Session 1: Introductory Lecture & Practical

What is Interactive Design?

Having little or no experience with the design aspects of Interactive Media i was completely unaware of what interactive design actually was. I had gathered ideas about what it may entail and thought it would verge on similar concepts to the module i studied previously 'Communication Design'. 

It turns out that communication design is very similar to interactive design, almost as if it is the prequel to Interactive Design. It seems that communication design focuses primarily on non moving graphics whereas Interactive design develops these concepts slightly further by making them interactive with viewers and audiences. this may not always entail moving graphics but this course explores ideas surrounding interactive interfaces like apps and websites. 

So what is interactive design exactly? Well according to https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-interaction-design  "it is the design of the interaction between users and products. Most often when people talk about interaction design, the products tend to be software products like apps or websites. The goal of interaction design is to create products that enable the user to achieve their objective(s) in the best way possible."

Own Research

I find that images are the best way for me to gage and get inspiration so this week i looked at some images and pieces of artwork from famous artists that illustrate what interactive design is for me. 

The artist that particularly inspired me this week was Nam June Paik, here are some examples of his work: 

The first thing that drew me to his work was the use of technology, particularly Television and Video. I find how he uses generic and conventional objects like the television to create juxtapositional spaces and installations very inventive and I think that the work is quite striking and intriguing. I think that the interactive aspects are rather fascinating as he has created spaces in which humans can interact with something they interact with daily and without thought in a non conforming and almost dysfunctional way, he has reinvented the way in which humans use and or view a television.  

Homework Tasks

One of the three homework tasks we were given was to create a mood board exploring a multitude of different modes and forms of technology and how we have interacted with them both in the past and present. There were any different technological items that i had interacted with as a child like, ipods, cd players, tamagotchi's, nintendo's, play station 1, 2 & 3 and much more. More recently i have mainly interacted with apple products such as my Iphone 6 and my Apple mac. while there was so much to choose from i decided to explore my fascination with Film and Video a bit more and investigate my interaction with digital camcorders that i used both in my childhood and in present day. I explored digital camcorders in relation to some of the questions provided on canvas and upon reflection i asked myself: 

1.How i interact/ed with these technologies.
2.Whether or not they were/are user-friendly: easy to navigate, awkward, cumbersome, slow, intuitive, natural etc.
3. how they helped (or hindered) me achieve my goals.
4.If, through using them, new issues arose.
5.If, through using them, i learned new skills etc.

This was the mood  board that i created: