Translation of research insights and ethnographic observation into a guide book of interaction modalities and human-centricity
BOOKDESIGN FICTIONFILMRESEARCHVIDEO
Curious Rituals Book
Project Summary
This research project is about gestures, postures and digital rituals that typically emerged with the use of digital technologies (computers, mobile phones, sensors, robots, etc.). Gestures such as recalibrating your smartphone doing an horizontal 8 sign with your hand, the swiping of wallet with RFID cards in public transports, etc. These practices can be seen as the results of a co-construction between technical/physical constraints, contextual variables, designers intents and people’s understanding. We can see them as an intriguing focus of interest to envision the future of material culture.
Client:
Art Center College of Design, Near Future Laboratory
Curious Rituals is a research project conducted at Art Center College of Design (Pasadena) in July-August 2012 by Nicolas Nova (The Near Future Laboratory / HEAD-Genève), Katherine Miyake, Nancy Kwon and Walton Chiu from the media design program. The curious habits described in this book can be seen as ingredients with which technological objects are domesticated by people, integrated into their own daily routines. Fixing strategies, nervous tics, device juggling or courtesy postures, to name just a few, are not only peculiar interaction habits, they reveal how people normalize so-called “futuristic technologies” or what seemed magical and complex at first. They highlight the ingenuity users employ to repurpose and adapt digital technologies to their own context. One should see these insights as constant design patterns in the evolution of technological products and services. This book was produced as part of a research residency in the Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
The Outcomes
This was a successful translation of ethnographic and observational research into engaging, tangible forms, giving a sense of the new kinds of curious, strange, peculiar interaction rituals that have been discovered and adopted over time, many of which are related directly to the introduction of new technologies, interfaces, and devices.
Curious Rituals Research MaterialsCurious Rituals BookCurious Rituals Book
The aim of the project is to envision the future of gestures and rituals based on:
A documentation of current digital gestures
The making of design fiction films that speculate about their evolution
For more information, please contact nicolas (at) nearfuturelaboratory (dot) com
“Curious Rituals” was produced as part of a research residency in the Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Curious Rituals IllustrationsCurious Rituals IllustrationsCurious Rituals BookCurious Rituals BookCurious Rituals Working RoomCurious Rituals Working Room
Loading...
Loading...
Want to learn more? Curious how we work? Feel like your organization could use a bit more Imagination to help make sense of the dynamic character of a kinetic marketplace?
Use the Contact Form below to discuss how you can engage Near Future Laboratory to help you make sense of your organization's possible futures.
