“Action/Reaction”
January 17, 2008
I read chapter two: “Action/Reaction” of Becoming a Digital Designer. This chapter not only describes Steven Heller and David Womack’s definition and meaning of interactive design, but it also looks at the basic concepts of using technology, which to me was very intriguing and even enlightening at some points.
I always tagged the term interactive design with animation, programs like Flash, and various other programs used to create interactive websites everywhere. Never once did I think that thirty-six flowers that lit up a street in New York City were considered interactive design.
In the beginning paragraphs of chapter two, a story is told of interactive design in a very unique way. Large, five-foot tall, blue neon flowers lit up as people walked by 5th Ave New York. It was as if the flowers were following them. This design was greatly noticed and in a way almost impossible to go unnoticed.
I found this story to be a very interesting way to start out a chapter about interactive design. It gave a great example of one of the million different types of interactive design. As programs change and technology advances there will always be something that stops people in their tracts in amazement; it is our job as designers to create these break-throughs and let people realize there is always something more. The moment a new break-through is made in some brand of technology it is copied infinite times by every other competing brand until the next brands creates something better. There is never one solution to anything, but there is always a great solution to something.
This middle section of the Chapter, known as “Characteristic that Define Interactions” is very interesting and uniquely defined. Obviously if one were to look up any of these terms in a dictionary they would not find these definitions that Heller and Womack give standing next to the term. Instead, the authors of Becoming a Digital Designer, give their own enlightening descriptions. For example their definition of Causality is, “the relationship between what you do and how the object or system responds. In the case of the Power Flowers, it took a while for people to realize that they were causing an effect, and that element of surprise is part of what made the project work.”
Now, in my opinion, I thought these definitions are a bit vague to the audience of college students and maybe more understandable to experienced designers. However, I do not believe I would understand the main point of these definitions without the reference to the beginning story of the flowers.
The most interesting and useful definition, to my self at least, was Repeatability, which was defined in a very personal manner. The definition starts with “If you learn how to do something once, you should be able to do it the same way again.” One may learn a program and every single detail and shortcut to it, but what does that do for the designer when a new program, a more technologically advanced and improved program overrides the old? The answer is nothing. The only thing that can come out of the old programs are the basics and standards they have. It is more important to understand the basics/principles than to know the details of the constantly-changing programs.
Besides the definitions, I do enjoy the random break-ups within the definitions. The small sections in blue located at the bottom of one page and the side of the opposite, facing page, titled: “Telling Stories: All Abuzz” and “Retro Tech” also prove very interesting points.
In the first section in blue, “Telling Stories: All Abuzz” a great point is made when Heller and Womack prove that designers have truly become their own storyteller and author. With the creation of the internet and digital tools there has been a complete change in the standards of design, “some for the better, but not all-so why not accept that it’s changed the definition of designer? The designer as a storyteller extending the idea of the designer as author, is one of the great attributes of the new media revolution,” quote the authors of Becoming a Digital Designer.
This chapter ends in the encouraging story of two graduated college students exploring the real world of design in their own way and finding themselves as designers and as human beings along the way. One of these college students said, “there is no absolute truth to design” I would have to agree- there is no wrong or right answer to design, nothing is made on accident, and I cannot control everything. Design is messy and there is no real truth to it.
I can definitely relate to you when you said that you, “always tagged the term interactive design with animation, programs like Flash…” When I first learned about interactive design that is what I thought it was all about. But I learned through some of the classes I have taken that it certainly is more than that. The “Power Flower” advertisement was a great way to demonstrate the different ways of using interactive design. That was a pretty neat idea. I liked the question, “One may learn a program and every single detail and shortcut to it, but what does that do for the designer when a new program, a more technologically advanced and improved program overrides the old?” I agree with the answer of nothing. Another quote that I enjoyed was, “Using an old tool in new ways can be more interesting than using a new tool in predictable ways.” I really agree with that statement because I can relate to it. I absolutely agree that everyone has a unique way of working and designing. The internship that I worked at over this past summer was a great example of that. Everyone had their own style and way of doing something, but that was great because each of us learned from one another.
Hi mallster,
That was a interesting story with the light up flowers. It makes sense why they would use flowers in the display as the subject being lite up. We associate flowers with happiness and joy. With them being lightened up this only adds to the emotion of joy that you feel when viewing the design. That story was interesting keep up the good posts!
I really liked the quote, “Using an old tool in new ways can be more interesting than using a new tool in predictable ways.” I agree with this because I love it when I’m using one of the design programs, and figure out a new way of using a tool that I never knew you could do. It’s not as fun when you know exaclty how it’s going to turn out and only know one way of doing it. Using your basic skills can usually help you figure out great, new ideas.
I actually had tought otherwise of interactive design. I always had an idea that interactive design had, well something to do with interaction. I thought that interactive design were such things a road signs, posters, and anything else that helped guide you somewhere or inform about something. Now I know that is called Enviormental Graphic Design.
I never heard of the flowers. It is interesting that a design that was pretty creative was not more pronounced in the news. I would have to say that interactive design is becoming the new thing. It gives people something different to look at. Instead of seeing a poster or two dimensional work advertising Bloomingdales and Haagen Dazs, people interact with lighting flowers. Which, to you, would be more interesting? Personally, I would go with the flowers.
I like that quote about repeatability , its true, if you do something once you should be able to keep doing repeating it over and over. It helps to learn something and master it. So later you can use it or help someone else learn it. I also agree with lindsay, using your skills CAN help figure out new ideas and ways to use certain programs in different ways to give your work the edge it needs.
Good response. The neon flowers are really cool, I have seen some pictures before. It just goes to show again design is everywhere in the physical world and in the digital world, It weirds me out sometimes but its what we do. I also like when designers write, its somehow is easier to make visual connections when the writer is the artist.