Response to Interaction Relabelling and Extreme Characters:
Methods for Exploring Aesthetic Interactions
"The two products need not be related; in fact, unrelated products may lead to more creative ideas. Using unrelated products helps designers to part with the interaction style that is prototypical for the product they are designing." (page 2)
I agree, often designers of various kinds seem to just be continuing the conventions of whatever thing or component it is they may be designing. For example, if the task is to design the infotainment system of a luxury car most likely you will get only a more streamlined or refined look and new tech over last years. It’s rarely the case that someone at Mercedes Benz thought the next E class should be designed with experimenting with different objects. For example, what if the infotainment system utilized meditation bells, abacus, or a woodwind instrument to create inputs. Just a starting point but perhaps the interior would be way more inspired through the findings of such experiments.
“Finally, abstract patterns of light emitted by a ring can signal conflicting appointments as the drugsdealer tries to fit an appointment into his schedule.” (page 4)
I thought that this part of the ring concept for a drug dealer spoke well to the relevance of incorporating physical sensory into the design of electronic and software based products. The rings seems to be an IOT component of the PDA device. I think across all kinds of products a lot of what is being designed keeps moving towards screens with familiar GUIs. Experimenting with physical implementations can be a generative way to create effective technology for users of all kind. Despite the fact that this product was for a criminal, I thought the experiment led to a beautiful and intuitive idea.
"While the twenty-year old may come across as a frivolous character, some ideas for the appointment fan can easily be introduced to more serious applications. For example, by replacing ‘boyfriends’ with ‘business contacts’, moving the blades could become a way of judging business priorities." (6)
This concept is generative in the way that it created a scenario in which privacy is needed in technology. The same kind of role can be implemented into many other scenarios where certain information can be disclosed. And, it also can lead to new ways of designing for this kind of need. The most important part of switching the subject from boyfriends to business contacts points to a process in which we can find mechanisms for the most extreme scenarios.