it is clear to see the visual system I have used is that of simplistic apporach. Using black and white colours along with the typeface of Futura in a bold weight. Above Image 18 - A diagram shoiwng a close up of the interactive interface and the exhibition room combined and laid out together.

Above Image 19 - A screenshot showing the animation I am going to create being digitalised. Right Image 20 - This screenshot shows the transitions that are applied to a layer.

The final piece to design and mock up was the animation that would show the interactivty and changing of numbers from the art instalmaent. I decided to create this animation in Adobe After Effects as it allow me to easily create the illustion the numbers are changing. This ould be due to the questions being answered. By doing fade transitions and adding sound clips I can easily show the second section of interactivity I have planned for the exhibiton as well. This would be that when you are walking around the numbers you could hover you hand over one. Then this would answer the question. I believe this to be funny as it means that people would look around and be confussed and find it funny if someone was to activate the intereaction. I feel that by using a a clean simplistic approach to the topic of sex is beneficial as the visual system brings a topic that is only really discussed in the bedroom. It then brings it to a more approachable place as people will be curious what these big black numbers on a white wall mean and will be forced to go and interacte with them. Thus drawing a person into the exhibition to eperience the art instalment.

FINAL PIECE Here you can see the final pieces that I produced for my Sexual Experiences interactive art instlament that I would create. The photographs show how the exhibiton room would look like, the experience itself and the interactive interface.

Above Image 21 - A close up of the exhibtion room inside showing the interactive interface. Top Left Image 22 -A 3D representation of what the exhibition room would look like and how it will be laid out. Bottom Left Image 23 - A digital representation of how I believe the Exhibition room will look.

The interactive art instalment would be housed inside a white four walled exhibition room where the numbers could be projected evenely on to the walls. Then located in the centre of the room is found the stand where the interactive interface and questions would be found. Here you would answer the questions and wathc your answers change the numbers in front of your face.

Above Image 24 - This shows the final animation that will show how the room will work and the numbers will change around the room. Above Image 25 - An Animation showing the front of the interface and how it would be used.

EVALUATION This is the section on where you can read how I felt I did through out this project. You will be able to see where I felt my strengths lied and where I think I need to improve.

I feel this is a project that I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apply my full attention to as I feel the brief was similar to one that we received in first term, this meant that I felt I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to apply all of my knowledge to the task. I felt that the research that was needed was already complete from first term, thus not making me motivated to further my understanding into interactive technology and the way coding transforms text, speech and feelings into visuals. I felt that working by myself was beneficial to this task, as I was able to study a topic and focus on an idea I was interested in. How I feel I have grown with this unit is experimenting with new challenging topics that few people would want to work with, I also feel that I have experimented with new technology and processes that I would not have worked with before. I feel areas that I lacked in were enthusiasm and motivation for a brief that I did not find inspiring or new in comparison to work that I undertook with a fellow student last term. However I feel there was an area I improved with my work and this was extension, not to follow through with the first idea that came to mind. Then half way through the brief adjust my mentality and go with a change of idea.

On the next few pages you find my personal evaluation and how I feel I did on the breif along with my refernecing .

REFERENCING Images - Image 1 - TypeToken. Type Dynamics. (2014). [online image]. Available form: http://www.lustlab.net/images/TypeDynamics_LUST2.jpg [Accessed on 12th January] Image 2 - Devart. Wishing Wall. (2014). [online image]. Available from: https://devart.withgoogle.com/#/project/16494767 [Accessed on 12th January] Image 3 - Devart. Contact 2: Augmented Acoustics. (2014). [online image]. Available from: https://devart.withgoogle.com/#/project/16589129 [Accessed on 12th January] Image 4 - Devart. Generative Ar Mining. (2014). [online image]. Available from: https://devart.withgoogle.com/#/project/17109841 [Accessed on 12th January] Websites - Devart. (2015). Devart. [online]. Available form: https://devart. withgoogle.com [Accessed on 9th January 2015] - Tumblr. (2013). An Exploration of Happiness. [online]. Available from: http://thehappyshow.tumblr.com Accessed on 20th January 2015]