MediascapesDesignGuidelines
From AlmostPerfect
Contents |
Magic moments
- Moments which are deemed to be both moving and memorable
- The distinctive characteristic of mediascapes is their relationship to the physical world. The process of walking through a physical space while interacting with digital media can take you into a parallel world.
Walking through a Sea of Voices
- “this one there was no pointing, no button pressing it was all around you”
Physical and Virtual collisions
- “… I felt I was in another world”
Synaesthetic confusion
- “I stood in a cannon which was really loud and scared me”
Looking at the world with new eyes
- “… next time I look out the building I am not going to look out in the same way”
Freedom of movement
- “… there are always arrows, even if you go to IKEA they route you round”
Social Bonding
- “… no-one else was aware that we were hearing the same thing”
Experience design process
- Write a short descriptive brief
- Create a proof of concept prototype quickly
- Test and refine
- Continuously iterate - develop -> test -> refine
- Emulation on the PC is not sufficient, it is really important to try things out in the environment.
Context
- Walk the space – record notes
- Decide the boundaries
Content
- Interview people in situ
- Note themes and story lines
Interaction
- Decide controls
- Use of physical or on screen buttons
User
- Understand who this experience is aimed at
= Context observation guidelines =
- What kind of things happen frequently?
** Animals, plants, weather!
- Who else uses this space?
** Actions, clothes, groups, paths, flow
- What distinctive landmarks or interesting features are there?
** eg. Bridges, statues, benches
- Take photographs, video or notes.
Design Heuristics
- Design mediascapes so that a screen is not necessary
- Describe the field of vision – what you can see and then expand out (Sean Horton Antenna Theater)
- Don’t use relative orientation terms like left and right
- Design appropriate overview maps
- Create a non essential prologue
- Use physical markers to provide orientation information
- Have a training zone – introduction to the mediascape
- Have a wait for a fix sequence
- Make the interaction design consistent
- Create a clear connection between where you are and what you see – simple but effective
- Use simple stops with optional more theatrical pieces
- Interview people in situ
- A background loop can help retain the context
- Hands free walking is popular
- Design for co-incidences
- Design for flows in and out of immersion
- Mimic sounds in the real world to create synaesthetic confusion
- Authenticity is a powerful emotive mechanism
- Use the obvious navigational structures in the environment
- Facilitate private moments in public shared space
- Sashes or an equivalent are good
Divide and conquer
- Design the overall flow
- Break out the different story lines or themes
- Design each one using a common template
- Structure and scripts
- Eg. Characters, Interaction steps, Locations, Images
- Implement them as separate “layers”
- Record scratch versions for testing
- Test and refine until happy with structure and scripts
- Produce the final media assets (replace the scratch files in the mediascape)
