What’s interaction?
Interaction, as I defined during my group project, was the communication between human and computer with thinking and reflecting involved. However, with time goes by and I’ve learned more about interaction in the classes, thus my definition of interaction has evolved. Now, I would say that interaction is not only a process which involves thinking and reflecting but more like a dialogue. During the dialogue, we think base on what we see and listen, and then reflect on it.
Otehr projects:
- First, I found a project that align with what I define as interactive.
NORAA (Machinic Doodles)
Basically, this machine can show you the most similar images it imagines based on what you draw on the screen. As far as I’m concerned, this is an interactive project, because it is like people “talking” to the computer, and the computer shows different images to match what we draw, which is like thinking, and then we reflect on what the computer shows.
Here is the demo:
Reference: https://vimeo.com/297579544
2. Second, I found a project that is not aligned with what I defined as interactive.
Alt-C – Designing for synergy between our ecosystems and network economics
This Alt-C is an project which uses the electricity plants produces to initiate a small computer. I don’t think this is interactive because there is no “communication” and “dialogue” between people and the computer. The only thing that matters here is that the electricity the plant produces, which will initiate the computer that connects to it.
Here is the picture of how it works:
New Definition
So far, we have read several readings about what interaction is. However, the most impressive one to me would be “Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen” by Tom Igoe. In his article, he said that “So if you’re thinking of an interactive artwork, don’t think of it like a finished painting or sculpture. Think of it more as a performance. Your audience completes the work through what they do when they see what you’ve made”(Igoe). His words gave me huge inspiration and helped me develop my own definition of what interaction is. So now, I would like to say that I have a new definition of interaction–The conversation with the computer using a special language in a user-friendly way. Here, the conversation already involves listening and speaking. What I mean by user-friendly is that the project made must be intuitive enough for the user to know how to use it without any verbal explanation. The new definition include speaking, listening and thinking, which is the most important elements that make a project interactive.
Work cited:
Igoe, Tom. “Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen.” Tigoe, http://www.tigoe.com/blog/category/physicalcomputing/405/. Accessed 16 April 2019.
“NORAA”, Vimeo, uploaded by jessin. December, 2018. https://vimeo.com/297579544. Accessed 16 April 2019.
Visnjic, Filip. “Alt-C – Designing for synergy between our ecosystems and network economics”, Creative Applications Network, https://www.creativeapplications.net/vvvv/alt-c-designing-for-synergy-between-our-ecosystems-and-network-economics/. Accessed 16 April, 2019.