Primitive Interaction Design

Interaction design is acknowledged as an important area of study, and more especially of design practice. Hugely popular and profitable consumer devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, are seen as owing much of their success to the way they have been designed, not least their interface characteristics and the styles of interaction that they support. Interaction design studies point to the importance of a user-centred approach, whereby products are in principle designed around their future users’ needs and capacities. However, it is the market, and marketing, that determine which products are available for people to interact with and to a great extent what their designed characteristics are. __Primitive Interaction Design__ is based on the realisation that designers need to be freed from the marketplace and industry pressure, and that the usual user-centred arguments are not enough to make a practical difference. Interaction designers are invited to cast themselves as “savages”, as if wielding primitive tools in concrete physical environments. A theoretical perspective is presented that opens up new possibilities for designers to explore fresh ideas and practices, including the importance of conscious and unconscious being, emptiness and trickery. Building on this, a set of design tools for primitive design work is presented and illustrated with practical examples. This book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in interaction design and HCI, as well as practicing interaction designers and computer professions. It will also appeal to those with an interest in psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, design and the future of technology in society. Preface 7 Contents 10 List of Figures 13 Part IMotivations and Inspirations 15 1 Why Primitive Interaction Design? 16 1.1 Introduction 16 1.2 Interaction Design in Context 17 1.3 Subjective Versus Objective Views 17 1.4 Arts and Crafts 19 1.5 Industrialization and the Bauhaus 21 1.6 Design as Marketing Tool 22 1.7 Design as Integrated Knowledge and Skill 24 1.8 Interaction Design: Designing Computer-Based Artefacts 25 1.9 Primitive Interaction Design 28 1.10 Outline of the Book 30 1.10.1 Part 1—Motivations and Inspirations 30 1.10.2 Part 2—Theories and Foundations 30 1.10.3 Part 3—Design Untamed 34 References 36 2 Being Through Interaction 39 2.1 Being and Time 39 2.1.1 Towards the Tangible 40 2.1.2 The Interactive Experience of Time 42 2.2 A Circular History of Being (and Interacting) 44 2.3 Being Through Interaction 46 2.3.1 Interaction, the Conscious and the Unconscious 49 2.4 The Challenges of Primitive Design 50 2.4.1 Designing for Emotion 51 2.4.2 Designing Embodiment 53 2.5 Conclusions 54 References 55 Part IITheories and Foundations 58 3 Savage and Trickster 59 3.1 Introduction: Before and After Design 59 3.2 The Logic of Myth 60 3.3 “Primitive” Peoples 61 3.4 The Trickster 63 3.5 Centre and Periphery 65 3.6 Concluding Comments 67 References 69 4 Emptiness, Nothingness and the Interval in Between 70 4.1 Introduction 70 4.2 Emptiness, Nothingness and the Interval in Between 71 4.3 Deficiency and Impermanence 72 4.3.1 Nietzsche’s Nihilism 73 4.3.2 The Ordinariness, Logic and Structure of “Ma” 73 4.4 “i” for Art 75 4.4.1 The Root of Creativity 76 4.4.2 Seasonal Feeling 76 4.4.3 Topography 77 4.5 Decorative Space and Lyrical Space 77 4.5.1 Tearoom, Tea Garden and “Ma” 78 4.5.2 Dance 78 4.6 Mind and Communication 79 4.7 “Ma” in Design 80 4.8 Concluding Comments 81 References 82 5 Unconscious Interaction and Design 83 5.1 Introduction 83 5.1.1 Everything is Already There 84 5.1.2 Jungian Collective Unconsciousness 85 5.2 Concepts of the Conscious and the Unconscious 86 5.2.1 The Function of Consciousness 86 5.2.2 Existence of the Mind 87 5.3 Design and the Structure of Consciousness 88 5.4 The Ecological Approach to Design 89 5.4.1 The Position of Primitive Design 90 5.4.2 Natural Flow of Action 91 5.5 Conclusion: Consciousness as Where the Self and the World Blend 92 References 93 Part IIIDesign Untamed 95 6 The Designer as Savage 96 6.1 Introduction 96 6.2 Primitive Interaction Design as an Attitude 98 6.2.1 Designer as Handyman 99 6.2.2 The Trickster-Like Nature of Playing with Design 100 6.3 Designer Interaction (Effective Use of Emptiness) 102 6.4 Understanding the World and Designing Man-Made Objects 104 6.4.1 Tools that Embody Collective Unconsciousness 104 6.4.2 Structuring the Subjective World Through Design 105 6.5 Drawing the Strands Together 107 References 109 7 Primitive Interaction Design: Methods 110 7.1 Introduction 110 7.2 Capturing Experiences by Applying Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis 111 7.3 Techniques for Maintaining Necessary Emptiness 113 7.4 Actively Promoting Doing as Being, Unconscious Design and Interaction Consequences 115 7.5 Approaching Design as Bricolage in Blended Reality Space 117 References 118 8 Primitive Interaction Design Examples 120 8.1 Primitive Interaction Design in Practice 120 8.2 The Exploratorium: An Environment for Emotional Self-discovery 121 8.2.1 Designing a Mythological World 121 8.2.2 Unconscious Interaction 122 8.2.3 Designing for Emotion 123 8.2.4 Emptiness and Curiosity 125 8.3 Morphogenetic Prototyping in Blended Reality Space 126 8.3.1 Mapping Gestures for Blended Reality Space 127 8.3.2 System Configuration 130 8.3.3 Motion Tracking in Blended Reality Space 132 8.4 Discussion 133 References 134 9 Towards a New Culture of Interaction Design 135 9.1 Where Have We Been? 135 9.2 Where Are We Going? 137 9.3 Concluding Comments 138 Reference 139 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Why Primitive Interaction Design? (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 3-25 Being Through Interaction (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 27-45 Front Matter ....Pages 47-47 Savage and Trickster (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 49-59 Emptiness, Nothingness and the Interval in Between (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 61-73 Unconscious Interaction and Design (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 75-86 Front Matter ....Pages 87-87 The Designer as Savage (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 89-102 Primitive Interaction Design: Methods (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 103-112 Primitive Interaction Design Examples (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 113-127 Towards a New Culture of Interaction Design (Kei Hoshi, John Waterworth)....Pages 129-133